Apple is expected to begin production of the iPhone 13 in India next month following two separate incidents at Indian iPhone factories that forced production to be halted, including complaints about worker safety and a violent riot at partner Wistron’s factory in December 2020 causing an estimated 4.38B rupees ($60M) worth damage to the building and assembly equipment.
According to sources cited by Business Standard, Apple’s primary iPhone supplier Foxconn is expected to begin production of the iPhone 13 at its plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai from April, with the devices planned to be sold for both the domestic and export market.
Apple has been manufacturing iPhones in India for several years, with Indian factories responsible for producing some iPhone SE, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models, although China remains Apple’s main manufacturing hub, where the main share of its iPhones are produced.
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There is no word on how many iPhone 13 units will be produced in India or what international markets the Indian-made devices will be shipped to. Business Standard notes that iPhone 13 production in India was meant to originally start from January but had to be postponed after Apple suspended production following protests in December by workers about food poisoning.