Tata or Murugappa Group did not immediately comment on the reports….reports Asian Lite News
As Apple continues to minimise its dependence on China, the iPhone maker is increasing investments in India and is reportedly in advanced talks with Tata Group’s Titan Company and Murugappa Group to assemble sub-components for phone camera modules, giving an impetus to the “Make in India’ initiative and the country becoming an integral part of the global supply chain.
According to reports, there are currently no Indian suppliers for the iPhone’s camera module, which is a sophisticated piece of technology, and this move could reduce Apple’s dependence on Chinese suppliers.
Both Murugappa and Tata’s Titan have a solid background in high-precision manufacturing.
Both Titan and Murugappa have already qualified for government incentives under the PLI scheme to set up a chip assembly unit in the country.
Tata or Murugappa Group did not immediately comment on the reports.
Last year, Tata Group acquired Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Wistron’s India operations for $125 million. It is also reportedly eyeing to acquire Pegatron’s iPhone manufacturing facility near Chennai. Reports surfaced late last year that the Tata Group is planning to build one of India’s largest iPhone assembly plants in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of three semiconductor projects worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the country. The chip fabrication facility at the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat is being set up by Tata Electronics Private Limited with an investment of more than Rs 91,000 crore. The Tata Group is also setting up an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Assam with a total investment of about Rs 27,000 crore.
Meanwhile, Samsung clinched the top spot in the smartphone market from Apple in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, preliminary data from global research firm IDC said on Monday.
Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8 per cent (year-over-year) to 289.4 million units in the first quarter of 2024, according to the IDC, reports DPA news agency.
“While the industry is not completely out of the woods, as macroeconomic challenges remain in many markets, this marks the third consecutive quarter of shipment growth, a strong indicator that a recovery is well underway,” the report mentioned.
In the last quarter, Samsung sold 60.1 million smartphones and Apple 50.1 million of its iPhones.
That brings the market shares of the two biggest companies to 20.8 per cent and 17.3 per cent.
“As expected, smartphone recovery continues to move forward with market optimism slowly building among the top brands,” Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, said.
“While Apple managed to capture the top spot at the end of 2023, Samsung successfully reasserted itself as the leading smartphone provider in the first quarter,” he said.
China’s Xiaomi, Transsion and OPPO rounded out the top five companies.
“The smartphone market is emerging from the turbulence of the last two years both stronger and changed,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.
“Xiaomi is coming back strong from the large declines experienced over the past two years and Transsion is becoming a stable presence in the Top 5 with aggressive growth in international markets,” Popal said.
“In contrast, while the Top 2 players both saw negative growth in the first quarter, it seems Samsung is in a stronger position overall than they were in recent quarters.”
ALSO READ: Byju’s Rights Issue Gets Green Light
