The Apple Effect? India's Smartphone Exports Surge

Marking a major milestone in Apple’s manufacturing activities in India, Indian factories operated by Foxconn and Tata Group were involved in the production of all four iPhone 17 models ahead of their launch in September. This was the first time that all new variations of the latest iPhone model were made in and shipped from India right at launch, which is another step forward for India’s manufacturing sector. In late 2024, Apple had begun assembling the iPhone 16 Pro models in India, marking the first time that the premium models were being made outside of China.

Supported by India’s “Make in India” push and the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Apple has gradually expanded its operations in the country, from assembling the budget iPhone SE in India for the local market in 2017 to making it a second manufacturing hub for the global iPhone rollout in 2025. Experts estimate that Apple now assembles around 20 percent of all iPhones in India, having successfully reduced its reliance on China in that respect. Earlier this year, India's IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed that Apple had exported iPhones worth 1.5 trillion rupees (around $17 billion) from India in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, which would amount to roughly 70 percent of the country’s total smartphone exports that year.

As our chart shows, India’s smartphone exports have increased rapidly over the past three years, with much of that growth likely attributable to Apple’s activity in the country. It’s not only Apple, though. Other major smartphone makers - including Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and even Google with its Pixel line - now manufacture devices in India. Together, these investments have helped drive India’s smartphone export boom, turning the country from an interesting growth market for smartphones into a production and export hub for the global smartphone industry.