Apple boosted iPhone production in India by around 53 percent last year and now makes a quarter of its flagship devices there to avoid tariffs on China, reports Bloomberg ($).
Apple assembled about 55 million iPhones in the country across 2025, up from 36 million a year earlier, according to the publication's sources. The shift is part of Apple's broader effort to mitigate risk from U.S.-China trade tensions and reduce dependence on a single country for production.
Apple makes about 220 million to 230 million iPhones globally. A Canalys report last year claimed India has overtaken China as the leading manufacturer of smartphones shipped to the United States.
The California-based company has leaned heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's production-linked incentives aimed at turning India into the world's factory. The subsidies have helped offset some of the structural cost disadvantages that manufacturers face in India, including the lack of a China-like robust supply chain and logistics challenges, according to Bloomberg.
Although the cost gap has narrowed, assembling electronics and manufacturing components in India still remains more expensive than in countries such as China and Vietnam. Consequently, companies including Apple and Samsung are continuing to push for additional government support.
The companies are currently in discussions with the Indian government about a new round of incentives aimed at boosting export growth. The report notes that India's existing production-linked subsidies for smartphones are set to expire on March 31, and with the U.S. Supreme Court recently striking down some tariffs affecting China, officials in New Delhi are under pressure to act quickly to ensure the country remains cost-competitive.
Apple now assembles all models in the latest iPhone 17 lineup in India, including the higher-end Pro and Pro Max variants. Manufacturing partners in the country – including Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Pegatron – also produce older devices such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 for both domestic sales and export markets.
