Big tension for China as Foxconn brings iPhone 17 parts to India, trial assembly to start in...

Foxconn Technology Group, a key supplier for Apple, has started importing critical components from China to India for the assembly of the upcoming iPhone 17, according to a report by The Economic Times. These include display assemblies, cover glass, mechanical housings, and integrated rear camera modules. The small volume of these shipments suggests they are meant for trial production.

Customs data shows that around 10% of Foxconn’s imports from China in June were parts for the iPhone 17. Most of the imports were still for iPhone 14 and iPhone 16, which Apple plans to sell in larger volumes during India’s upcoming festive season.

Trial production of the iPhone 17 is set to begin this month, with mass production expected to start in August. Apple plans to officially launch the device in September.

For the first time, Apple aims to manufacture the iPhone 17 simultaneously in India and China. This marks a major shift in its global production strategy, as India becomes a more important base—especially for exports to the US. The move is also seen as a response to high tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by the Donald Trump administration.

Apple’s goal is to fully shift production of iPhones for the US market from China to India by 2026, despite some pressure from the US government to bring production home.

Over recent years, Apple has been narrowing the time gap between production starts in China and India. The iPhone 14 was made in India six weeks after China, while the iPhone 15 saw almost simultaneous production. By 2024, India became part of Apple’s New Product Introduction (NPI) process for the iPhone 16 base model, a role previously exclusive to China.