New iPhone plant starts production in southern India, another to begin shipments in May

A new plant making iPhones in southern India has started production and another will begin shipments in May, as Apple looks to boost manufacturing beyond its tariff-hit main manufacturing hub, China, sources said.

Apple is positioning India as an alternative manufacturing base to China as a trade war flares between Washington and Beijing, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s more than 100 per cent tariffs on China threatening supply chain disruptions and stoking fears of a rise in iPhone prices.