From making parts to the final assembly; Get to know the iPhone production process

Apple sells almost one billion iPhones every year, and the market share of these phones reaches 20% of the entire global mobile market. In the meantime, the question that arises for users is in which countries are the iPhone and its parts made and how do they reach the users? We will discuss this issue further.
Buying an iPhone from SafirSoftWhere do iPhone parts come from?
Although the final assembly of most iPhones takes place in China, the parts Inside these phones are made in different countries. For example, the iPhone screen is produced by Samsung or LG in South Korea. Flash memory and DRAM are mainly provided to Apple by the Japanese company Kioxia. Also, Gorilla Glass protective glasses, which are responsible for protecting the screen, are produced in Corning factories in America, Taiwan or Japan. Even though Apple designs A series chips, they are made in TSMC factories in Taiwan. Meanwhile, we should mention that there are hundreds of other parts in every iPhone.
Some of these parts They are supplied by very large companies such as Broadcom and Texas Instruments, and others are the product of smaller companies in Asia. In the meantime, even Apple has tried to buy raw cobalt directly from different mines in order not to face a shortage of this material for making batteries. It is very important. Apple, like other Silicon Valley giants, has been accused of using child labor and unethical methods to manufacture and supply parts for its products in order to cut costs.
In which countries are iPhones assembled?
Until a few years ago, all iPhones were made in China, but now the situation It's a little more complicated. However, the reality is that a large portion of iPhones are still assembled in China. The largest iPhone production factory complex belongs to Foxconn, which employs more than 300,000 people. In general, it is considered a small city where several giant factories are located. In this complex, workers produce more than half a million iPhones daily. Of course, due to the fact that Apple is paying more attention to factories in Vietnam and India, the production capacity of this collection in China will probably decrease.
Apple, along with companies such as Samsung and Xiaomi, has decided to become part of the product lines. move to other Asian countries. With this, the reliance of these companies on one country will decrease and they will benefit from more bargaining power. Vietnam and India offer significant services and benefits for foreign companies to establish new factories, and this has increased their attractiveness.
Why does Apple use Vietnamese factories to produce iPhones?
Vietnam has a strategic position in terms of global transportation. And because of its proximity to countries like China, Taiwan and Japan, it benefits from an important advantage. Almost all of Vietnam's economy is based on exports; From agricultural products and clothing to electronics. According to published reports, Apple will produce a part of AirPods headphones in Vietnam from 2020, and now the company plans to transfer a large part of the iPad, MacBook and Apple Watch production lines to this country.
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Why is India so important to Apple?
In 2020, the Indian government unveiled a $6 billion plan to give electronics manufacturers more incentive to build factories in the country. find a country Currently, companies like Oppo, Xiaomi and Samsung manufacture a significant part of their phones in Indian factories. Some of these factories are built directly by these companies and the other part is the result of the cooperation of the brands in question with Indian companies.
According to the success of these brands, Apple has finally decided to make this move. . The Chinese company Foxconn, which is Apple's most important partner, has a large presence in India, and some Indian companies active in this field are Foxconn's subsidiaries.
Apple's decision to move its assembly lines to India can also contribute to increase the iPhone market in this region. Currently, India imposes a 22% customs duty on imported smartphones. This makes the iPhone significantly more expensive in this country than in most western markets.
With However, with domestic production, Apple can avoid these high costs Imports are ignored, and as a result, the final product reaches users at a lower price. In fact, the company has already followed this strategy with the previous generation iPhone models that it currently assembles in the country. Even though the latest iPhone sells for a significant price in India, older models often fetch significant discountsdue to the aforementioned tax breaks.
This year, for the first time, Apple is manufacturing current-generation models in India. iPhone means iPhone 14. Of course, it is said that only 5% of iPhone 14's production capacity takes place in India, and therefore Indian factories do not play a very important role for Apple.
In which countries will the iPhone be produced in the future? strong>
Although Apple is trying to move a larger part of its production lines outside of China, ultimately the key part of the country's product manufacturing infrastructure is located in China. Of course, due to the extensive efforts of countries such as Vietnam and India, China's key role in the supply chain will decrease even more in the coming years, but in any case, this will be in Apple's favor, and by creating competition between factories, it can reduce the costs of manufacturing its products.
According to the estimates, Apple plans to use about 25% of the capacity by 2025. to transfer iPhone production to India, and by this year, approximately 65% of AirPods headphones will be produced in Vietnamese factories. Therefore, we cannot say with certainty which countries will play a more important role in iPhone production in the future. But in any case, in the next 10 years, the countries of Vietnam and India can take a significant part of China's market share in the supply chain of phones, and this is bad news for the Chinese economy.
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Source: Android Authority