Apple iPhone Exports From India Surge 116% [Report]

Apple's iPhone exports from India more than doubled in April, surging to over ₹17,219 crore ($2.06 billion), up 116 percent from ₹7,971 crore ($953 million) in the same month last year, according to government filings by Apple's three vendors, as reported by Business Standard. The significant increase reflects Apple's ongoing shift in iPhone assembly for the U.S. market from China to India.

The export figures are consistent with Apple CEO Tim Cook's announcement during the company's second-quarter earnings call, where he stated that a majority of iPhones for the U.S. market would begin to be airlifted from India starting this quarter. Indeed, as we've previously noted, Apple had reportedly rushed multiple plane loads of iPhones from Chennai to Chicago in late March ahead of new tariffs.

Typically, the April–June quarter represents the slowest period for Apple's iPhone sales, both globally and in India. However, with U.S. exports now being fulfilled from India, Apple has substantially increased both production and exports. In April 2024, Apple's vendors in India produced iPhones worth ₹10,894 crore, with exports constituting 73 percent at ₹7,971 crore. This April, overall production value nearly doubled to ₹21,400 crore, with 81 percent, or approximately ₹17,300 crore, exported primarily to the U.S. The ramp-up in India is further supported by new manufacturing capabilities, with a new Tata Electronics plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, reportedly starting iPhone production and a major Foxconn facility in Bengaluru preparing to begin shipments.


Apple has been increasing exports since December 2024 in preparation for global tariffs, with a peak in March as new reciprocal tariffs came into effect. The shift in iPhone exports to the U.S. from China has been largely driven by the difference in tariffs. While the U.S. government has imposed a 20 percent duty on smartphone imports from China, there is currently a zero tariff on exports from India for a three-month period. Experts suggest that even in a worst-case scenario, this tariff might rise to 10 percent, the base duty the U.S. intends to apply broadly. India is also reportedly in the final stages of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S.

To meet the entire U.S. demand for iPhones from India this year, Apple's production in the country would need to double from the current ₹1.89 trillion (22billion) to ₹3.5trillion (40 billion) within the next 18 months. Of this, nearly ₹3.1 trillion ($35 billion) would be for export. This ambitious scale-up would necessitate significant reforms in India's taxation, tariffs, and industrial infrastructure. As we've covered, Apple has been working to increase iPhone production in India with the goal that most iPhones sold in the U.S. could be made there by the end of 2026.

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