Trump's Apple tariff threat; Zepto Cafe's roadblock
US President Donald Trump has warned Apple to produce iPhones sold in the US domestically or face consequences. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Coming soon: An EV super app
■ Apple looks at glasses for 2026
■ Anthropic’s new gen models
Donald Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple if iPhones are built in India, not US
Tim Cook, CEO, Apple and US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has warned Apple that iPhones sold in the United States must be manufactured domestically, or face a 25% tariff.
Crackdown: In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s (sic) that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”
Follow up: The warning comes just days after Trump told business leaders in Qatar during his four-day Gulf visit that he had raised the issue with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
“I said I don’t want you building in India. India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well,” adding that the conversation had prompted Apple to increase production within the US.
On the other hand: Apple executives moved swiftly to reassure Indian government officials, telling them a day after Trump’s comments that there had been no change in their investment plans for India. The company confirmed that India would remain a major manufacturing hub.
Apple prioritised India as its primary hub after Trump-era tariffs and geopolitical tensions disrupted operations in China and Vietnam.
The numbers:
Meanwhile: It’s business as usual at Foxconn's 300-acre campus in Karnataka, where the iPhone contract manufacturer is constructing employee dormitories, a core element of its operations model, ET reported on May 22.
Zepto Cafe pauses services across Delhi, Agra, Chandigarh due to supply chain constraints
Zepto Cafe has paused operations in 44 outlets across Meerut, Agra, Chandigarh, Mohali, Amritsar, and parts of Delhi.
More details:
Uncertainty for gig workers: The abrupt pause has disrupted work for over 700 gig workers employed at these cafes. Zepto is now retraining and redeploying them as pickers and packers within the same dark stores or at other Cafe locations.
What’s next? Zepto is scouting for new vendor partners to restore supply chain stability. It aims to relaunch the paused services by the end of September.
Also Read: Zepto Cafe crosses 100,000 orders per day mark, says CEO Aadit Palicha
Workers' unrest: Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, Zepto delivery workers have initiated an indefinite strike. Supported by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), the protest focuses on alleged labour rights violations.
The union claims that per-delivery earnings have plummeted to just Rs 10-15, with no guaranteed minimum income despite longer working hours. Their demands include a return to previous payout rates and uniform pay across all locations.
Also Read: Zepto founders tap Edelweiss, others for Rs 1,500 crore structured debt to boost Indian ownership
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BHEL to be nodal agency for building new EV super app
State-owned engineering giant Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) will lead the development of a unified digital super app to serve electric vehicle (EV) users across India.
How will it work? The proposed app will act as a centralised platform providing a suite of essential services to EV users, including:
BHEL will also coordinate with state governments and central ministries to evaluate and roll out proposals for charging infrastructure nationwide.
Tell me more: Backed by a Rs 2,000 crore budget, the scheme aims to deploy around 72,000 public EV charging stations across 50 national highway corridors and major high-traffic zones, including metro cities, toll plazas, railway stations and airports.
Also Read: India’s new super app for EV users: All you need to know
Apple plans glasses for 2026 as part of AI push, nixes watch with camera
Apple is accelerating the development of its smart glasses, targeting a late 2026 launch, Bloomberg reported. The move is part of the company’s broader strategy to expand into AI-powered consumer devices.
Specifications:
Sector watch: Apple is positioning its glasses as a direct rival to Meta’s popular Ray-Ban smart glasses. The tech giant, seen as lagging in the AI race, is betting on hardware to close the gap.
Anthropic rolls out Claude 4 family of AI agents
After a blockbuster week of announcements from Microsoft Build, Google I/O, and OpenAI’s io showcase, Anthropic rounded things off with the launch of Claude 4, its next-generation family of agents.
Details:
Why this matters: Anthropic’s claim of releasing the “world’s best coding model” closes out a week full of big tech flexes. With rivals debuting their own agentic tools, this launch is Anthropic’s way of signalling it’s still very much in the game. The Claude 4 family makes a shift – from a simple assistant to a capable collaborator, pushing further into the agentic AI space.