Indians Make iPhone 10X Slower Than Chinese, Reveals Book By Journalist – Trak.in

Patrick McGee, former Apple correspondent for the Financial Times, takes a critical look at Apple’s India expansion in his latest book Apple In China. Though India has become a key iPhone assembly hub, McGee highlights how its growth still trails far behind China’s early performance.

Comparing The Numbers

Between 2016 and 2023, India’s iPhone output grew from zero to 15 million units, contributing about 7% to global shipments. In contrast, China jumped from zero to 153 million units in its first seven years (2006–2013)—ten times India’s current pace.

Even as India now assembles flagship iPhones and began making Pro models by 2024, McGee warns against equating scale with independence.

India’s Role Still Limited to FATP

Apple’s India operations are largely limited to Final Assembly, Test, and Pack (FATP). Most critical components are imported from China and assembled locally by partners like Wistron and Foxconn. McGee quotes an Apple engineer joking, iPhones are “assembled in China, disassembled there, and then sent to China for reassembly.”

This shows the deep dependence on China’s supply chain, which limits India’s strategic leverage.

India’s Delayed Takeoff

Although Apple opened its online store in India in 2020 and physical stores by 2023, it lagged 15 years behind China in retail presence. Apple began with entry-level iPhone SEs in India and gradually shifted to flagship production.

A major push began after the 2022 Shanghai lockdown, which prompted Apple to diversify away from China. Still, Tim Cook’s 2018 prediction that India could follow “a China-like trajectory” hasn’t fully materialized.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

McGee writes that India’s government was less eager than Beijing to relax rules. Early policies like the 30% local sourcing mandate slowed Apple’s progress. While some rules were eased in 2017, full supply chain maturity is still years away.

A former senior Apple engineer quoted in the book says the pace of development remains slow, and having dual assembly points in India and China adds complexity, not resilience.

Apple reportedly aims for India to become fully capable—but real supply chain independence may take 5–10 more years.

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