iPhone SE 2: Apple halts production in India, inevitably impacting the release of its US$399 budget smartphone

While Foxconn stated last month that COVID-19 would not delay the production of the iPhone SE 2, India may have forced Apple's hand. Having put the country on lockdown until April 14, Apple can no longer use the Foxconn or Wistron factories based there.

According to Bloomberg, Foxconn "intends to resume" production in India when the country's government announces that it can do so. Hence, we would not rule a longer suspension of operations if India remains in lockdown beyond April 14.

Wistron has echoed Foxconn, although neither will confirm which products have been affected by the lockdown. Bloomberg claims that both companies mainly produce older iPhones in India, with emphasis on affordable devices like the iPhone SE and iPhone XR. The iPhone SE 2 would likely fall into this category too, with it rumoured to be launching at around US$399 (~Rs 30,046). By contrast, the iPhone XR starts at around Rs 48,900 on Amazon.in.

In short, do not be surprised if Apple does not announce the iPhone SE 2 for another few months yet. Expected to feature an A13 Bionic SoC, the iPhone SE 2 could well be delayed until markets stabilise.