Even though Apple is working to shift its iPhone production to India, it’s 20th anniversary iPhone models will be assembled in China, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
Gurman’s comments come in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter. He says the new iPhone models are “extraordinarily complex” and will involve “new parts and production techniques” that can best be supported by Apple’s well-established manufacturing hubs in China. Gurman says the plants and their employees have the experience and infrastructure required for meeting the advanced engineering challenges the anniversary iPhone models will likely present.
Apple is planning a “major shake-up” for the 2027 iPhone lineup to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of the original iPhone. Gurman has previously said Apple will mark the iPhone’s 20th birthday by debuting a foldable iPhone, as well as a “bold” new iPhone design that makes greater use of glass.
Apple is reportedly making an effort to move much of its iPhone assembly outside of China. The Financial Times last week reported that Apple has plans to assemble all iPhones to be sold in the U.S. in India by the end of 2026. The move is to blunt the effect of escalating trade tenstions between the U.S. and China.
However, Gurman says Apple doesn’t want to take the risk of making the 20th anniversary iPhone outside of China. The company has never release the fist cycle of a major new product from outside of China, and Apple is unlikely to change that for the iPhone’s 20th birthday.
