According to a new report, Apple’s iPhone 16 could be cheaper than previous models when it launches next month.
The price cut comes as the tech giant has shifted some of the production of its high-end models to India, which could reduce costs for locals by as much as 10 percent.
However, due to relatively low demand for iPhones in Asian countries, these cheaper models are likely to be exported to buyers in other countries, including the United States, at lower costs, the report said.
The starting price of the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to be $1,099, and the cost of the Pro Max is expected to start at around $1,200.
Apple is shifting its iPhone production to India, which could lead to a price drop of up to 10 percent for the 16 series
Apple has ramped up production of its Pro iPhone 16 models in India for the first time since the company began shifting manufacturing to the country from China in 2022.
Foxconn, the company’s main supplier, has started training thousands of workers at its Tamil Nadu plant to ramp up production of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max in time for their global launch.
iPhones have always not been manufactured in India, leaving the country’s residents with no choice but to buy the latest model abroad and pay higher prices for it.
Apple has to pay 22 percent customs duty and a 10 percent surcharge on the basic fee for importing the devices, which forces the company to set the price in the country significantly higher.
But by assembling the devices locally, Apple reportedly wants to reduce the price of the latest iPhone in India, where the average price is $1,550, by up to 10 percent.
“Manufacturing the Pro models in India will increasingly encourage customers to buy the devices locally rather than abroad as the price gap narrows,” Sanyam Chaurasia, an analyst at research firm Canalys, told Bloomberg.
“Multiple financing options will lead to higher domestic sales for Apple, especially during the holiday season.”
The iPhone 16 is set to launch next month, and the planned assembly in India will mark the first time the Pro models will be manufactured outside of China.
Although Apple has been assembling its iPhones in India since 2018, this is the first time the company has produced its iPhone Pro models outside of China.
Other Apple partners such as Pegatron and the Tata Group are also expected to begin assembling the iPhone 16 Pro models in India shortly after the market launch.
India’s production is still only a small fraction of China’s, but Apple reportedly hopes to increase production to 25 percent by next year.
Meanwhile, an anonymous source told the Economic Times that Apple might even produce the iPhone 17 exclusively in India.
The move came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced financial incentives worth $28 billion in subsidies to encourage companies to start manufacturing their products in the country.
The Prime Minister said that companies should focus on “design in India, design for the world” and urged them to create products that can serve both the international and domestic markets.
“India is known for its best quality. Now we need to focus on designing in India for the world,” Modi said, according to Business Standard.
“We must try to ensure that the Indian standard becomes the international standard.”
“This will depend on the quality of our production, our service and our approach,” he continued.
“The day is not far off when India will become the centre of industrial manufacturing and the eyes of the world will be on it.”
