Apple to start making AirPods in India for first time

Beginning early next year, Apple will start manufacturing AirPods in India for the first time. 

According to a report in Bloomberg, Taiwan-based Foxconn will start manufacturing the wireless earphones at a factory near Hyderabad in Telangana from early 2025.

The device is already being made on a trial basis at the factory. 

Apple already outsources the manufacturing of iPhones to India, where they are being made since 2017 at several plants in collaboration with Foxconn, Tata, and Pegatron. 

The decision to expand production to AirPods comes after intense internal debates at Foxconn, which was apprehensive about whether to assemble the low profit margin device in the country.

The step is only one of the several taken in the past by Apple to reduce its reliance on China considering the country's rising tensions with the US.

In 2023, Apple supplier Jabil began manufacturing AirPods enclosures in India for shipping to China and Vietnam, where the earphones are currently assembled. 

According to Bloomberg, exports of Apple iPhones from India jumped by a third in the six months through September, reaching nearly $6 billion. 

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