Apple in talks with Titan, Murugrappa Group to build iPhone camera: Report

Apple in talks with Titan, Murugrappa Group to build iPhone camera: Report

Apple is in final talks with Murugappa Group and Tata group’s Titan Company to put together, and maybe even produce, smaller parts for iPhone camera modules, reported The Economic Times.Â

If the discussions lead to a deal, it could mean a deeper network of Indian suppliers for Apple as it moves more of its operations from China.

Apple doesn’t have Indian suppliers for the camera modules used in its phones, even though many models are assembled in India.

“Teaming up with Titan or Murugappa Group could fix this problem,” said one of the sources quoted in the report.

“It’ll probably take about five to six months for Apple to decide which partner to go with,” another source said.

The camera module is a really important part to procure and one of the toughest challenges for Apple in India, another source mentioned in the report explained.

Titan excels at making precise parts for its watches and jewellery, while Murugappa Group, based in Chennai, has been around for over a century and its work spans across sectors such as engineering, financial services, and chemicals.

A report earlier this month said Apple wants to move at least half of its supply chain to India and is also looking to increase local contributions from suppliers by nearly 50% within the next three years.

There has been no official confirmation from Apple, Murugappa Group, and Titan on this matter.Â

Industry experts believe that Apple will probably begin by putting together the camera module in India.

“Starting with putting the module together is a good way to get more companies involved and build up the whole local supply chain — from the sensor to the lenses and everything,” one person with knowledge of the situation said.

They added that the US company is increasingly turning to local sources for products it struggles to obtain from its current suppliers.

Apple is trying to create a strong base in India by talking to Titan and Murugappa as both companies are really good at making really precise stuff.

The Murugappa Group acquired a 76% stake in Noida-based camera module maker Moshine Electronics in 2022 to expand its presence in the electronics and components industry. The Bengaluru-headquartered Titan Company owns Titan Engineering and Automation, which originally started as an in-house engineering department focused on manufacturing and designing high-precision components.

“Murugappa Group, especially after getting Moshine Electronics, is in a good spot. In the future, if they get a fab, they could make the sensor too,” said a source quoted in the report. They think Murugappa Group could do everything itself or work with Apple as part of its supply chain.

“Tata group (which owns Titan) could also start by putting together camera modules and parts and then maybe start making them in the fab,” they added.

Tata and Murugappa Group have both asked for government help to set up a chip-making place in India. Tata is also building a big chip place in Gujarat.

Normally, the sensor chips in a camera module are the biggest and most expensive part of a phone and its screen.

Martin Yang from Oppenheimer & Co told The Economic Times that Apple would either need to bring these in from other countries or start making them in India.

“For the sensors, Apple mostly gets them from Sony in Japan, Samsung in Korea, and Omnivision in China. These sensors are really special chips, and it’s really expensive for new companies to start making them,” said Yang as quoted in the report. .

Getting stuff locally could save Apple lots of money and mean it doesn’t have to rely so much on Chinese suppliers.

With the help of a special government scheme, Apple is pushing to make products in India. Some of the big companies it works with, like Foxconn, Pegatron, and now Tata Electronics (which has taken over Wistron), are already pretty big in India.

A report last year said Apple was talking to companies like India’s Aequs Group and a Taiwanese company called Rayprus Technologies, which makes camera and lens stuff, as well as Dixon Technologies, an Indian company that puts stuff together for other companies.

Rayprus is one of the top companies in the world that makes multi-camera stuff for phones and is one of the few that isn’t in China, experts say.

Another report said Apple wants to make nearly Rs 1 lakh crore worth of iPhones in India by March or the first quarter of next year, and most of these will be sent to other countries.

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