The publication says this may mainly be due to the small size of sales of MacBooks or iPads in India, and also to the difficulties setting up the supply chain ecosystem.
Despite that though, Apple is still considering broadening the India manufacturing base beyond just iPhones and AirPods, according to the same sources. However, Apple not looking to manufacture MacBooks in the country may not be great news for the Indian government.
Although Apple is looking mainly to manufacture iPhones in India, as those have robust and large-scale supply chains and capacities, there are prospects of Cupertino looking into manufacturing MacBooks or iPads in the country. Those prospects are mainly due to the tariff situation and US tensions with China, according to one source.
However, Apple seems to be reluctant to do that. Reportedly, it told the Indian government that there’s a “limited sales market” for MacBooks or iPads in India.
Meanwhile, the situation is not like this with iPhones, as sales in India are robust. The sources also said that another factor for Apple to be reluctant to move manufacturing of MacBooks and iPads to India is the fact that it will take three or four years to set up a strong supply chain, much of which needs to be moved from China. The source also indicates that there is enough capacity for these products globally and thus there’s not much need to set up another base for their manufacturing.
Right now, Taiwan’s Foxconn and Tata Group are making iPhones in India. Those devices are primarily being shipped to the US, and reportedly, the plan is to make India the key hub for supplying iPhones to the US.
Apple’s main competitor, Samsung, is also manufacturing Galaxy phones in India. So do Google, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.
