Your next iPhone will be from India and your AirPods from Vietnam, at least that’s what Apple wants it to be

In 2019, Apple made a risky decision: to divert part of its production to India. At the moment, about 5% of all iPhones in the world are made there. The aim is for three quarters of the entire production to come directly from India. China remains the key partner, but supply chain delays and a restrictive zero-COVID policy left Apple stranded and “drowned.”

However, factories in India are not living up to the Big Apple’s expectations. In fact, the results are far below expectations. About half of the carcasses receive brand rejection. “At a Tata-run carcass factory in Hosur, 50% of the components produced are suitable for shipping to Foxconn, assembly partner of Apple. But Apple’s goal is zero defects,” they report in the Financial Times.

Quality control is now Apple’s nightmare

problems in the Validation processes, logistics, final quality, tariffs, infrastructure…as much as Apple wants to speed up production, its expansive policies run up against an uncomfortable reality. India is usually viewed as a manufacturing-focused market inexpensive and a looser threshold in terms of quality. Unsurprisingly, the Asian giants rule without fear while Apple kneels every time it tries to sell a new iPhone.

But while Apple hasn’t made it big selling iPhones in India, it now wants to try making them there. And 2023 is the year to standardize it. A move essentially aimed at becoming more independent from China.

A desire that’s not just an Apple thing. As reported by Bloomberg, another partner such as AirPods maker GoerTec Inc. has invested a whopping $280 million in a new factory in northern Vietnam continue to provide service for Apple outside of China’s borders. And so many more: “I would say that currently 90% of them (Chinese manufacturers) are considering it (e.g. expanding to India)”, says a GoetTec manager.

The problem lies in the how: that India is the new China has been sung about for at least a decade. A saying Apple needs to adapt to, “because everything in India is an obstacle”when it comes to negotiations with their government bureaucracy, as noted by businessman Vivek Wadhwa.