In Photos: How Smartphones are ‘Made in India’ in 2017

We went deep to understand and see how smartphones are getting assembled and manufactured in India.

Many Indian brands are gearing up to manufacture phones in the country. 

(Photo: The Quint)

We have all been hearing about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s aspiration for smartphone makers to ‘make in India.’

There are already global brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and even OnePlus who do that, but you cannot discount the importance of local brands, and this is where names like Micromax and Lava pop up in our heads.

But if that’s not your cup of tea, and you just want to know the process behind how smartphones are actually made, then we’ve got it covered. We got a chance to visit Lava’s assembly unit in Noida, where Xolo phones are also made, and here’s what goes into making a phone.

The factory floor comprises of people who’ve studied till 12th standard. (Photo: The Quint)

Lava claims that to make its smartphones in the country, they employ staff that have at least done their education up to 12th standard. These aspirants then undergo a stringent hand-eye and mind coordination test, which helps determine the final set of people who’ll enter the factory unit.

The chosen set are then trained for over three weeks, after which, the true test begins. The company promises to make a single phone up and running in 11 seconds, and in order to do that, they don’t want to make any compromises for sure.

The company claims to be sourcing around 10 percent of its materials from local suppliers currently, and have been importing the PCB (Print circuit board) so far. However, they plan to start assembling and manufacturing these phones by early 2018. With a workforce of over 2,500 spread across two plants, Lava and Xolo are looking to make amends going forward.

Now, let’s start talking about how th ephones are made. First up, the conveyor belt kicks into motion, with the back panel of the phone let loose for the device integration from a hardware standpoint to happen.

The panels supplied from different vendors are assembled here. (Photo: The Quint)

Step by step process of bringing everything together is done by a team. (Photo: The Quint)

Now, it’s time for the front LCD display unit to make its way to the belt, which gets passed on to the next guy in the process.

Each member of the staff is there to make sure that all processes are rightly done. (Photo: The Quint)

Testing the LCD display panel of the phone in its bare bones. (Photo: The Quint)

Once that’s done, the plastering of the panels at the back are done, before the PCB unit comes into the assembling picture. The layers are appropriately marked for the camera lens, fingerprint scanner and the battery unit.

All kind of adhesive layers are done to keep them mishap-free. (Photo: The Quint)

Soldering of the PCB is done with the right circuit wiring in place, while the fumes from the process are taken out by the chimney in place (the one in blue).

Soldering of the PCB in process which is is the brain of the device. (Photo: The Quint)

The assembling staff also ensures that the heat dissipation layer over the PCB is put in place before it gets fixed to the device.

Heat dissipation layer keeps the phone’s hardware power in check.  (Photo: The Quint)

Once that’s taken care of, the fingerprint scanner unit is fixed on the PCB, which is then planted onto the back panel of the phone.

Fingerprint scanner being fixed to the PCB. (Photo: The Quint)

After which, the PCB unit gets connected to the microUSB board at the bottom, which also houses the audio jack.

PCB getting connected to the USB board via these cables. (Photo: The Quint)

Now that the bulk of the work is done, the assembling process moves into its hardware-software integration stage.

All set for the front and back panel to be combined. (Photo: The Quint)

Over here, the phone (front display attached to the back panel which has the PCB) is put through a set of drop and pressure sensitive tests. All sensors made available on the phone are tested, before being handed over to the camera-testing department.

High-level testing done to ensure the quality of device meets the standard. (Photo: The Quint)

They even make sure that the dialling pad and the emergency number are working as they should, and also check if the 3.5-mm audio jack (slowly losing its importance for many in 2017) is also given a run.

Pressure sensitive test in progress with the fully assembled phone. (Photo: The Quint)

Once the phone clears the aforementioned stages, it goes through Lava’s in-house benchmark for camera testing.

I’ll admit that this isn’t the most unique way to check the quality of camera, as you can see. The camera is checked by clicking the shutter button multiple times, images clicked with flash switched on, and toggling with the interface to see its response time.

Camera test look basic in practise. (Photo: The Quint)

Camera test done, now comes the part where the phone meets its software companion – loading Android on the device. The batch cleared off by the camera crew is connected to the software unit that the lab offers.

Software loading on the phone is done from pre-installed systems. (Photo: The Quint)

Most Indian brands have been slow to update to the latest Android versions, and looking at the whole process, we’re not surprised to see that.

Once the OS is loaded, the system clears the unit for the next step. (Photo: The Quint)

And once the OS is loaded to the phone in the batch, the device is packed along with the accessories, and all set to be shipped to stores across the country.

Phone being given the final touches, added to the box along with accessories. (Photo: The Quint)

And the phone is all set to be shipped. (Photo: The Quint)

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