Apple has commenced production of its newest flagship, the iPhone 17, at its largest-ever manufacturing plant in India. Operated by Foxconn near Bengaluru, this expansive facility marks a significant leap in India's role within Apple’s global supply chain.
Spanning nearly 300 acres, the plant initiated test production in April and is now fully operational with the iPhone 17 ramp-up. Though built to accommodate up to 100,000 workers, it currently employs around 25,000, a number expected to rise as operations expand. Remarkably, nearly 90% of the current workforce are young women, trained over the past four months to assemble the iPhone 17 models.
This factory eclipses other Apple suppliers in India in both scale and production value—outpacing installations like Tata Electronics, Pegatron, and Wistron. The site even includes worker accommodations—functioning almost like a mini township—with housing facilities for thousands of employees.
Beyond this flagship facility, iPhone 17 production extends across other Indian manufacturing units: Tata Electronics plants in Narsapura and Hosur, Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur factory, and the Tata-Pegatron plant in Tamil Nadu.
Thanks to these expanded capacities, India-made iPhones—including Pro and Pro Max models—will now roll out globally simultaneously with models from China, eliminating previous delays. This is a milestone for Apple's regional strategy and underscores India’s rising status as a production powerhouse.
Since the government launched the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones in 2021, Apple’s manufacturing ecosystem in India has flourished. During FY25, Apple vendors produced $22 billion worth of iPhones, with nearly 80% exported, showcasing the country’s increasing export capability. Over the first four years of the PLI scheme, production by Apple’s Indian vendors has crossed $45 billion, with $34 billion worth of exports.
With this new factory going live, Apple reinforces its commitment to “Make in India” and diversifies its global manufacturing beyond China. The swiftly expanding infrastructure and workforce signal India's transformation into an indispensable node in Apple’s global production network.
