Apple begins selling iPhone 4 units built in Brazil

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014


Apple has begun selling 8-gigabyte iPhone 4 models manufactured in Brazil to customers in that country, though prices on the units remain unchanged.



Evidence that Foxconn was set to begin assembling iPhone 4 models in Brazil surfaced last October before the iPhone 4S was unveiled, with a new model codenamed "N90A" captured in a picture. But a "made in Brazil" iPhone 4 never actually surfaced in the wild until recently.



One of the first Brazil-manufactured iPhone 4 models was discovered by Portuguese-language website Meio Bit (via MacRumors). Apple has quietly begun shipping the units to Brazilian customers who order their handset online.



The black 8GB iPhone 4 manufactured in Brazil carries the model number MD128BR/A, while the white model is MD198BR/A, both ending in "BR" to identify the country.



While the iPhone 4 models are now being made and sold in Brazil, there is no evidence that Apple has begun building its newest model, the iPhone 4S, in that country.



Though iPhone 4 units are now being assembled in Brazil, customers there have not seen any savings on the price of the unit. While U.S. customers can buy an unlocked 8GB iPhone 4 contract-free for $549, the same phone costs over $1,000 in Brazil.





Foxconn's Jundiai, Brazil manufacturing plant







Officials in Brazil initially began pushing for Apple's products to be manufactured in their country in hopes that it would lead to lower prices for its citizens. It was said that manufacturing iPhone units in Brazil could bypass import taxes and potentially lead to significantly lower prices.



In addition to the iPhone, Foxconn is also expected to begin assembly of the iPad in Brazil in the near future. The Brazilian government has approved tax reductions or exemptions for Foxconn to incentivize tablet production.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    adybadyb Posts: 205member
    I suppose until they can build all iPhones & iPads there, there could be a large discrepancy in sale prices for imported devices if they kept profit margins the same. Easier to keep the price the same (& make a few extra dollars??).
  • Reply 2 of 52
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,008member
    Quote:

    Officials in Brazil initially began pushing for Apple's products to be manufactured in their country in hopes that it would lead to lower prices for its citizens. It was said that manufacturing iPhone units in Brazil could bypass import taxes and potentially lead to significantly lower prices.



    I'm curious. Do they have to pay high import taxes on imported parts? Or do the import tarriffs only apply to finished goods?



    I can't imagine many of the parts needed are manufactured locally...
  • Reply 3 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AdyB View Post


    I suppose until they can build all iPhones & iPads there, there could be a large discrepancy in sale prices for imported devices if they kept profit margins the same. Easier to keep the price the same (& make a few extra dollars??).



    Obviously there are other factors at work. I just saw that 1 Brazilian real is worth about .58 USD. Perhaps this disparity plays a part? What's their rate of inflation?
  • Reply 4 of 52
    The iPhone 4S was definitely snappier. These Brazilian iPhones will be definitely spicier?
  • Reply 5 of 52
    The beginning of worldwide manufacturing of the iPhone...Apple insuring its stake in the future. I'm not surprised:-)
  • Reply 6 of 52
    ka47ka47 Posts: 25member
    It's good to have competing nations with Chinese labor force. Stupid proview thought it had the right to ask the government to stop the exports!!!
  • Reply 7 of 52
    wardcwardc Posts: 150member
    That place looks like a high-security supermax Prison facility, in that photo. So that is where they are building the iPhones? I wouldn't wanna work there.



    "Foxconn: Where dark totalitarian 1984 really is a reality."
  • Reply 8 of 52
    ajitmdajitmd Posts: 365member
    Brazil is ok as a place to diversify. However, the cost of doing business there is much higher than China. I suspect that at the current exchange the rate, the manufacturing costs there are comparable if not higher than say Texas or the Carolinas. There is a shortage of engineers in Brazil and even skilled labor in some categories, plus hi real estate taxes, corrupt bureaucracy.



    I think that with all the problems in China and elsewhere, Apple need to consider the US... even if Foxcon or Pegatron were to set up plants here, rather than Apple. Right to work states like Texas would probably give the land for dirt cheap prices, all kinds of tax holidays, cheap energy, etc. Any manufacturing would need a hi level of automation. Same thing with CPU manufacture... how about Intel, IBM, etc instead of Samsung?
  • Reply 9 of 52
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WardC View Post


    That place looks like a high-security supermax Prison facility, in that photo. So that is where they are building the iPhones? I wouldn't wanna work there.



    That is just the way it is in Latin America. Every home or business that has anything of value in it is protected with that type of razor wire. Notice that the angle of the stanchions is pointing in rather than out. I take that to mean that they don't want the employees on the inside to get out with any goods, rather than to keep intruders out as is the normal installation. They probably don't worry so much about intruders since it is in full operation 24/7.
  • Reply 10 of 52
    China is developing so rapidly, that the workers have many other vocational choices. Chinese wages are also rising rapidly. Demand for Apple products in China is staggering. As a result Foxconn needs to have extra capacity elsewhere.
  • Reply 11 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KA47 View Post


    It's good to have competing nations with Chinese labor force. Stupid proview thought it had the right to ask the government to stop the exports!!!



    Proview is just protecting its own copyrights.
  • Reply 12 of 52
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by peter236 View Post


    Proview is just protecting its own copyrights.



    You are just kidding, right?
  • Reply 13 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    I'm curious. Do they have to pay high import taxes on imported parts? Or do the import tarriffs only apply to finished goods?



    I can't imagine many of the parts needed are manufactured locally...



    We import a lot of parts for our final products in Brazil. Anything we import, even if we absolutely cannot source it from Brazil despite our best efforts, gets a hefty duty. In addition, our products qualify for some special financing if we can achieve 65% or more in Brazil sourced material by cost and weight. I doubt that exists for the iPhone market but there are likely similar barriers/incentives that Apple and FoxConn must work with.
  • Reply 14 of 52
    ka47ka47 Posts: 25member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Realistic View Post


    You are just kidding, right?



    I really hope so.
  • Reply 15 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AdyB View Post


    I suppose until they can build all iPhones & iPads there, there could be a large discrepancy in sale prices for imported devices if they kept profit margins the same. Easier to keep the price the same (& make a few extra dollars??).



    I'm not really sure they are making a few extra dollars. it was my understanding that if they didn't make the units sold in Brazil in the country the imported ones would have gone way up in price due to import taxes. They probably didn't have to pay those taxes during a grace period because they showed the intention to play by the rules and those were the price the 'local' ones would be so long as they met the deadline which presumably they did
  • Reply 16 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Obviously there are other factors at work.



    Sure, even with these phones being made in Brazil there are probably still business taxes, import taxes for the parts and so on. People forget such things when they look at overseas prices. They just assume that it will be the same as the US.
  • Reply 17 of 52






    If not for the Foxcon logo, I'd swear that this was a picture of a prison.
  • Reply 18 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KA47 View Post


    Stupid proview thought it had the right to ask the government to stop the exports!!!



    They do have the right. They did ask the government. The government replied that it would be too difficult.
  • Reply 19 of 52
    I wonder if the backside of the phones will be bigger
  • Reply 20 of 52
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jpellino View Post


    The iPhone 4S was definitely snappier. These Brazilian iPhones will be definitely spicier?



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