In a boost to the manufacturing sector in the country, Apple is expected to manufacture the first iPhone 17 smartphone in India for the first time, ditching the tech giant's favourite manufacturing destination China, said noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The analyst noted that the iPhone 17 is likely to be launched in 2025 and production of the smartphone in India is expected to begin in 2024.

iPhone 15's make in India status further diversifies Apple's supply chain

In a post on Medium, Ming-Chi Kuo noted that this will be the first time that Apple will begin development of a new iPhone model outside of China, and that the standard iPhone model was chosen for this endeavour due to its lower design development difficulty, which can help reduce "design risk".

iPhone shipments from India, which will account for around 12-14% in 2023, are expected to account for 20-25% of iPhone production capacity in 2024.

In addition, Kuo says that Foxconn's Zhengzhou and Taiyuan factories are likely to see production decline by 35-40% and 75-80% respectively in 2024.

Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group owns about 75-80% of the capacity used to make the iPhone in India. Notably, the Tata Group will soon produce India's first home-grown iPhone after Wistron Corp approved the sale of an assembly plant near Bengaluru.

Kuo says Apple is looking to strengthen its partnership with the Indian government, which can benefit the company in the future with sales of iPhones and other products in the country, driving growth for the Cupertino-based tech giant over the next decade.

For the first time, Apple's various manufacturing partners had started manufacturing the company's latest iPhone 15 series in India, demonstrating the company's increasing priority for India. However, if this latest report proves to be true, Apple could end up favouring its Indian manufacturers even more.