Apple iPhone 17 development process to begin in India by late 2024: Ming-Chi Kuo

Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed Apple’s production and expansion plans in India. According to Kuo, the new product introduction (NPI) for the standard iPhone 17, set to launch in the second half of 2025, is expected to kick-off in India in the second half of 2024. This marks the first time Apple will begin development of a new iPhone model outside of China, according to Kuo. He further claims that the standard iPhone model was chosen for its lower-difficulty design development to reduce design risk.

Kuo further made predictions about Apple’s growing production volume in India. In 2023, Kuo claims, India is responsible for 12–14% of global iPhone shipments, with Foxconn owning 75–80% of the iPhone production capacity in the country. Kuo predicts that if all goes well, the proportion of iPhones made in India will increase to 20–25% by 2024. 

Contrary to Apple’s growth in India, the expansion is expected to result in a decrease in Foxconn’s production scale in Zhengzhou and Taiyuan, China, by 35–45% and 75–85%, respectively, by 2024.

Furthermore, Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple plans to strengthen its relationship with the Indian government by making Tata an iPhone assembler. Tata has already acquired Wistron’s iPhone production lines in India. This strategic move is expected to benefit future sales of iPhones and other products in India and is critical to Apple’s growth over the next decade.