Apple gives Tata India iPhone repair business as partnership expands, sources say
Apple
has brought in
Tata
Group to handle repairs for iPhones and MacBook devices in its fast-growing Indian market, signalling the Indian conglomerate's deepening role in the U.S. tech giant's supply chain, two people familiar with the matter said.
As Apple looks beyond China for manufacturing, Tata has fast emerged as its key supplier and already assembles iPhones for local and foreign markets at three facilities in south India, with one of them also making some iPhone components.
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 per cent market share, compared to just 1 per cent 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.
Apple and Wistron did not respond to requests for comment, while a spokesperson for Tata declined to comment.
While Apple's official service centres across India can do basic repairs, they would now ship phones and laptops to Tata's facility for more complex issues.
Wistron's ICT however will continue to service other clients excluding Apple, one of the sources said.
Amid an impending threat of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China, India is also emerging as a favoured destination for iPhone exports. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the bulk of iPhones sold in the United States during June quarter will be made at factories in India.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
12 minutes ago
- News18
US, Chinese officials to meet in London next week for new round of trade talks
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Washington, Jun 6 (AP) Senior US administration officials will meet with a Chinese delegation on Monday in London for the next round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, President Donald Trump said Friday. The meeting comes after a phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, which the US president described as a 'very positive" conversation as the two countries attempt to break an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the US side in the trade talks. 'The meeting should go very well," Trump wrote on his social media platform Friday afternoon. (AP) GSP
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
US, China to hold trade deal talks on June 9, says Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that representatives from his cabinet will meet with those of China in London June 9 to discuss a trade deal. In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump said, "I am pleased to announce that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will be meeting in London on Monday, June 9, 2025, with Representatives of China, with reference to the Trade Deal." The President said that "the meeting should go very well". The announcement comes just a day after Trump spoke to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of escalating trade tensions over his sweeping global tariffs and battle over critical minerals. Donald Trump had posted on social media that his one-and-a-half-hour-long phone call with Xi had a "positive conclusion". "There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products. Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined. We will be represented by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer," Trump had said. Earlier, the US President said that it was "extremely hard" to reach a deal with Xi as he ramped up his global trade war by doubling tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" he posted on his Truth Social platform. China has been at the centre of Trump's tariffs, with Beijing being slapped with 145 per cent levies on its goods. Beijing was prompted to hit back at the US with 125 per cent tariffs on its goods. On May 12, the two countries arrived at a 90-day deal to roll back some of the tit-for-tat tariffs they placed on each other since Trump's presidential inauguration in January. The US lowered its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 per cent to 30 per cent. In exchange, China dropped its levies on American goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent. However, the temporary deal did not address the wider concerns that strain China and the US' bilateral ties. From the illegal fentanyl trade to the status of a democratically governed Taiwan, and Washington's complaints about Beijing's dominant and export-driven economic model, none of these they said were addressed. Earlier this week, the Chinese Commerce Ministry had also accused the US of violating their recent trade deal by taking "multiple discriminatory restrictive measures against China". These measures included the recent AI chip export controls, halt of sales of chip design software to China and the revoking of visas of Chinese students in the US. (with inputs from agencies)
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
De Beers draws interest from billionaire Agarwal, Qatari funds, sources say
De Beers, currently being divested from Anglo American, has attracted interest from multiple consortia, including billionaire Anil Agarwal, Indian diamond firms like KGK Group and Kapu Gems, and Qatari investment funds. This move occurs amidst challenging global diamond prices as Anglo American shifts its focus to copper and iron ore. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Diamond giant De Beers has drawn interest from at least six consortia, including billionaire Anil Agarwal , Indian diamond firms and Qatari investment funds, sources close to the companies told Beers is being carved out of Anglo American as the London-listed miner refocuses on copper and iron ore but the move comes with global diamond prices under chairman of Vedanta Resources , which has mines in Zambia and South Africa, is among the interested parties, as part of a bigger group, two sources and Agarwal both declined to companies including KGK Group and Kapu Gems, which dominate the domestic cutting and polishing trade, and are De Beers's biggest customers, have also expressed an interest, two sources with knowledge of the matter Group and Kapu Gems did not respond to requests for American, whose book value for De Beers stands at $4.9 billion, following $3.5 billion in impairments over the last two years, said it has retained financial advisers Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Centerview to help with a sale or a demerger and potential listing.
