After iPhone 14, Apple AirPods likely to be manufactured in India - All you need to know

The US-based tech giant Apple recently announced that it has started producing its iPhone 14 in India. Now a new report has claimed that Apple is gearing up to manufacture AirPods and Beats headphones in India. AirPods are second to iPhone in terms of shipment volume for Apple. Also, The 'make in India' iPhone 14 will also ship to Europe soon.

"Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday that Apple has asked its suppliers to move some AirPods and Beats headphone production to India for the first time. iPhone assembler Foxconn is preparing to make Beats headphones in the country, and plans to produce AirPods there as well, the IANS report mentioned.

"The move is part of Apple's gradual diversification from China, as it looks to lower the risk of supply chain disruptions stemming from the country's strict zero-Covid policy and tensions with the US," it added. 

Currently, AirPods are being manufactured in Vietnam and China, with the majority of Beats headphones being produced in Vietnam. In a fillip to India's thrust on local manufacturing, Apple has kicked off the production of new iPhone 14 in India, a first for the tech giant as it narrows down the manufacturing period of new iPhones in India with China which is its key global manufacturing hub.

The locally-assembled iPhone 14 will go on sale in the country in the fourth quarter, as the company bolsters its local manufacturing/assembling plans by spending billions of dollars. At this pace, industry analysts predict that next year, Apple might manufacture iPhone 15 in India at the same time in China.

"As India doubles down on local manufacturing of technology products, Apple is likely to move 5 per cent of its new iPhone 14 production to India by the end of this year, and 25 per cent by 2025, according to a JP Morgan analysis," said IANS.