As was anticipated by earlier reports, Apple has started rolling out the very first batch of its ‘Assembled in India’ iPhone SE units to select retailers in Bengaluru, The Times of India reported.
Assembled by Wistron at its facility in the city, the back of these iPhone SE devices signify their origin with the text “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in India.”
As per the report, the Wistron facility has assembled and shipped out a few thousand units of the handset. However, retailers in the city seem to be extremely short on supply, as they only claim to have a "few tens of units" of the 'Assembled in India' iPhones.
Interestingly, the units assembled in India also come with a higher price tag than the ones assembled in China; while the 32GB iPhone SE variant that’s available across the country and is assembled in China costs ₹23,499, the new batch of India-assembled devices are launching at ₹27,200, with the 128GB variant at ₹37,200.
Wistron CEO Robert Hwang said earlier this month that the OEM was being “very aggressive in expanding [its] presence in India in addition to smartphone business,” adding that he expects the company’s smartphone business in India to break even next year.
Hwang also added that the number of smartphones the manufacturer assembles for Apple in India would depend on the conclusion of Apple’s negotiations with the Indian government regarding additional tax duty rebates. That’s especially noteworthy considering the country will be implementing a massive tax reform on July 1, dubbed as its biggest since its independence.
India is the third country to locally manufacture or assemble iPhones, but Apple has had a history of pricing blunders in the country. In 2014, the company tried to cushion its falling Indian market share by relaunching the iPhone 4, but the pricing ended up disappointing consumers. Hopefully, the iPhone SE won't share the same fate.
Source: The Times of India
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