Reports are circulating Wednesday that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has asked suppliers to begin making some of its AirPods and Beats headphones in India as early as next year.
The talks mark the company’s latest attempt to lower the risk of supply chain disruptions in China due to Covid lockdowns and increased U.S.-China trade tensions.
Apple was reportedly in discussions in August to shift some of its Apple Watches, MacBooks and HomePods to Vietnam, and it announced in September that it is assembling some of its flagship iPhone 14 phones in India.
Apple still relies heavily on China for the majority of iPhone production.
Foxconn, one of Apple’s manufacturing partners, will make the Beats headphones in India and strive to make AirPods there in the future, according to the report. Luxshare Precision Industry, which produces Apple’s AirPods in Vietnam and China, will also help with AirPods production efforts in India.
Apple has been looking to increase sales in India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market. And though Apple’s shift to production in India was initially aimed at increasing sales, it is now treating the country more like a strategic production base, according to the report.
India will work to attract further investment by spending more than $30 billion on its electronics supply chain, Nikkei Asia said.
AAPL shares gave back a dollar to $145.10.
