Apple's main iPhone assembler in India is scouting for additional land in Bangalore to expand its existing facilities, according to a new report today by Bloomberg.

Wistron executives reportedly toured the city last week and have shortlisted plots covering around 100 acres, including one plot close to the airport. The Taiwanese manufacturer may use the planned facilities to supply other brands, too, but Wistron has so far kept shtum on the matter.

indian flag
Wistron began making the iPhone SE in India in May of this year. Since that time, Apple has been seeking exemptions from the country's government that will allow it to set up more units to assemble iPhones. The company has asked state officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly infrastructure in India, and today's report suggests that it may have gotten its way.

India recently ousted the U.S. to become the world's second-largest smartphone market after China, according to market research conducted by industry analyst Canalys. However, Apple has so far struggled to make a significant dent, mainly because its smartphones are so much more expensive than rivals such as Oppo and Xiaomi. But also because the government levies tariffs on devices manufactured outside the country, hence Apple's eagerness to assemble more iPhones there.

During Apple's earnings call last week, CEO Tim Cook said the company has "great momentum in India, where revenue doubled year over year". But he also said that to gain ground, Apple would have to work on many fronts.

"It's building stores. It's building channels. It's building markets. It's building the developer ecosystem," said Cook. "It's having the right product lineup for the market. And I feel like we're making good progress there and are gaining understanding of the market, but we still have a long way to go."

Tag: India
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

kstotlani Avatar
99 months ago
Factory work ain't pretty in most places. :(

But as bad as the conditions are in China... and with hundreds of people literally begging for work daily...

...there must not be many (or any) alternatives, right?

I mean... if you weren't working at Foxconn... what would you be doing?

It sounds like there's not much else.
I don’t know much about China except for the horror factory stories. Yes factory workers will continue to get exploited and it isn’t pretty in India either. We are a little more democratic and have unions in most factories, not that those union help the regular factory worker. I just don’t want fellow Indians to be exploited the same way. We have a lot of our workers in the Middle East where they go looking for a dream but end up getting abused. Lookup Qatar World Cup human rights issues. We cannot control the abuse there but hopefully we make sure the conditions are better here.
[doublepost=1510058578][/doublepost]
Tariffs on imports eh? Seems like it drives up domestic manufacturing, and it seems like manufacturing, not service jobs seem to impact the economy...
This. India has usually been a restricted economy purely for these reasons. Lot of western countries have stopped producing (except for firearms) so lot of those economies are just consumers.

We have a lot of communists catalysts that usually stop the country from growth but also serve some useful purpose when it comes to such foreign investments.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Madhava Avatar
99 months ago
If only Apple can get their stores, apple care and the monthly payment plans...
May be I am dreaming too much.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nayanbhalotia Avatar
99 months ago
Hope this happens soon. The iPhone X costs about 1400$ in India. Seeing how the prices of iPhone SE went down drastically, i hope the prices of other devices also drop after this.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rawCpoppa Avatar
99 months ago
I guess this means SE 2 is coming or at least SE will be around for a while.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
himanshumodi Avatar
99 months ago
Good for us at several levels. Iphone SE is at amazing price levels for us currently. there is increasing proliferation of iPhones over the years. So apple stands to gain as much here
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

WWDC25 Live Coverage Feature 1

WWDC 2025 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and More

Monday June 9, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day. We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements led by a design revamp across Apple's platforms that will also see the numbering of all of...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 9 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
liquid glass

Apple Announces All-New 'Liquid Glass' Software Redesign Across iOS 26 and More

Monday June 9, 2025 10:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a complete redesign of all of its major software platforms called "Liquid Glass." Announced simultaneously for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and CarPlay, Liquid Glass forms a new universal design language for the first time. At its WWDC 2025 keynote address, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi said "Apple Silicon has become dramatically more powerful...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 hero 250609

Apple Announces iOS 26 With 'Liquid Glass' Design, Live Translation, Overhauled Phone App, and More

Monday June 9, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC announced iOS 26, introducing a comprehensive visual redesign built around its new "Liquid Glass" concept, alongside expanded Apple Intelligence capabilities, updates to core communication apps, and more. Liquid Glass is a translucent material that reflects and refracts surroundings to create dynamic, responsive interface elements, according to Apple. The new design language...