Apple AirPods to be Made-in-India - Check details

Apple has been focusing on building iPhones in India and it recently shifted a lot of its manufacturing business to this region. Now, AirPods too will be Made-in-India. According to a report by Reuters, Foxconn, popular for manufacturing about 70 per cent of the world's total iPhones, has bagged an order to make AirPods for Apple. The report said that the Taiwanese contract manufacturer plans to build a factory in India in order to make these wireless earphones. 

The deal will make Foxconn an AirPod supplier for the first time. This can be a strategic move as the tech major has been focusing to start production away from China. At present, AirPods are currently made by a range of Chinese suppliers.

The report quoted a source as saying that Foxconn will invest more than $200 million in the new India AirPod plant, which is likely to come up in the southern Indian state of Telangana. It wasn't immediately clear how much the AirPod order would be worth.

The person, who requested anonymity as the matter was not public yet, said Foxconn officials had debated internally for months about whether to assemble AirPods due to relatively lower profit margins on making the device, but ultimately opted to go ahead with the deal to "reinforce engagement" with Apple.

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"That way, we are more likely to get orders for their new products," the person said.

The decision to set up production in India was requested by Apple, according to the source.

Foxconn vies with Taiwanese rivals such as Wistron Corp and Pegatron Corp to win more orders from Apple, the world's most valuable company.

A subsidiary, Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd, plans to start construction of a manufacturing facility in Telangana in the second half of this year and begin production by the end of 2024 at the earliest, the person said.

With Reuters inputs