Apple has enlisted Tata Group to manage repairs for iPhones and MacBooks in India, a rapidly expanding market, highlighting the Indian conglomerate’s growing role in Apple’s supply chain, according to two informed sources. As Apple belatedly diversifies manufacturing away from China, Tata has become a key supplier, assembling iPhones for domestic and international markets at three facilities in southern India, one of which also produces certain iPhone components.
Reuters:
In its latest partnership expansion, Tata is taking over the mandate from an Indian unit of Taiwan’s Wistron, ICT Service Management Solutions, and will carry out such after-sales repairs from its Karnataka iPhone assembly campus, both sources said.
The market for repairs is only going to boom in India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market, as iPhone sales skyrocket. Counterpoint Research estimates around 11 million iPhones were sold in India last year, giving Apple a 7% market share, compared to just 1% in 2020.
The latest contract award signals Apple’s growing confidence on Tata as it hopes to win more business from the world’s most valuable smartphone company.
“Tata’s deepening partnership with Apple could also pave the groundwork for Apple directly selling refurbished devices in India, like how it does in the United States currently,” said Prabhu Ram, a vice president at Cybermedia Research.
The takeover from ICT by Tata is currently ongoing, both sources said, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
MacDailyNews Take: Congratulations, Tata and users of Apple devices in India!
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