Apple Partners Tata For iPhone, MacBook Repairs In India: Report

Apple has reportedly partnered with Tata Group to handle iPhone and MacBook repairs in India, a move that underlines India’s growing importance in the tech giant’s global strategy.

A Reuters report, citing sources close to the matter, said that Tata will now take over after-sales repair operations from Wistron’s Indian subsidiary, ICT Service Management Solutions. 

The repairs, including advanced tasks like motherboard fixes and screen replacements, will be centralised at Tata’s Karnataka campus. This is the same facility that already assembles iPhones for both domestic consumption and export.

Responding to Inc42’s queries, Apple said that the company does not comment on speculations.

Inc42 has also reached out to Tata Group for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

This also comes on the back of Apple expanding its retail footprint in India by opening a new store in Mumbai’s Borivali. This will be the company’s fourth store in the country and its second in Mumbai, following the flagship outlet in Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Last month, it was reported that Tata Electronics was planning to double its production capacity at its Hosur facility from 50,000 iPhone enclosures to 100,000.

In April, reports surfaced that the production in Tata’s Hosur plant commenced operations, with Apple betting huge in expanding its manufacturing capacity in India, as it looks to shift its production base from China.

Additionally, its contract manufacturer Foxconn has been looking to double iPhone production to 25-30 Mn units at its India facilities in the ongoing calendar year. 

Notably, Tata and Foxconn units in India reportedly clocked record production in March, with the latter alone accounting for smartphone shipments worth $1.3 Bn.

In the March quarter (Q2), Apple’s revenue zoomed 5% year-on-year (YoY) to $95.4 Bn. iPhone sales contributed $46.8 Bn to its top line, while iPad and MacBook sales stood at $6.4 Bn and $7.9 Bn, respectively. 

Without specifying the sales figures made in India, CEO Tim Cook said that the company set a number of quarterly records in the country.