Apple starts assembling iPhone 14 in Brazil

Apple started assembling iPhone 14 smartphones in Brazil writes Resource 9to5Mac citing a message from one of the readers of the Brazilian blog MacMagazine, who recently bought an iPhone 14 128GB model with the inscription BR / A and the inscription on the box Assembled in Brazil (assembled in Brazil).

9to5Mac suggested that only the base model of the iPhone 14 is currently being produced in Brazil, as no readers have yet reported purchasing an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Plus with ID BR/A. Apple smartphones shipped to Brazil from China are marked with BZ/A or BE/A, technewsspace.com reports.

Apple has previously assembled iPhones in Brazil. The iPhone 13 was produced here last year, and the iPhone SE is also made in Brazil, as the company is trying to assemble cheaper models in the country due to local taxation. Import duties are very high in Brazil on a specific list of products that includes almost all Apple devices. A 128GB iPhone 14 shipped from abroad costs 7,599 reais (about US$1,520) here, while the same locally produced model costs about 5,000 reais (about US$1,000).

While China still accounts for the majority of Apple’s production, the company has sought to diversify with other countries in recent years as tensions between Washington and Beijing and China’s COVID-19 restrictions mount.

Even if iPhone assembly in Brazil only focuses on the local market, it will avoid a shortage of Apple smartphones in the country. It is also reported that this year Apple plans to start assembling the iPhone 15 simultaneously in China and India.