Apple has begun commercial production on the iPhone 6s in India as of last week, according to a new report by The Economic Times, following local manufacturing for the iPhone SE that kicked off in India last year. Production on the 6s started at the Wistron facility in Bangalore, and the model was chosen due to its "sales potential," two senior industry executives reportedly said.

iphone 6s india wistron
Due to the locally-made devices, Apple will now be able to exempt the iPhone 6s from import duties placed on imported smartphones and their components, which has been an ongoing struggle for the company. A few months ago in February, India announced the latest tax increase on imported mobile phones from 15 percent to 20 percent, and it came under two months after the previous increase.

The tax increases are related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" program, which aims to promote the country's domestic manufacturing so that more companies build products there. After the iPhone SE plant was set up in early 2017, the iPhone 6s was rumored to be the next of Apple's smartphones to get an "Assembled in India" stamp on the back of each device.

Now, iPhone 6s production in Bangalore has begun and retail availability in the country is expected sometime "soon."

"The made-in-India iPhone 6s will be only sold in India like iPhone SE since it will take time to scale up capacity. In fact, Apple will continue with the import of iPhone 6s until capacity improves. Hence, there will be no price correction for the locally manufactured units. The made-in-India iPhone 6s model will hit the stores soon,” an executive said. Apple India did not comment."

On the software side of things, earlier this year users in the country spoke about the poor performance of services like Apple Maps and Siri. One user in Bangalore, Mihir Sharma, told CNBC that "Apple Maps is a joke in India," and many users reported that Siri "often struggles" to make sense and correctly respond to Indian accents. Analyst Faisal Kawoosa said, "There is no denial that the Apple ecosystem isn't aligned much to the usage and value of Indian users," and until Apple can expand its hardware footprint in India most customers believe it will stay that way.

Tag: India

Top Rated Comments

JustMartin Avatar
95 months ago
Do they care about anything else other than money?
It seems throwing away all principles is the way to go now.
I think I'm going to regret asking, but what principles are being jettisoned here?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmoliv Avatar
95 months ago
Will they use green and sustainable manufacturing methods or not having to care about that is one of the main reasons why they “assemble” their products in China and now India? The other being cheap slave labor. Green this and that; yeah right.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clauzzz203 Avatar
95 months ago
Do they care about anything else other than money?
It seems throwing away all principles is the way to go now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
radiology Avatar
95 months ago
Next they will start the production of the PowerBook in India.

Great job, Tim Cook! Keep up with the good work!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aaronhead14 Avatar
95 months ago
The 6s was the last genuinely great iPhone. Glad to see it's still living on, sort of.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clauzzz203 Avatar
95 months ago
I think I'm going to regret asking, but what principles are being jettisoned here?
-making the best phone they can
-having a non fragmented feature support
-being at the leading edge
-manufacturing in a country with strict labour and environment regulations
-not cheating around tax laws
Is it enough for 2 mins of thinking?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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