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In context: Apple’s shift to India is no longer an experiment in supply-chain diversification – it has become a fundamental part of how the company builds iPhones. In 2025, Apple assembled roughly 55 million iPhones in India, accounting for about a quarter of its global output, according to people familiar with the data. The production surge marks a 53% increase from the prior year and underscores Apple’s effort to rebalance one of the tech industry’s most sophisticated electronics manufacturing systems.

  • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    3·
    14 days ago

    This has interesting ramifications. iPhone manufacturing is quite fiddly and needs skills and a high level of quality control. Several years ago, India did not have this capability.

    Meanwhile China’s middle class is growing and doesn’t want do manufacturing.

    • fourish@lemmy.world
      2·
      14 days ago

      I think that India had the skill and QC if you wanted to pay for it, but if china was working fine there was little incentive to change something that worked. Political tensions made the change necessary moreso than economic or skill reasons.

      The whole middle class issue in China is going to become a big problem for the Chinese government. They’ve developed their entire economy on being the low cost maker of everything and if that goes away they’ll have an economic collapse.

      • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        1·
        14 days ago

        My perception is that India is closer to China a couple decades ago. the whole rural poverty class to train in manufacturing, they’ll cut corners you couldn’t imagine exist, and the “native” capabilities are still the sandals videos we see.

        But they’re coming up in capability for sure.

        China’s been trying to figure out what to do with their demographics for a while and I think they’re still not sure. It will be interesting to observe. I wish I was wealthy enough not to also be somewhat concerned. The reason the iPhone isn’t made in USA or Europe etc. is linked to labour cost and with China expecting upward mobility, stuff will get expensive.