Following the removal of iPhone production from China, it appears that Apple is now focusing on iPad production. In order to diversify its supply chain, Apple is reportedly considering making some of its iPads in India.
The news was announced roughly two years after rumors that Apple was considering producing iPads in Vietnam also surfaced. Apple is taking this action in an effort to shift up to 30% of its manufacturing operations outside of China.
Amid ongoing trade disputes between China and the US and rising labor costs in China, Apple has been attempting to diversify its manufacturing for years.
iPad Plants Will Shift From China
Strict covid regulations more recently triggered nationwide demonstrations that last month compelled Apple to reduce the manufacturing of iPhone 14s there, causing shipping delays.
Moving to India may provide some challenges, according to CNBC. Obstacles could include a shortage of workers in India with expertise in producing complicated products like iPads and escalating territorial tensions between China and India. Apple also began producing the iPhone 14 in southern India earlier this year, shortly after its release. It was the first time a major smartphone release had been followed by the tech giant moving production from China to India so swiftly. According to experts, while slowly, iPhone production will rise in India over the coming years as well.
In the meantime, Nikkei Asia reported in August that Apple was considering for the first time moving manufacturing of its MacBooks and Apple wearables to Vietnam. That article claimed that Luxshare, an Apple supplier, had already begun trial manufacture of the gadgets in the nation.