Apple’s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partner Wistron (based from Taiwan) has started assembling and shipping the 4-inch iPhone SE model in India, according to this Bloomberg report. The devices are assembled by Wistron in its Peenya manufacturing plant in Bangalore, the report added. When MediaNama inquired Apple about the development, a spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics, but pointed out to a statement issued by the company in May 2017: “We are beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SE in Bengaluru. iPhone SE is the most popular and powerful phone with a four-inch display in the world and we’ll begin shipping to domestic customers this month.” A Wall Street Journal report in May had first carried the specific that Taiwan-based Wistron was chosen by Apple to assemble devices in Bangalore. As per Wistron’s website, it mentions that it has a “Service Center” in Bangalore. WSJ’s Newley Purnell and ITNET Infocom, a mobile phone distributor based in Kerala put out tweets confirming that the device has already hit the shelves. Currently, Apple is selling iPhone SE (32GB) for an MRP price of Rs 27,200, as per the tweets. https://twitter.com/itnetinfocom/status/879353628703707136 Why only iPhone SE? The spokesperson declined to comment when MediaNama inquired whether Apple is considering assembling other devices/models. There are two reasons as to why we think Apple is limiting itself to iPhone SE assembly in India: 1) iPhone 4s kept selling in India like ‘hot cakes’ : Since Apple hit the $1 billion sales mark in India…
