In the search for alternatives to its main manufacturing country China, Apple is further strengthening India as a location.
The Americans and their suppliers have been expanding the huge market for mobile phones and computers with its growing middle class for several months.
They are helped by enormous subsidies from the government, which has also relaxed investment requirements for foreigners.
Now the start of production for the next generation of iPhones, Apple's most important product by far, is to begin shortly after the start of series production in China.
Christopher Hein
Business correspondent for South Asia/Pacific based in Singapore.
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Roland Lindner
Business correspondent in New York.
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As the news agency "Bloomberg" reported, the iPhone 14 is to be manufactured in India two months after China.
Originally there was even hope that the start of production could take place in both countries at the same time.
Nonetheless, production two months apart is evidence that Asia's third-largest economy is catching up quickly.
The value of the shares of the logistics company Redington, which has been commissioned to deliver in India, has meanwhile risen by a good 9 percent on the Mumbai (Bombay) stock exchange.
A billion market
Apple started iPhone production in India in 2017, initially with the iPhone SE model.
So far, India has lagged behind Apple's production launches in China by around six months to nine months.
In view of the complexity of the supply chains, the necessary training of employees and Indian customs clearance, the process is anything but trivial: Apple's contract manufacturer Foxconn has been checking for months whether and how components from factories in China can be reliably integrated into production outside the gates of the Auto Shipping Chennai City in South India.
The American managers have also not forgotten that since the start of the first Apple production in India there had been protests by the workers at the suppliers Foxconn and Wistron: workers went on strike at the time because of bad food and exploitation.
The risk that business and product secrets could become public in India continues to weigh at least as heavily for investors.
The well-known harsh Indian customs could already be a source for this.
Nevertheless, the Americans and their suppliers don't just want to open up an almost endless market of 1.4 billion people with India.
Like the entire industry, they are also looking for alternatives to China.
On the one hand, they fear a deterioration in the political climate between Beijing and Washington, which could result in further sanctions.
On the other hand, the country's closure during the corona pandemic also taught her that there are high risks on the "workbench of the world".
India, for its part, is trying to capitalize on these conflicts surrounding its major competitor in the north-east: New Delhi is campaigning for billions of dollars in initiatives to attract American computer and Internet companies.
The Southeast Asian location Vietnam is on a similar path: the economy there is threatened with overheating because more and more foreigners are pushing into the country on the Mekong to reduce their China risk.
Apple has also significantly expanded its production in Vietnam in recent years.
Just a few days ago, it was announced that the group also wants to have its Apple Watch digital watch and Macbook laptops manufactured here in the future.
The trial production for the Apple Watch has already begun.
Overall, Asia clearly remains the focus of Apple's production network.
The company has only one niche product manufactured in its American home market, the high-priced personal computer Mac Pro.
As in Asia, these computers are also built by a contract manufacturer, the plant is in Austin, Texas.
Apple has only one production facility in the world that is operated independently.
It is in Cork, Ireland.