Foxconn has begun mass-producing Apple’s iPhone 17 at a newly built $2.8 billion plant in Devanahalli, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, according to company and local media reports. The factory, which spans more than 300 acres, is expected to employ several thousand workers as volumes scale up ahead of the handset’s global launch next year. The site is Foxconn’s second-largest manufacturing complex outside China and marks the most significant step yet in Apple’s effort to diversify its supply chain. India already accounts for nearly one in five iPhones assembled worldwide, and the Devanahalli facility deepens a shift that has accelerated amid geopolitical tensions and higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Foxconn’s latest expansion follows a separate $1.5 billion pledge to grow its Indian operations and supports Apple’s goal of producing all iPhones destined for the U.S. market in India by 2026. State officials in Karnataka say the project will boost the region’s electronics ecosystem and strengthen India’s position as a preferred alternative to China for high-end device manufacturing.