Caixin News Agency, October 31- The latest report from The Information states that the standard version of iPhone 17 has gone through the early stages of development, and Apple's partner Foxconn is conducting early manufacturing work for iPhone 17 at a factory in Bangalore, India, which Apple employees refer to as "NPI".
It is understood that NPI, also known as New Product Introduction in Chinese, refers to the process of quickly, accurately, and efficiently conducting engineering trial production and small batch trial production of newly developed products in manufacturing factories to achieve high-quality mass production. It is also the management of the overall system process from project initiation to mass production of a product.
It is worth noting that next year's iPhone 17 series will cut the Plus model and add an Air model. The iPhone 17 Air will be positioned between the standard and Pro versions and is a mid-range iPhone that replaces the Plus model.
The report points out that currently Foxconn in India is only responsible for the standard version of iPhone 17, and models such as iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone 17 Air are still undergoing early testing and manufacturing in China.
Apple supply chain analyst Guo Mingchi said that the iPhone 17 Air series is expected to become one of the first iPhones equipped with Apple designed 5G modems, and other models of the iPhone 17 series will continue to use Qualcomm's modems.
Major manufacturers are collectively pursuing material stacking and creating water bucket machines that balance performance in all aspects. Apple, on the other hand, has taken the opposite approach by launching the iPhone 17 Air series, relying on excellent and cutting-edge industrial design to please and impress users.