Tech giant Apple plans to launch locally made models of iPhone 12 in India from the middle of next year, as per a report in Business Standard. The iPhone 12 will be manufactured at Wistron’s Narasapura plant near Bengaluru. Wistron is Apple’s Taiwanese contract manufacturer.
Wistron has reportedly envisioned an investment of over Rs 2,900 crore in the new plant, which should be operational by October this year. Wistron also plans to hire 10,000 employees for the new plant.
Trial run for the iPhone 12 project has begun at the unit and around 1,000 workers have already started working at the plant, as per the report.
This will be the company’s second facility in India apart from the existing one at Peenya in Bengaluru, where it assembles other iPhones.
The new iPhone 12 will be the seventh iPhone to be manufactured in India. Apple has already been making the iPhone SE (first generation), iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, iPhone XR, and iPhone 11, besides the recently launched second-generation iPhone SE, which is also going to be made in India. The iPhone 11 is being assembled at the Foxconn plant in Chennai.
Apart from creating jobs and promoting local manufacturing, Apple will not have to pay the 22% import taxes on smartphones which could reportedly help the company offer the iPhone 12 at a competitive price in India.
Apple is expected to launch four new iPhones under the iPhone 12 series, including two premium variants. iPhone 12 Pro will come in 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch sizes and may feature a 120Hz ProMotion display.
The launch of the upcoming iPhone 12 has been delayed by a few weeks. Luca Maestri, Chief Financial Officer at Apple said, “Last year we started selling new iPhones in late September, this year we expect supply to be available a few weeks later.”
The delay in the new iPhone line-up can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic that has hit production lines, with the supply chain functioning below full capacity.
Apple CEO Tim Cook indicated earlier that the company would open its first Apple store in India by 2021.