Brands
Amber Enterprises to make Oppo, OnePlus and Realme smartphones in India from FY28
EMS maker targets 8 million handsets in its first year before scaling output
MUMBAI: Amber Enterprises is getting ready to put smartphones on its production line. The electronics manufacturing services company plans to begin commercial smartphone production for Oppo, OnePlus and Realme in the first quarter of FY2027-28, with trial production expected to start in the final quarter of FY2026-27, according to PTI.
The manufacturing partnership is with Oppo Mobiles India, the licensed manufacturer in India for the three smartphone brands. Amber expects to produce around 8 million smartphones in its first year, with production projected to rise to about 15 million to 16 million units in the second year as the business scales up.
The move marks Amber’s entry into smartphone manufacturing and adds another major consumer electronics category to its existing manufacturing portfolio. The company announced its partnership with Oppo Mobiles India in June.
Amber executive chairman, CEO and whole-time director Jasbir Singh said the company is preparing the new business ahead of commercial operations and has appointed a chief operating officer for its mobile division.
The planned production ramp-up could give Amber a sizeable foothold in India’s growing electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
Oppo, OnePlus and Realme already have significant visibility in India’s smartphone market. According to Counterpoint Research data cited by PTI, Vivo held an 17.8 per cent share of smartphone sales volume in the second quarter of 2026, followed by Samsung at 17.6 per cent and Oppo at 13.6 per cent.
Brands under the wider Vivo and Oppo groups, including iQoo, Realme and OnePlus, together accounted for 45.6 per cent of India’s smartphone market during the quarter.
For Amber, the partnership therefore offers access to a substantial handset ecosystem while allowing it to diversify beyond its existing electronics manufacturing businesses.
The company’s expansion into smartphones comes as some of its existing businesses face cost pressures.
Amber’s bare printed circuit board business is experiencing margin pressure because of higher copper-clad laminate prices. The company has been passing the increase in input costs on to customers, although the adjustment comes with a time lag.
The rise in copper-clad laminate prices has been partly driven by demand from artificial intelligence and data centre applications, along with shortages of the material, according to PTI.
Amber is looking to address some of that supply pressure by establishing its own copper-clad laminate manufacturing facility by 2029-30.
The smartphone venture could consequently become an important new growth engine for Amber as it expands its manufacturing footprint. With trial production due next year and commercial operations scheduled for FY28, the company is betting that its next big assembly line will be powered by India’s increasingly competitive electronics manufacturing market.
