Sources: Apple supplier Wistron to assemble key iPhone component at its plant in Bengaluru, highlighting its push to expand manufacturing in India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Taiwan's Wistron Corp plans to assemble printed circuit boards (PCBs) for iPhones at its new plant in southern India …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is a step up the value chain, not a new bet. Wistron's Bengaluru plant has been Apple's India beachhead since it began assembling the iPhone SE there in 2017 — final assembly of finished handsets. Adding printed circuit board production means component-level manufacturing, where more of the bill of materials is built locally rather than imported.
The move also lands mid-race: by mid-2020, Pegatron was setting up an Indian subsidiary, joining Foxconn and Wistron, so all three major iPhone assemblers now have a local footprint. PCB work at Wistron raises the bar for what 'manufacturing in India' means across that group.
First-order effects
- Wistron's Bengaluru plant shifts from final handset assembly toward higher-value PCB production for iPhones, deepening its role in Apple's supply chain beyond screwdriver-level work.
- Apple gains a locally sourced critical component in India, reducing dependence on imported PCBs for phones assembled there.
Second-order effects
- With Pegatron newly arrived and Foxconn already present, rivals must match Wistron's component-depth or remain positioned as pure final assemblers competing on thinner margins.
- Component suppliers feeding Wistron's PCB lines gain an Indian customer base, seeding a local electronics supply ecosystem around the assembler cluster.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — assembly first, then components — India's role in smartphone manufacturing migrates from tariff-driven final assembly toward genuine supply-chain depth, with the assembler trio's investment cadence setting the pace.
The trend: iPhone manufacturing in India is climbing from final assembly into component production, as Apple's three main assemblers — Foxconn, Wistron, and now Pegatron — build out local footprints.