Apple supplier Foxconn has been awarded the contract to produce AirPods for the first time, it is now reported.
The Taiwanese contract manufacturer plans to build a factory in India to produce the popular Apple earphones. reported now Reuters. This underscores the efforts of the important Apple supplier to diversify production away from China. According to the report's sources, Foxconn will invest more than $200 million in a new AirPods assembly plant in the southern Indian state of Telangana. Construction of the factory is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year and production will begin in late 2024 at the earliest. Foxconn discussed assembling AirPods internally for months because of the relatively low profit margins, but ultimately decided to do so in order to strengthen its "commitment" to Apple.
Which AirPods models will Foxconn produce?
The decision to set up production in India was requested by Apple, a source told the report. In addition to the Telangana plant, Foxconn is reportedly planning further investments in India to produce smartphones, electric vehicles and semiconductors. It is unclear which AirPods model or models fall under Foxconn's order. It is very likely that they will have a USB-C port instead of the Lightning port, as Apple is rumored to be planning to launch iPhone 15 models with a USB-C port instead of the Lightning port in 2023. Following this, the entire range of accessories is also expected to be switched over. (Photo by Masarik / Bigstockphoto)
