When it comes to sophisticated technology, Apple iPhones always stay in the news for innovations it has to offer. The design of the iPhone has a minimalistic approach and never falls short of creating hype before dropping a new model in the market.
In this article, we will glance at the process behind where iPhones are made. Also, we will discuss where Apple sources the components and how the assembly line functions.
Where Are iPhone Components Sourced From?
Normally, while getting a new iPhone and unboxing it, we see the famous “Designed by Apple in California” declaration on the box. On the other hand, some of the components are sourced in the US, while assembling happens mostly in China.
iPhone utilizes up to 178 components which come from different parts of the world. Sony makes the cameras for iPhones. The glass for the display comes from the brand Corning. It is from the US and also has operations in India, Japan, Turnekye, Denmark, and Australia.
Germany’s Bosch Sensortech provides the accelerometer and the gyroscope is designed by STMicroelectronics. These companies operate from the U.S., UAE, China, and South Africa. The chipsets that power the iPhones are made by TSMC, which is based in Taiwan.
Samsung supplies the battery for the iPhones, which is the erstwhile business rival of Apple. Sometimes, the batteries also come from the Chinese firm Sunwoda Electric.
The touch-screen controller and the Wi-Fi chip are made by Broadcom and Murata. These firms are based in the US but operate from other regions as well, such as Thailand, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and Finland.
1. Apple iPhone Assembly Line Explained
Then, in the Foxconn assembly line in China(most iPhones), the iPhone units are procured. It is interesting to note that China is often thought of as a market for low labor costs. That’s the reason it is believed that electronic devices are mostly manufactured in China.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has a different statement to share. Tim says China has a better skill set to offer that is quite useful for the mass production of iPhones in the long run. When it comes to a reliable assembly line with perfect quality management, the skillset of China is always at the forefront.
2. The Journey from the Assembly Line to the Consumers
While the iPhone components are manufactured all over the world, the majority of assembling is carried out in Zhengzhou, China. The assembling responsibility is managed by Foxconn and Pegatron.
The Zhengzhou production facility of Foxconn can churn out 500,000 iPhones per day. They have around 350,000 employees working in the assembly line.
Apple has teamed up with FedEx and UPS to ship its iPhones worldwide. In different countries, the respective dealerships and resellers sell it to customers from their physical stores or through their online portals.
3. Challenges of Quality Control for iPhone Components Made in India
Made in India iPhone has always stirred discussions among Indian Apple enthusiasts. Given how costly iPhones are in India, there have always been debates on whether Indian-made iPhones could lower the pricing of the flagship smartphones from Apple.
Interestingly, in India, Apple iPhone casings are manufactured. It is procured in a facility in Hosur and is managed by the renowned Indian business group Tata.
As per this report, the quality control of the produce is, however, not up to the mark if we compare it to the likes of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou production unit, but there is a consistent effort to improve quality.
How to Find Out What Country Your iPhone Was Manufactured in?
Did you ever wonder about the iPhone that you hold in your hands, in which country it was manufactured? There is an easy way to know the country where an iPhone was assembled.
- Open the Settings app > tap on General > About.
- Under the About section, scroll to the model number.
- Carefully note the two letters before the slash in the model number.
Those two letters represent the country of manufacture of an iPhone. Check out the table providing country codes and the respective country that denotes the place of manufacture of your Apple iPhone.
Country Code to Know iPhone Manufacturing Region
| Code | Country |
| A | Canada |
| AB | Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE |
| B | Ireland, UK |
| BG | Bulgaria |
| BR | Brazil (Assembled in Brazil) |
| BT | UK |
| BZ | Brazil (Assembled in China) |
| C, CL | Canada |
| CH | China |
| CI | Paraguay |
| CM | Croatia, Hungary |
| CR | Croatia |
| CS | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
| CN | Slovakia |
| CZ | Czech Republic |
| D, DM | Germany |
| DN | Austria, Germany, Netherlands |
| E | Mexico |
| EE | Estonia |
| EL | Estonia, Latvia |
| ER | Ireland |
| ET | Estonia |
| F | France |
| FB | France, Luxembourg |
| FD | Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland |
| FS | Finland |
| GB | Greece |
| GH | Hungary |
| GP | Portugal |
| GR | Greece |
| HB | Israel |
| HC | Hungary, Bulgaria |
| HN | India |
| IP | Italy |
| J, JP | Japan |
| IP | Italy, Portugal |
| ID | Indonesia |
| K | Sweden |
| KH | China, South Korea |
| KN | Denmark, Norway |
| KS | Finland, Sweden |
| LA | Barbados, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico |
| LE | Argentina |
| LL | United States |
| LP | Poland |
| LT | Lithuania |
| LV | Latvia |
| LZ | Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay |
| MG | Hungary |
| MM | Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro |
| MY | Malaysia |
| ND | Netherlands |
| NF | Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal |
| PK | Poland, Finland |
| PL, PM | Poland |
| PO | Portugal |
| PP | Republic of the Philippines |
| PY | Spain |
| QB | Russia |
| QN | Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden |
| QL | Italy, Portugal, Spain |
| RO | Romania |
| RP | Russia |
| RR | Moldova, Russia |
| RS, RU | Russia |
| RM | Kazakhstan, Russia |
| RK | Kazakhstan |
| SE | Serbia |
| SL | Slovakia |
| SO | South Africa |
| SU | Ukraine |
| T | Italy |
| TA | Taiwan |
| TH | Thailand |
| TU | Turkey |
| TY | Italy |
| VN | Vietnam |
| X | Australia, New Zealand |
| Y | Spain |
| ZA | Singapore |
| ZD | Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Switzerland |
| ZG | Denmark |
| ZO | UK |
| ZP | Hong Kong, Macau |
| ZQ | Jamaica |
How Many iPhones Have Been Launched To Date?
The prototyping of the iPhone began way back in 2004. Back in the day, the project was dubbed Project Purple. It took 3 long years for the first iPhone to surface in public view.
As of now, Apple has launched 29 different models of the iPhone worldwide. Back in 2021, Apple generated a whopping $365 billion of revenue, of which 52% of returns was made from selling around 240 million iPhones, according to this report.
If that was not enough, in 2022, Apple sold an astronomical 2.2 billion iPhones worldwide. iPhones remain the most popular and most-selling mobile device in the world. A major chunk of iPhone consumers are young adults and Apple has 124.7 million loyal customers in the USA.
Expectations from Apple in the Fall of 2023
Speculations and iPhones always go hand-in-hand. Each year when it’s the time for the release of new iPhones in the fall, there are several spec leaks, price reveals, and iPhone picture disclosures happening religiously.
For the fall of 2023, regarding the launch of the iPhone 15 series, we can expect similar hype and expectations from Apple enthusiasts. There are rumors about foldable iPhones, notch-less iPhones, periscope cameras, and an iPhone SE model without touch ID.
Apple iPhones are popular for their high-end camera but mostly on the flagship models. However, in the fall of 2023, Apple may introduce powerful camera upgrades on budget iPhones.
Wrapping Up
I hope you found this article on “Where are iPhones made” informative. It is always fascinating to know the origins of the iPhone that you use and all that tech prowess that goes into manufacturing it. It is much more than just “designed in California”.
