Apple is reportedly engaged in discussions with at least one partner to potentially manage iPhone chip assembly and packaging in India for the first time. Here are the specifics.
### Apple and India strengthen their manufacturing partnership
As reported by *The Economic Times*, Apple is in initial talks with CG Semi to assemble and package unspecified future iPhone chips. CG Semi, a semiconductor firm in India, has been establishing one of the nation’s first significant outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facilities.
It remains unclear which chip CG Semi would be tasked with assembling and packaging:
> “The companies are in the very preliminary stages of discussion,” one of [their sources] stated. “At this point, it is uncertain what chips will be packaged from the Sanand facility, but it is likely to be display chips.”
As *The Economic Times* points out, Apple’s iPhone OLED panels are procured from Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE. Simultaneously, its display driver integrated circuit (DDIC) is supplied by Samsung, Novatek, Himax, and LX Semicon, “which primarily rely on South Korean, Taiwanese, or China-based units for chip manufacturing and packaging.”
If this agreement is finalized, it would represent another advancement in Apple’s growing dependence on India, which has become the company’s main assembly hub as it diversifies away from China.
Notably, this week has been eventful for chip manufacturing developments in India, as Intel has recently formed a partnership with Tata Electronics. Here’s *The Economic Times*:
> According to the agreement dated December 8, the companies will investigate manufacturing and packaging of Intel products for domestic markets at Tata Electronics’ forthcoming fab and OSAT facilities. They indicated that they would explore collaboration for advanced packaging in India. Packaging is crucial in the chip industry as it safeguards internal components and enhances efficiency, among other aspects.
Be that as it may, these are reportedly just initial discussions. Even if the talks advance, one source mentioned to *The Economic Times* that this could represent “the start of a challenging journey” for CG Semi, considering Apple’s stringent quality standards:
> “Apple is already in discussions with multiple companies for various other supply chain roles, and very few will actually make it onto their supplier list,” the individual remarked.
CG Semi, for its part, has the support of the Indian government. The company’s ₹7,600 crore OSAT facility has backing from both central and state governments, as part of the India Semiconductor Mission, which seeks to position the country as a hub for semiconductor and display manufacturing.
Regardless of whether it’s an uphill climb, securing a deal with Apple would undoubtedly allow the Indian government and CG Semi to assert that this vision is progressing as planned.
