Your next iPhone may be manufactured in India

Apple is bringing its iPhone production to India partially thanks to the looming threats and impacts of the China-U.S. trade war.

Early in 2019, Apple’s high-end smartphones will start being assembled from a Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur, as first reported in The Hindu. While Foxconn, the Taiwanese company contracted by Apple to manufacture the iPhone, already makes phones in India, this will mark the first time the company has made iPhones in the country.

Foxconn will spend $365 million to expand the plant and may create as many as 25,000 new jobs in India according to an Industries Minister in the country speaking to Reuters. According to another source, the expansion will allow Apple to manufacture the more expensive models like the iPhone X line in the country.

It should be noted that it's currently unknown whether Foxconn is planning to move its existing iPhone assembly from China to India.

As the largest electronics contract maker in the world, Foxconn has factories around the globe including in the United States. However, the current trade war between the U.S. and China has played a major role in the company’s strategy going forward. Foxconn is currently looking into opening a production base in Vietnam in preparation for the impacts of the trade war.

While Apple has previously assembled some of its low-end iPhones like the SE and 6S in India, it's been through another contract manufacturing firm. This latest development with Foxconn could be a move by Apple to expand its mobile share in India, the world’s fastest growing smartphone market. The company has been hindered by Indian import taxes, making its already expensive iPhone X line even more costly in the country.