Apple is preparing an entry-level “iPhone XE” that will be introduced this fall, according to a sketchy new report.
The device is claimed to be an iPhone SE successor with huge improvements, including an edge-to-edge display and Face ID. It could also pack Apple’s latest A12 Bionic processor.
Foxconn is reportedly “within weeks” of starting trial production of the iPhone XS in India, Bloomberg reports.
Manufacturing will take place at a Foxconn factory in the southern city of Chennai. Rival manufacturer Wistron already makes the iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and — now — the iPhone 7 at its own facility in Bangalore.
Apple supplier Wistron has started manufacturing iPhone 7 handsets in India. This is the third model iPhone to be made in the country, following the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s.
“We are proud to be producing iPhone 7 in Bengaluru for our local customers, furthering our long-term commitment in India,” Apple told the Economic Times newspaper.
Apple is trying a new strategy to boost struggling iPhone sales in India, the world’s second largest country by population. Unfortunately, it’s one that’s going to make the base model iPhones even more expensive for the local population.
iPhone sales are down, especially in emerging markets. The reason is simple: Apple’s devices cost too darn much. And the solution is equally simple: Apple must make a new budget model. In short, it needs a successor to the iPhone SE to ensure short-term profits as well as long-term viability.
This device has to have a low, low price. Even if that means a phone so bare-bones that most Americans turn up their noses at it.
Apple is one step closer to manufacturing flagship iPhones in India for the first time.
India’s IT ministry today signed off on plans to build a local Wistron factory that is expected to produce the iPhone 8. It should make the device significantly more affordable to local consumers in the future.
A pair of unannounced iPad models have again appeared in a regulatory database ahead of their official unveiling.
The new slates, with model numbers A2124 and A2133, were first spilled by the Eurasian Economic Commission in late January. They are expected to arrive sometime this spring.
Apple has another potential problem in India: the sub-par repair options available for its products.
According to a new report, Apple’s authorized repair shops in the country are disappointing to say the least. That’s especially bad for a company which is well known for providing some of the best customer service around.
More and more Apple suppliers are considering building devices in India, and a new concession might make that possibility even more plausible.
According to a new report, India has deferred a plan which would have introduced tax on touch panel imports. These tariffs were supposed to be introduced in February, but have supposedly been delayed until at least April 2020. This follows lobbying from smartphone makers.
According to the Financial Times, Apple manufacturer Pegatron is planning to build new production lines in India, Vietnam and India. Pegatron accounts for around 30 percent of Apple’s assembly orders.
It follows on from news suggesting that fellow Apple supplier Foxconn is also considering production in India and Vietnam.
Apple is hoping to secure new tax incentives in India that will allow it to increase local iPhone production and export more devices to be sold in other countries.
The company has teamed up with other large names in the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) to propose a raise in export credits on smartphone shipments, as well as tariff cuts on imports of components and machinery.
The group argues that manufacturing growth cannot be sustained and accelerated without the changes.
Apple supplier Foxconn is reportedly showing more interest in manufacturing iPhones in India, a new report claims.
The move would reduce Apple’s reliance on China at a time in which turbulence in the Chinese market, both from customers and potentially trade tariffs, is causing headaches in Cupertino.
Turn-by-turn navigation in Apple Maps has expanded its reach to one of Apple’s most important markets. Users in India can finally take advantage of the feature when driving or walking.
Apple has also added the ability to book a cab through Uber or Ola from within the Maps app.
Wistron, one of Apple’s iPhone manufacturers, is ramping up its investment in India. According to a new report, the company has vastly increased its authorized capital expenditure in India to meet its future development plans.
This follows on from another recent report, suggesting that fellow manufacturer Foxconn is set to start building flagship iPhones in the country.
Apple is expanding iPhone manufacturing in India, including building its flagship handsets, a new report claims. This will supposedly be carried out at a Foxconn plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
To accommodate the new manufacturing lines, Foxconn will invest an additional $356 million to expand the factory. At present, it builds phones for Xiaomi at the plant.
Apple suppliers are already producing a limited number of iPhones in India, but Apple could be looking to ramp up this investment in the near future.
According to a new report, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu is set to meet with Apple execs at next month’s Davos conference to talk manufacturing.
Apple today made an anti-spam application developed by the Indian government available on that country’s version of its App Store. The software is designed to help prevent an avalanche of commercial phone calls and texts, but Apple had previously expressed concerns that it revealed too much information about users to the government.
The version of TRAI DND – Do Not Disturb just approved appears to deal with Apple’s concerns.
Apple has hired the former Chief Customer Operations Officer at Nokia Networks to head up its India operations department, a new report claims. Ashish Chowdhary will take up the role of Apple’s India head from January as Apple continues to try and grow its brand in the country.
India, which has a population of around 1.339 billion, is one of the fastest growing mobile markets after China and the U.S. However, it is one that Apple has largely failed to crack so far.
Apple just had its best September quarter of all-time and CEO Tim Cook couldn’t have sounded happier when he got on the phone with investors today. The company is heading into the holiday season with its best lineup ever and expects to set more records next quarter.
Investors did not seem to be too impressed with the results though. Apple’s stock price dropped from $222.22 to as low as $206 in after-hours training. Despite Wall Street’s worries about Apple, there was plenty of achievements for Tim Cook and Luca Maestri to boast about on today’s call.
There were the biggest revelations from today’s call:
The days are over when Google Translate could only provide spoken translations with an American accent. The latest iOS version adds regional accents from the former British Empire.
And it goes beyond English. French translations can be said in a Canadian accent, for example.
There’s more bad news for Apple’s fortunes in India. According to a new report, the iPhone XS and XS Max have seen lower sales in the Indian market than previous devices after the first weekend.
What’s more, they could be about to face new government-imposed challenges, too.
Apple is supposedly cooling its plans to bring Apple Pay to India, despite having discussions with leading banks and the National Payments Corporation of India.
Eddy Cue previously said that Apple hoped to bring Apple Pay to India sooner rather than later. “It is great that all of these payment mechanisms are coming out in India because it empowers people to be able to pay,” Cue said last year. “What Apple Pay does is make that process easy, integrated and safe. We absolutely want to bring Apple Pay to the market here.”
Apple has so far created 3,500 jobs at its offices in Hyderabad, India — and it plans to hire 1,500 more people, bringing the total to 5,000. That’s in excess of the 4,000 jobs Apple initially promised it would create in India.
The news was shared by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of IT and Industries in the Telangana government, located in the southern part of the country.
It’s going to be years before Apple India can hope to open flagship retail stores. So the company is allowing local franchisees to open huge Apple stores in major cities to take their place.
India puts stringent requirements on companies who want to open retail stores, and so far Apple hasn’t met them.
Apple may have “won” its standoff with the FBI over privacy, but it’s unlikely to be able to repeat the same feat in a clash with the Indian government on the same topic.
A new article published by Reuters runs down the various obstacles Apple faces in its battle with India’s telecom regulator over an anti-spam app, which Apple believes infringes on user privacy. And while nothing is settled yet, this looks like one fight Apple won’t be winning!
