Apple shifts supply footprint

Apple is speeding up plans to build most U.S.-sold iPhones in India by the end of 2026, shifting more assembly away from China. (reuters.com) Reuters reported on April 25, 2025 that Apple wants most iPhones sold in the United States to come from India by the end of 2026. The move would redirect production for more than 60 million U.S. iPhones a year. (reuters.com) Apple has been leaning on Foxconn and Tata Electronics to add that capacity in southern India. Reuters reported on April 29, 2025 that a new Tata plant in Tamil Nadu had started iPhone production and a new Foxconn plant in Bengaluru was due to begin shipments in May. (reuters.com) The immediate pressure was tariffs and trade risk tied to China, which still made more than 75% of iPhones globally at the time, according to Counterpoint figures cited by Reuters. India’s share was about 18%, leaving Apple to expand factories, workers and suppliers quickly if it wants to reroute U.S. demand. (reuters.com) India was already becoming a much bigger Apple base before this latest push. Bloomberg reported on April 13, 2025 that Apple produced about $22 billion worth of iPhones in India in the fiscal year through March 2025, with exports from the country reaching about 1.5 trillion rupees, or $17.4 billion. (bloomberg.com) That changes more than the factory address on the box. More iPhones assembled in India means more components flowing into Indian plants, more finished phones leaving Indian airports and ports, and more customs and compliance work split across India, China and the United States. (reuters.com 1) (reuters.com 2) The chip side of the story is narrower than some secondary reports suggest. Reuters reported in December 2025 that Nvidia tested Intel’s 18A manufacturing process and stopped moving forward, and the available reporting surfaced here does not show Apple shifting chip production to Intel. (reuters.com) So the clearest, verified change is Apple’s assembly footprint, not a confirmed Apple-Intel foundry pivot. The company is building a second manufacturing center in India large enough to supply the U.S. market if trade tensions make China costlier. (reuters.com)