According to recent estimates, nearly all (95%) of all iPhones are made in China. Apple’s problem with centralization is worse: 80% of all iPhones at the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, China. And now that factory is partially closing due to China’s “zero COVID” policy.
This will affect the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max the most: In an unprecedented move, Apple has officially warned that meeting production targets will be difficult in the coming months as the factory operates at reduced capacity. Normally these are the kinds of facts Cupertino keeps to itself.
Apple partner Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its factories in India, according to local government sources who spoke with Reuters. This will increase the number of workers from the current 17,000 to 70,000.
Here’s what the sources said Reuters:
Apple supplier Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India in two years, two government officials with knowledge of the matter said, pointing to a production adjustment as it faces disruptions in China. […]
This massive expansion will take time (two years according to the report) and therefore will not solve the current crisis. But the latest developments may accelerate Apple’s plans to reduce its dependence on China to prevent this situation from happening again.
JP Morgan analysts reported that up to 25% of iPhone production may move to India by 2025. Cupertino already produces iPhone 14 phones in India, starting a few weeks from the start of production in China. The plan for next year is (presumably) for the iPhone 15 to begin production at the same time as that in China.
Hence, the vanilla series already has some diversification. You can see in the graph above that the production is split between three companies. However, the Pro models are only made by Foxconn and that happens exclusively in Zhengzhou (with around 200,000 workers making iPhones, the place has earned the nickname “iPhone City”).
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