Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India as soon as next year, as trade war pushes tech giants away from China, said a report by Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Apple will source over 60 million iPhones from India potentially doubling the output in the country. In recent years, Apple has been building its capacity in India with contract manufacturers like Tata Electronics and Foxconn, though it still assembles most of its smartphones in China. businessline reached out to Tata Electronics but the company declined to comment.
The Tump’s tariff wiped $700bn from Apple’s market value, pushing the company to export Indian-manufactured iPhones to the US instead of devices from China. While India was also hit with a reciprocal tariff of 26 per cent, the same was put on hold while Indian officials pushed for a bilateral trade agreement. In 2024, the US accounted for about 28 per cent of Apple’s 232.1 million global iPhone shipments, as per International Data Corporation.
In terms of assembling iPhones, IDC said that non Pro Max models were assembled in India up till second half of last year. Following the reported plans to shift US-sold iPhones assembly to India, over 95 per cent iPhones can potentially be locally manufactured in India, IDC said.
The total sell-in for iPhones in India was 12 million for 2024, as per IDC data. Apple is producing around 40 -45 million iPhones in India for both local consumption and exports outside of India, amounting to around 18-20 per cent of its global shipments in 2024.
“For raising the share of global production to say 40 per cent by next year, Apple will need to more than double its production capacity (80-90 million) in the next few years,” said Upasana Joshi, lead analyst for mobile phones India at IDC.
When asked whether India will be able to meet the reported deadline of 2026 end, Joshi said, “it largely depends on external factors like smooth trade between India and China from where the components/machinery come. As for ramping up, if 60 million phones has to be exported from India to US, clubbed with around 20 million of India local consumption by end 2026, it will have to increase capacities anyway. For this, crucial will be to scale up with current contract manufacturers and tie up with newer ones to achieve such high production numbers.”
Meanwhile, Counterpoint Research said India’s global shipment contribution could reach 25-30 per cent this year. “Apple’s manufacturing partners in India, including Foxconn and Tata, are steadily ramping up production. India has the potential to meet US demand; the real test will be how fast and efficiently it can scale. If everything goes smoothly, Apple’s manufacturers will ramp up production to meet US demand. However, while we do not currently see any other players involved in manufacturing, others do have the capability to enter the space,” said Counterpoint Research.