Foxconn Looking to Produce High-End iPhone Models in India: Report

Foxconn is reportedly looking towards India as a possible base for assembling the high-end iPhone models, a report claimed Tuesday, citing people familiar with the development. The latest report comes less than a month after two separate reports had claimed the same, indicating that the Taiwanese contract manufacturer is indeed serious about expanding its Indian facilities. The company currently assembles smartphones for firms like Xiaomi in the country. With a trade war between China and United States not close to a proper resolution, more companies with manufacturing facilities in China and customers in the United States are looking to diversify their supply chains.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, Foxconn is mulling producing "higher-end, pricier" iPhone models in India, including models with OLED displays. The contract manufacturer is currently studying whether to include possible India expansion in its budget plans, noted the report citing an unnamed person familiar with Foxconn's plans. The company is also said to be considering Vietnam as it looks to diversify its manufacturing bases, but India has a better chance of seeing a Foxconn factory churning out new iPhone models thanks to its larger growth potential, the report added. A bigger local presence should also allow Apple to better target the market.

If Foxconn goes ahead with its plans to assemble high-end iPhone models in India, it is likely to help Apple in keeping the prices of its smartphones down in the country. Right now, the Indian government charges as much as 20 percent tariff on any phones imported from outside. After the increased tariffs over the last couple of years, several smartphone manufacturers have set up bases in the country to assemble phones. Expanded business in India will certainly help the Cupertino-based company is shedding the reliance over China for growth as the smartphone market has stagnated in most of the western countries.

Another Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron was recently reported to be considering expanding its India operations. In a filing on Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), the company has noted that it has increased the authorised capital of its Indian subsidiary to Rs. 3,000 crores for the same. Apple has been assembling a couple of its low-end iPhone models in India for some time now. Wistron has plant in Peenya industrial area of Bengaluru city, where the contract manufacturer assembles the iPhone SE ₹ 17,199 and iPhone 6S ₹ 27,999 units for the country.

Late last month, a report from Indian daily The Hindu had claimed that a Foxconn unit in Sriperumbudur, a town panchayat in Chennai Metropolitan Area, will start manufacturing iPhone models from 2019. The daily had cited a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami over the matter. Apparently, Foxconn has already created a separate manufacturing unit in its existing Sriperumbudur factory.

A report from news agency Reuters reiterated the Hindu report, citing its own source. It added that Foxconn will invest Rs. 25 billion ($356 million) to expand the Sriperumbudur plant.

Bell And Nokia Collaborate On 5G Mobile Technology

5G mobile data speeds will be come an industry standard within the mobile market in the next 5-7 years, as Bell and Nokia press forward with this new innovation in mobile connectivity.

The pair have recently completed a trial run of 5G mobile technology, which was conducted at Bell’s Wireless Innovation Centre located in Mississauga.

Bell’s Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President: Bell’s strategic focus on driving broadband network and service innovation has been key to our transformation into Canada’s wireless leader. The success of the first 5G trial means we are well positioned to lead the way to the next generation of mobile technology.

According to the press release “the trial leveraged spectrum in the 73 GHz range”.

At the forefront of mobile communications technology, Bell Canada which is one of the largest mobile Carrier in the country with a customer base of  8,716,789 subscribers, is working with companies around the world in bringing 5G mobile technology to end users.

Alex Giosa, Country Senior Officer, Canada, at Nokia: We have had a long and productive history with Bell, and look forward to our continued joint work and testing to discover what 5G technology can offer Bell’s Canadian subscribers.

It becomes more important to have faster and more reliable speeds as sectors in the automotive, broadcast, aviation, mobile and more… are manufacturing products with a higher level of connectivity not seen before.

5G is said to be more than 6 times faster than the industry standard 4G. While this technology has several more years before its roll out, consumers at least have an idea of what to expect in the next generation of mobile communications.

Let’s just hope the price for admission isn’t an arm and a leg when it comes to mobile data plans in this country as they already are. It’s well-known that Canadians still pay among the highest mobile rates in the industrialized world.

Nokia’s First Android Smartphones Will Be Big and Powerful

We all have been aware that Nokia could open the mobile floodgates from early 2017. And now, reports emerging suggest that Nokia is in no mood to play it safe. Instead one can expect a launch of high-end devices from the Finnish brand that will rank as big-size phones aka phablet.

The company is all set to make a smartphone comeback with two phones running on the new Android 7.0 Nougat by the end of this year.

The two unnamed devices will have premium metal designs complete with IP68 certification, which offers durability and assurance of being a water and dust resistant device.

The smartphones could get 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch QHD screens with fingerprint scanners, which has become quite the standard these days. And one can expect Nokia to continue its magic in the camera department with innovative sensors for high imaging quality.

In addition to this, users will get the features like split-screen mode, enhanced notifications and improved gaming, and possibility of integrating 3D Touch-like technology on the phones.

Nokia is going to have its task cut out in the Indian market, as they have the likes of Micromax, Xiaomi, and Motorola to contend with. The competition is feisty and the market is crowded, with a lot more challenges than ever before. Nokia must feel confident of the brand value it retains, but that surely can’t be taken for granted anymore.