Apple Supplier Plans Second Indian Facility for AirPods Enclosures

Apple supplier Jabil is planning to expand its AirPods enclosure production in India with a second manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, according to The Economic Times (Via DigiTimes).

airpods 4 new purple
The Florida-based electronics manufacturer already produces AirPods plastic casings at its existing plant in Pune, and is now looking to increase sourcing from India through the new facility in Tiruchirappalli. The company reportedly met with Tamil Nadu's chief minister recently, although construction of the new facility has yet to start. Jabil aims to finalize its expansion plans by July.

The development is another step in Apple's ongoing strategy to diversify its supply chain beyond China amid increasing trade tensions and tariff uncertainties. The current process involves shipping AirPods casings made in India to assembly plants in China and Vietnam.

Apple currently produces approximately 20% of its iPhones in India and plans to import most U.S.-bound iPhones from India by the end of next year. During Apple's latest post-earnings call, India was mentioned nearly as frequently as China, underlining its growing importance in Apple's manufacturing strategy.

The move comes a month after Foxconn began producing AirPods at its new $400 million Hyderabad factory. Assembly at this plant began in April, with initial production units destined for export markets.

Tag: India

Popular Stories

m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3

Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
iPhone 16e Bottom Crop

Apple Reportedly Unveiling a New iPhone Next Week

Tuesday February 10, 2026 1:51 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically. The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Acquires New Database App

Wednesday February 11, 2026 6:44 am PST by
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged. The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions. Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...

Top Rated Comments

10 months ago
No U.S. company is going to bring factories back home when tariffs could be reversed at any moment. Why spend millions/billions relocating production to the U.S. only for Trump or the next president to scrap the policy? If they move and tariffs are lifted, they’re stuck with higher costs while competitors who didn’t move gain the advantage. It takes years to recoup the cost of building and staffing a factory assuming you can even find the workers. The unemployment rate is around 4%, and few Americans want factory jobs anymore.

On top of that, much of the factory equipment comes from China and now that equipment is facing 100%+ tariffs too. How are U.S. manufacturers supposed to compete? If these tariffs hold, Chinese firms will dominate entire sectors the U.S. once led in. U.S. businesses will collapse, and Chinese companies will swoop in, buy the factories, slap on new logos, and sell globally cheaper, faster, and often with better quality.

iPhones that can be made in the US will only be competitive in the US. They will never be able to compete globally against phones produced in China. US citizens will pay $5,000 for their US-produced iPhones while the rest of the world will pay $1,000 for theirs.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
10 months ago
Where is the US manufacturing?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maerz001 Avatar
10 months ago

Where is the US manufacturing?
Maybe they will built an US facility to plastic wrap the enclosure of the airpods ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eriamjh1138@DAN Avatar
10 months ago
American fingers are too fat to assemble iPhones or AirPods.

They assemble Mac Pros in Texas.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/09/apples-new-mac-pro-to-be-made-in-texas/

Or used to.

“Assemble” does not include the PCB Assemblies. Those components and machinery are all in China and always will be.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RalfTheDog Avatar
10 months ago

Where is the US manufacturing?
It's never coming back. To compete on the world stage in manufacturing, you would need large numbers of very skilled people willing to work for less than minimum wage. They would also need to be willing to put in 14 hour days or longer.

American fingers are too fat to assemble iPhones or AirPods.

They assemble Mac Pros in Texas.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/09/apples-new-mac-pro-to-be-made-in-texas/

Or used to.

“Assemble” does not include the PCB Assemblies. Those components and machinery are all in China and always will be.
I think they make some today. I think they are also building a few servers. The costs are high and the build quality is low. They do it only for political reasons.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
10 months ago
Good to see production expanding in India, especially for products other than iPhone. Expecting India to manufacture other Apple products too in the not so distant future.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)