The very first batch of Apple’s iPhones SE assembled in India is now officially available in select stores of Bengaluru. The news arrives from a report on Times of India, and as they state, the new boxes convey an imprint stating the following: “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in India.” The iPhone SE is more than a year old now and is still priced aggressively at Rs. 27,200 for the 32GB variant and Rs. 37,200 (which is Rs. 10,000 more) for the 128GB version. It’s not likely that an individual will be able to find these, on the authority of TOI, their sources claim retailers to possess only a few tens of units of the India assembled iPhone SEs. Come to think of it, it appears as if Apple is experimenting these for quality behind the curtains.
Rumors and announcements have previously claimed that Apple is to bestow a dedicated manufacturing or assembly plant in India, and recent reports also assert that Apple had already begun the production of their smartphone in the country – especially the iPhone SE, and have successfully performed their production quality examination. Additionally, Apple communicated to the Wall Street Journal that “it has begun initial production of a small number of iPhone SE handsets in Bangalore and will begin shipping the Indian-made devices to domestic customers this month,” which falls completely in-line with what we observe.
The California-based incorporation is also reported to launch its own online store in India by the end of this year, just like in the US and other countries. Furthermore, the report states that Apple will commence with the iPhone SE and will slowly extend the lineup as and when the assembling of other models springs.
