iPhone 15 models made in India will be sold on launch day for the first time

Apple CEO Tim Cook on a visit to India in 2016

Previously, even as India has stepped up manufacturing — Apple has already moved 7% of its iPhone production there — it was not making the newest models. For many years, India has produced older model iPhones and initially to sell locally, and therefore escape import fees.

More recently, it was reported that India had begun production of the iPhone 15, and done so mere weeks after China. Now according to Bloomberg, it is expected that Apple will sell Indian-made iPhone 15 models at launch.

Unspecified sources say that this is the aim, specifically that on global sales debut day, Indian-produced iPhone 15 models will be sold both in India and some other regions. It's not known which those other regions are, nor what the mix of iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models being made in India is.

Plus the sources also said that there could yet be slight delays because of what were described as unforeseen logistical bottlenecks.

Nonetheless, if any iPhone 15 models made in India are sold at launch, it will also be a milestone for Apple. The company has been moving away from over-reliance on China as a single source, particularly following production delays due to COVID, which significantly affected manufacturing of the iPhone 14 Pro.