Apple's iPhone production in India is starting to feel the impact of geopolitical tensions between India and China, due to limitations in the issuances of entrance visas, the South China Morning Post reports.
India and China have been in a state of heightened tension following clashes at the border earlier last year. India has banned a number of Chinese apps, and is now issuing visas to Chinese nationals to enter the country at a slower pace than normal. According to people familiar with the situation, India has been at a near standstill with issuing visas for Chinese engineers, who are needed for Apple suppliers in the country to set up factories or get production underway.
It's important to note that countries around the world have beefed up border control measures amid the global health crisis. The South China Morning Post fails to address the health crisis as possibly being the reason that India has been slow to issue visas. Either way, however, India's tight border control does seem to be hindering production.
The news comes following reports this week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is set to announce a new PLI (performance-linked incentive) scheme to bolster the country's exports of IT products such as tablets, servers, and PCs. Apple's reportedly nudging the government to increase the scheme's budget as it hopes to begin iPad production in the country.
Apple suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron have already engaged with the Indian government on past schemes by increasing investment in the country and operating mass production lines for select models of the iPhone. This is all part of an overarching push by Apple to de-prioritize China as its main production hub, and instead move to countries such as India or Vietnam.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Thursday July 24, 2025 9:11 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone 17 series is expected to debut in September 2025. This release follows Apple's recent trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
To unveil the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is expected to hold its annual iPhone announcement event during the week of September 8, 2025, with September 9 or 10 emerging as the most likely...
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should launch in late September, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models, as of July 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models will have several new camera-related features, according to an anonymous tipster who contacted MacRumors today.
The tipster claimed to be familiar with an iPhone 17 Pro commercial that is allegedly being produced by a film company that has publicly listed Apple as one of its clients. MacRumors has not independently confirmed any of the information shared ...
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device.
Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable
5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2
Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
Earlier this month, MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to permanently close its Partridge Creek store, just outside of Detroit, Michigan, and now the company has announced a closure date for the location.
Apple Partridge Creek
Apple Partridge Creek's final day of business will be Saturday, August 16, with the store set to close for good at 8 p.m. local time that day. All of ...
While the focus is now on iOS 26, there is still an iOS 18.6 update incoming.
As noted by Aaron Zollo, Apple on Wednesday re-labeled iOS 18.6 Beta 4 as simply iOS 18.6, meaning that it is the Release Candidate version. This change effectively confirms that the update will be released to the public next week.
Alongside the new label, Apple shared release notes for iOS 18.6, which is a...
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September.
MacRumors concept
In a Macworld report this month, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models.
The report...
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models, as of July 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14...
[HEADING=2]Dhalsim vs. Chin-Li round 1 Fight?[/HEADING]
China hit its peak in 2016. Its on its way down. India, a more capitalist/demoratic based will eventually "out-china" china in the next 25 years. So my money is on India becoming the second super power by 2050 outpacing china by a BIG margin. Its kind of over for china. Growth is not really happening anymore and yes china pushed fake data and numbers to appear bigger than they really are. Its been like this for centuries.
Never get involved in a manufacturing war in Asia...or never go against a sichuanian when money is on the line...or something like that.
Lol you don't see all these companies exiting china in masses? Yes you can totally stomp on sichuahnian when it comes to money cuz next economy KING is india. Its kind of over for china, growth has slowed and its on its way down. India will outpace china by 2050 because they have a more capitalist/democratic system than china. There is a limit on how much growth china will have due to the government oppression/suppression and economy/market manipulation. China doesn't have monopoly on production....of COURSE you can go to war with them in manufacturing its a free system. Vietnam already produces 100% of Samsung's products which they exited china in 2008. 98% of china is still third world may I remind you.
I hope they limit the production in India to lower end models and not the flagships.
Apple will exit china completely in the next decade. I don't associate "flagship products" with china or india....but china feels a bit more cheap and poor so my vote is india.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.