In a bid to boost iPhone sales in the region, Apple has started running ads highlighting that it assembles the iPhone 6s in India. The ‘Make in India’ campaign has been increasingly used by many smartphone OEMs in India to woo patriotic customers who want smartphones assembled in India rather than ones imported from China.

Apple has been assembling the iPhone 6s in India under the Make in India campaign since 2017 now. It first started with the iPhone SE with its supply partner Wistron setting up a factory outside of Bengaluru before expanding it to the iPhone 6s. While old, the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s are still in demand in India especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The handsets are not even listed on Apple’s India website but they continue to be sold across all popular offline and online channels.

Just saw this ad , Apple is explicitly promoting made in India pic.twitter.com/OpjClRJAhs

— Varun Krishnan (@varunkrish) May 15, 2019

Apart from the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s, Wistron recently started assembling the iPhone 7 for Apple in India.

As a part of the ‘Make in India’ push from the Indian government, smartphone OEMs who assemble or manufacture smartphones locally end up saving on custom duties and import taxes which would have otherwise been applicable if they had imported the phones from China.

Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and a number of other Android OEMs already assemble their smartphones under the Make in India campaign.

Our Take

Apple has so far only assembled older iPhones in India. Due to this, newer flagship iPhones have carried a very steep price tag which has led to iPhone sales in the country declining to an all-time low in years.

Apple is finally getting around to understanding this as its manufacturing partner Foxconn is looking to set up a manufacturing facility to assemble the high-end iPhone X series in India. This move will allow Apple to save up on custom duty and taxes and thereby price newer and high-end iPhones more sensibly in the region.

[Via The Verge]

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