Apple Starts iPhone 15 Trial Production in China; India Production Could Start Early

Apple has reportedly started trial production of the iPhone 15 in China, with the company looking to accelerate the timeline of production in India as well. This indicates that the launch of the iPhone 15 is on track, and will likely be unveiled in the third quarter of 2023, possibly in September.

Apple has begun the New Product Introduction process for the iPhone 15 series in China. The process usually takes place in the first quarter of each year, so that Apple has time to figure out how the production process will go once the design is finalized.

Foxconn Ready With The iPhone 15

Apple makes the lion's share of its iPhones with Foxconn every year. Now, according to a report in China, Foxconn has started the trial production process of the iPhone 15 range of phones. This is a crucial stage, the report states, with the aim to iron out any issues between the supply chain parties during the actual production process.

This also includes finetuning the process and testing new machines, checking the quality testing process.

India May Start iPhone 15 Production Early

India has been featured heavily in Apple's plans for its planned expansion to diversify away from China. The report claims Apple is planning to cut down the gap between the production timelines in China and India.

Presently, iPhone production kicks off six to nine months before India. The gap is set to come closer this year as Apple starts working with local partners for sourcing components.

Apple plans to shift 5% of iPhone production to India, with Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron already manufacturing the bulk of the domestic supply, as well as exports. The manufacturing presence will get deeper as Indian companies like the Tata Group venture into iPhone production. Vedanta also has plans to manufacture iPhones for Apple.

iPhone 15 Rumours

While there's still time for the iPhone 15 to launch, early rumors suggest Apple will bring the Dynamic Island to the base models this year, while the Pro variants will sport the 3nm Apple A17 Bionic. However, the biggest change will likely be the shift to a USB-C port for charging, as the mandate to adopt the universal port by the European Commission comes into effect next year.