(Yicai) Aug. 6 -- Some base iPhone models and other hardware parts can be made in India, but the high-end models will be produced in China, Dan Ives, an analyst at leading advisory firm Wedbush Securities, told Yicai regarding a report that a partner of the US tech giant will assemble the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max in India.

Wedbush Securities' work throughout Asia shows that some diversification could happen in India and Vietnam and potentially worldwide, Ives said on Aug. 1. But the vast majority of Apple's production is cemented in China, he added.

Apple's main supplier Taipei-based Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, will produce the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models, Indian financial business website Moneycontrol reported at the end of last month, citing a source close to the matter.

Most of, if not all, iPhone 16 units will be produced in China and around the Asia supply chain, Ives noted. India will be used for some diversification, not necessarily for the iPhone 16, but potentially for other units and hardware parts, he said.

India is not at a point where Apple could solely rely on it in any form to make sure that the upcoming release cycle, which is very important, goes through smoothly, Ives pointed out.

The iPhone 16 series launch in the second half of this year is probably the most important for Apple from the perspective of its handset business in the last decade, Ives noted. So it is key that there are no issues from the supply chain, he said, adding that the heart and lungs of the firm's ecosystem are in China.

Apple is rethinking its plans to produce iPads in India due to multiple factors, such as government support, Moneycontrol reported early last month.

Apple has high hopes for India, so the country must begin to have the ability to produce iPads and even Macs, not just iPhones, according to Ives. This is just the beginning stage of a much broader plan in India, which once accounted for 3 percent of demand but can increase to 10 percent over the next two years, he noted.

Apple's production in India and Vietnam was more of a diversification strategy, but 95 percent to 98 percent of its supply chain stayed in China, according to Ives. The company performed well last quarter from a demand perspective, he added.

Apple will further expand its supply chain, Ives pointed out, noting that India will play an important role for the iPhone 16, but China will have the major part. China remains the backbone of its supply chain, he said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev