Following the rapid growth of iPhone production in India, Apple is evaluating expanding production of iPads and AirPod charging cases to India. Apple has increasingly turned to India for iPhone production as part of a move to reduce its reliance on China as a single manufacturing source. Now, local publication Benzinga says the company plans to expand Indian production to other devices.
Apple reportedly wants to manufacture its iPads in India, in part because it hopes to benefit from the Indian government's efforts to attract more manufacturing to the country. It is said that Apple also hopes to find local production partners to produce wireless charging boxes for AirPods.
Previously, Apple worked with Chinese partner BYD to transfer key iPad engineering resources to Vietnam. This is said to be done in part because Indian government restrictions are hampering the effort, but Apple is trying to find new local partners for the iPad.
When it comes to AirPods charging cases, Apple has long been working with Jabil on various production jobs. Now there is news that Apple plans to use Jabil’s Indian division to produce AirPods headphone cases in India starting in early 2025.
According to reports, Jabil's factory in the Pune region of western India is testing production quality. Apple is also said to be considering using Foxconn for the same production.
In addition to iPad and AirPod wireless charging, the Indian government also allegedly wants Apple to produce Macs and MacBook Pros in the country.
Previously, India briefly floated plans to promote local manufacturing by restricting imports of laptops. The plan was launched in August 2023 but was canceled two months later.