Apple AirPods with Spatial Audio
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Apple has asked suppliers to begin making some of its AirPods and Beats headphones in India as early as next year, according to a Nikkei Asia report Wednesday.
The talks mark the company’s latest attempt to lower the risk of supply chain disruptions in China due to Covid lockdowns and increased U.S.-China trade tensions. Apple was reportedly in discussions in August to shift some of its Apple Watches, MacBooks and HomePods to Vietnam, and it announced in September it is assembling some of its flagship iPhone 14 phones in India.
Apple still relies heavily on China for the majority of iPhone production.
Foxconn, one of Apple’s manufacturing partners, will make the Beats headphones in India and strive to produce AirPods there in the future, according to the report. Luxshare Precision Industry, which makes Apple’s AirPods in Vietnam and China, will also help with AirPods production efforts in India.
Apple has been looking to increase sales in India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market. And though the company’s shift to production in India was initially aimed at increasing sales, it is now treating the country more like a strategic production base, according to the report.
India will work to attract further investment by spending more than $30 billion on its electronics supply chain, Nikkei Asia said.
An Apple representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.