Report: iPhone 17 early manufacturing set for India, marking new milestone for Apple

Apple just shipped the iPhone 16 last month, but it’s already working on the manufacturing process for next year’s iPhone 17 models. And in a milestone for the company’s supply chain, India is reportedly where early production units of the base iPhone 17 will be developed.

Shift away from China will apply to base iPhone 17 only

Apple’s dependence on China for manufacturing is well documented. CEO Tim Cook even committed recently, reportedly during a government visit, to continue increasing Apple’s investment in China.

But for years, Apple has been working toward diversifying its supply chain in an effort to reduce its dependence on China. There are a host of economic and risk-reduction reasons to diversify.

Reportedly, Apple has hit a big new milestone in that regard.

Wayne Ma writes at The Information:

For the first time, Apple is using an Indian factory to do the early manufacturing work for the base model of next year’s iPhone 17, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. The choice of an Indian factory for this stage of iPhone development—figuring out how to translate a prototype designed in Cupertino into a device that can be mass produced—highlights the progress Apple has made in diversifying its supply chain to India from China and its confidence in the capabilities of Indian engineers.

That’s because this work is the most challenging and resource-intensive aspect of Apple’s product development, say current and former Apple employees. Internally known as New Production Introduction or NPI, the work involves tweaking the iPhone’s design and materials and experimenting with different types of equipment and manufacturing processes to ensure that millions of iPhones can be produced a day across different locations with minimal defects. The majority of this development typically takes place between October and May.

Ma notes that this shift only applies to the base model iPhone 17.

Apple will still perform early manufacturing and testing of the iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and highly anticipated iPhone 17 Air in China.

Still, it’s a significant development for all the reasons Ma notes. Historically, the production expertise found in China has been hard for Apple to replicate elsewhere.

But if things go well with the iPhone 17, we should expect to see further milestones and expanded India manufacturing in the future.

What do you make of Apple hitting this new milestone? Let us know in the comments.