Apple Now Makes 25% iPhones in India
Apple now manufactures one in four iPhones in India, up from almost zero a few years ago. This move signals Apple's dedication to diversifying its supply chain and building resilience against geopolitical risks and global disruptions.
Apple's iPhone production in India jumped 53% in 2025, reaching 55 million units, which accounts for approximately 25% of their global iPhone production. This is a significant increase from the 36 million units assembled in India in 2024. Apple's global iPhone output is roughly 220-230 million units annually. This shift is driven by geopolitical tensions, US tariffs on Chinese goods, and India's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The PLI scheme gives manufacturers financial incentives based on production volume, making India competitive. These incentives are set to expire on March 31, 2026, prompting discussions for a new round of incentives. Apple now assembles all iPhone 17 models in India, including the Pro and Pro Max versions. Key suppliers in India include Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Pegatron, with Tata expected to produce half of India's iPhones in the next two years. In the April-June 2025 quarter, India surpassed China as the top source of smartphones shipped to the US, capturing 44% of the market. Foxconn's India operations shipped $4.4 billion worth of iPhones to the US in the first five months of 2025, exceeding the $3.7 billion shipped in all of 2024. In March 2025, Apple even chartered cargo flights to airlift $2 billion worth of iPhones from Chennai to meet tariff deadlines. The company is also exploring partnerships for local component manufacturing, including display chips. India's growing manufacturing role is impacting trade relationships, and pressuring competitors like Samsung and Google to diversify their manufacturing. The shift also enables Apple to better serve India's domestic market, where sales have exceeded $9 billion. Apple is also planning to launch Apple Pay in India later this year and operates six retail stores in the country. India's iPhone exports reached $23 billion in 2025, making iPhones the country's most valuable export. Smartphones became India's top export category, totaling $30.13 billion, with Apple accounting for 76% of that total. This has been supported by the creation of over 150,000 direct jobs by Apple's vendors. Despite this growth, assembly and component costs in India remain higher than in China and Vietnam. If the PLI incentives lapse, India could face a cost disadvantage of 10% versus Vietnam and 15% versus China. Apple is also investing in AI and automation to improve its supply chain management and reduce risk.
