The news about Apple"s "major shake-up" for the iPhone"s 20th anniversary has been circulating since early April. According to Bloomberg"s Mark Gurman, Apple is working on two iPhone models for the 20th anniversary in 2027. The first model is Apple"s long-awaited foldable iPhone, and the second model is said to be a glass-centric Pro variant.
However, moving iPhone production away from China and focusing on India as a new hub could significantly raise the price of anniversary iPhone models. As Gurman says, the 20th-anniversary models are "extraordinarily complex" since they require new parts and production techniques, which are hard to find outside China.
With the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports, the price of the iPhone"s 20th anniversary models could see a significant increase in the US market. Even before the announcement of these tariffs, the foldable iPhone was rumored to be priced at over $2,000.
Also, the cost of manufacturing iPhones in India is 5-10 percent more than in China. Meanwhile, Trump recently signaled a substantial tariff drop on China but added that it won"t be zero.
After the Donald Trump administration announced tariffs on almost every nation on the planet, Big Tech"s supply chain was severely hit as they mostly rely on overseas manufacturers. Among others, China"s imports to the US were susceptible to a 145 percent tax, with some products even hit with a whopping 245 percent tariff.
Ironically, China is the biggest producer of smartphones for brands like Apple, and imposing a hefty tariff on its imports could skyrocket the price of iPhones in the US. Thus, a slew of tech products were awarded an exemption, but that didn"t stop companies from shifting production away from China to countries like India, Vietnam, and Brazil.
Reuters recently reported that Apple is planning to ramp up its production in India to meet the demands of the US market. By 2027, the company aims to flood the US market with Indian-made iPhones, a move that could help it avoid paying hefty tariffs. Currently, Apple produces around 40 million iPhones in India annually for both local and international markets.