iPhone SE(2020), Apple’s most affordable, latest, and one of the most selling smartphone is now being assembled in India for orders placed within the country. In a statement, Apple said: “iPhone SE packs our most powerful chip into our most popular size at our most affordable price and we’re excited to be making it in India for our local customers.”
iPhone SE packs the following specifications:
- 4.7 inch LCD Display
- IP67 dust and water resistance
- iOS 13 with A13 Bionic chipset
- 3/64 GB, 3/128 GB, and 3/256 GB variants
- 12MP rear and 7MP front camera
- Starting Price $399 (USD)
The new iPhone SE is being assembled by Wistron at its facility in Bengaluru. Wistron also assembles iPhone 7 models in India, and in the past, it has assembled the original iPhone SE and the iPhone 6s in the country. Last week, it was reported that Wistron could start assembling iPhone 12 models in India next year as well.
Apart from Wistron, another Apple manufacturers Foxconn has an assembling unit in Chennai, where two of the most popular iPhones in the world are assembled. Both the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 have topped the selling charts across the world and are now being assembled in India.
Wistron and Foxconn are among a growing number of Apple suppliers that have shifted more production to countries like India and Vietnam amid the U.S.-China trade war. Foxconn, which reportedly plans to invest up to $1 billion to expand its Indian operations, recently said that China’s “days as the world’s factory are done.”
Apple started assembling phones in India in 2017 when the original SE was assembled by Wistron. A year later in 2018, the then hugely-popular iPhone 6s was also assembled by Wistron in Bengaluru. However, the assembly of both these iPhone was discontinued sometime last year.
Last but not the least; where to get it then?
With the iPhone SE being assembled in India, will that bring in a difference in the price point of the phone?
Firstly, Apple rarely tunes up the prices for local customers and has a global pricing strategy. Secondly, for now, only the assembling is done in India, all sourcing of the components comes from outside. Also, the demand for SE may not be fulfilled by the locally assembled devices, so Apple might need to import units to the market. So, it shows less probability of any difference in the price point of the phone.
This is pretty neat – I hope this factor also helps in reducing the prices of the phones to some extent.