Per the Economic Times, Apple supplier Foxconn may be looking to expand in India through the opening of a new production facility based within an already-existing factory near Chennai, India. The expansion would allow Foxconn to increase production of the iPhone.
Given that Foxconn is involved in both the production of the current iPhone 13 and the upcoming iPhone 14 this year, the expansion would allow Apple to diversify its global supply chain. Foxconn has begun looking to invest in India, as the local government is looking to strengthen its local market.
Such a move would possibly allow Apple and Foxconn to get over some of the production hurdles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Apple and Foxconn have been moving more toward India as the COVID-19 restrictions in China have increased pressure to do so.
As recently as the end of July, Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility was ordered to work in a “closed loop” system due to COVID-19. Within this type of system, employees assigned to the closed loop conditions live in dorms on the company’s facilities. During this time the workers were not to engage in physical contact from anyone outside the facility, including members of their family.
In spite of the ups and downs presented by the pandemic, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has argued that supply issues will have only a limited impact on iPhone 14 production. Despite rumors that Apple had to cut its iPhone 14 supply order by 10% due to semiconductor supply issues, Kuo argues that supply chain surveys disagree. There could also be no supply issues given that Apple might be making the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models significantly different from each other.
The iPhone 14 keynote is expected to take place on September 13, and only time will tell as to what to expect from Apple as to its next-generation smartphone and efforts to overcome global supply chain hurdles.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer and The Economic Times