Apple has been scrambling to try and get around the tariffs President Donald Trump has tried to institute.
It comes as no surprise that the tariffs could have a big impact on the price of an iPhone. An iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1 TB of storage could easily cost more than $2,000, while manufacturing an iPhone in the U.S. could push the price of the phone to more than $3,000.
It’s for that reason that Apple is reportedly planning on moving the production of its iPhone to India by the end of next year, according to Bloomberg.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the move.
So far, Apple reportedly produces 40 million iPhones in India, and this move would double that amount. Currently, one in five iPhones is made in India. Foxconn is handling the production of the iPhones and is developing a $2.5 billion factory with more than 13 million square feet near Bengaluru, India, nicknamed “Project Elephant.”
Foxconn’s Devanahalli PlantTotal built up area: 9.26 million sq.ft#foxconn #bengaluru #bangalore pic.twitter.com/Tl2s12iaT2August 14, 2024
The race to avoid tariffs.
While Apple initially began moving production away from China back in 2022 due to harsh COVID-19 lockdowns in the country, the company has been making a mad dash to change production locations for many of its products.
The iPhone 16e, its low-budget phone, is already being produced in Brazil. Both India and Brazil have a minimal 10% tariff on goods under Trump’s policy for all countries.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), maker of Apple Silicon, has already begun chip production in Arizona as a way to avoid dealing with potential tariffs. However, that move may still lead to a price increase due to the higher costs of manufacturing in the U.S.
Back in February, Apple announced it was investing $500 billion into the U.S., which included a new campus and more server factories in Texas. The factory would be where it will house its Apple Intelligence operations.
Apple saw more than $600 billion of its market value lost when Trump announced his tariffs on April 2. Fortunately for the iPhone maker, the president instituted a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries. There was also an exception to the tariffs made for certain products that Apple produces – smartphones, computers, and laptops – that went into effect on April 11. This move was reportedly a result of a call Apple CEO Tim Cook had with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Trump, however, insists that there were no exemptions being made and that the tariffs would come back.
