Apple Starts Producing iPhone SE (2020) Locally in India

Apple has started producing the iPhone SE (2020) in India. The new development comes a little over four months after the launch of the latest iPhone model in the country. The local manufacturing of the iPhone SE (2020), which has commenced at a Wistron facility in Karnataka, would help Apple avoid an import duty of 20 percent that mobile phone manufacturers need to pay for importing their models from global markets. Apart from the iPhone SE (2020), the Cupertino giant has been producing five iPhone models domestically in the country, including the last year's iPhone 11.

In a statement emailed to Gadgets 360, Apple said, “iPhone SE packs our most powerful chip into our most popular size at our most affordable price and we're excited to be making it in India for our local customers.”

Apple hasn't provided any details about when it would start selling locally manufactured iPhone SE (2020) units in India. However, considering previous records, fresh stock with an “Assembled in India” label is likely to hit stores in the country in the coming weeks. You can also expect some discount on iPhone SE (2020) price in India, thanks to the new move.

Tarun Pathak, Associate Director of market research firm Counterpoint Research, said that the iPhone SE (2020) already accounts for over a third of the sales within the Apple portfolio in India. "Assembling locally will bring in certain cost advantages which can be passed on to the users," he told Gadgets 360.

The iPhone SE (2020) will be the sixth iPhone in the series that has been locally manufactured in India. It includes the original iPhone SE, iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, and the iPhone XR. Apple also started local production of the iPhone 11 just in July and is said to have plans to produce the iPhone 12 in the country sometime in the middle of 2021.

Earlier this month, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad revealed that Apple's contract manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron had applied for a $6.64 billion (roughly Rs. 49,242 crores) scheme under the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) plan. Foxconn and Wistron are already producing iPhone models locally in the country, while Pegatron is in talks to kick off its local operations in South India later this year.

The iPhone SE (2020) was launched in India in April — alongside its global debut. It carries a starting price of Rs. 42,500 and comes in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options. The iPhone SE (2020) is powered by Apple's A13 SoC that's also available on the iPhone 11 series. Further, the new iPhone SE comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera and packs in a chassis that looks quite similar to the iPhone 8.

Is iPhone SE the ultimate 'affordable' iPhone for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.