Apple is set to manufacture its upcoming Pro models in the iPhone 16 line-up in India, reported Bloomberg. This is a significant step towards boosting manufacturing in India. However, the biggest question consumers would have is: Does that mean iPhone Pro models get cheaper in India? Prabhu Ram, VP - Industry Research Group (IRG), CyberMedia Research (CMR), told Business Today that it is unlikely that Apple will sell them at lower prices. He said, “While local production could lead to some price reductions, overall retail prices may still be influenced by broader economic factors.”
Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, IDC, also stated that price will remain unaffected as there are still several factors that affect the pricing. He told us, “Overall duty on even the assembled unit remains high since most components are still being imported in completely knocked down kits. India is really only Assembling iPhones, with overall value being added being below 10 per cent for an iPhone.”
Another expert Prachir Singh, Senior Analyst, Counterpoint said that buyers can get major offers during the festive seasons, if they are planning to buy new iPhones in India. He stated, “The price list of iPhones have been consistent. However, Apple has been quite aggressive with offers and promotions, especially during the festive season. I believe this will continue.”
While Apple is yet to officially rollout made-in-India Pro models, Google has confirmed that it is now manufacturing Pixel 8 in India and will be exported to the US market soon. To this, Navkendra stated, “One of the major reasons for this is the intent and need of brands/manufacturers to reduce their dependence on China as the sole or dominant player in the phone manufacturing value chain.”
According to him, Indian government has made initiatives in the right direction to attract companies to set up manufacturing base in India to meet both the domestic demand and exports. Additionally, relatively lower operational costs and a readily available, technically skilled workforce are also provided by India.
He also emphasised, “India will be an important part of the electronics value chain for next few decades. So these companies would want to start setting up their base in India early on to meet domestic demand and also try to make India as their main manufacturing and export hub in next few years.