In a bid to further reduce its reliance on Chinese manufacturing, Apple is reportedly urging its battery suppliers to ramp up production in India for the 2024 iPhone 16. Despite facing hurdles in expanding its overall production in India, Apple remains committed to diversifying its manufacturing base away from China to mitigate dependency on a singular source. The Financial Times revealed that this strategy now involves motivating battery suppliers to follow suit.
Citing insights from three undisclosed sources familiar with the initiative, the report highlights efforts to prompt manufacturers like China’s Desay to establish new plants in India. Additionally, Taiwanese company Simplo Technology has been encouraged to increase its existing production capacities in the country.
“Should the iPhone 16 battery supply succeed as planned, Apple intends to shift more of its iPhone battery manufacturing operations to India,” shared one of the sources.
Reports have previously suggested that Apple is aiming to produce 25 percent of all iPhones in India by 2025, with trade tensions between the U.S. and China a key driving force behind the move.
Despite the push, earlier this year it was reported that Apple was disappointed with the quality of iPhone production in India, with the Cupertino company hitting several roadblocks in scaling up iPhone production in the country, including quality issues that saw 50 percent of casing rejected for not meeting quality standards.
