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For years, China was at the centre of Apple’s iPhone manufacturing network. Its vast supplier ecosystem, skilled workforce and highly integrated factories made it difficult for Apple to look elsewhere. But that dependence is changing. India is rapidly emerging as Apple’s most important alternative iPhone manufacturing base outside China, raising a bigger question: Is Apple building a second major iPhone manufacturing base in India rather than simply diversifying production?
The numbers suggest that this is more than a symbolic shift.
According to estimates by Smart Analytics Global (SAG), India accounted for about 23% of global iPhone production in 2025, up from 14% in 2024. SAG expects India’s share to rise further to about 28% in 2026. These figures are industry estimates rather than production numbers publicly disclosed by Apple.
Bloomberg reported in March, citing people familiar with the matter, that Apple’s manufacturing partners assembled about 55 million iPhones in India in 2025, compared with roughly 36 million in 2024. That represents an increase of about 53% in one year and is consistent with estimates that India accounted for roughly a quarter of global iPhone production.
This expansion is closely linked to Apple’s China+1 strategy. The strategy does not mean abandoning China. Instead, Apple is diversifying production across countries to reduce its exposure to geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, tariffs and supply-chain disruptions.
The shift became particularly visible in 2025, when Apple accelerated exports from India to the US amid tariff uncertainty. The Financial Times reported in 2025 that Apple planned to increasingly shift production of iPhones sold in the US to India, with the company targeting India as the source for most, potentially all, US-bound iPhones by the end of 2026.
India has also benefited from government policy. The Production Linked Incentive, or PLI, scheme encouraged global smartphone manufacturers to increase production within the country. The results are becoming visible not only in assembly but also in exports.
According to figures reported by The Economic Times, nearly $70 billion worth of iPhones were produced in India during the five-year smartphone PLI period, of which around $51 billion worth were exported. That means roughly 73% of this production was exported. The figures show that India is no longer simply producing phones for its domestic market. It has become an important export base for Apple.
The rise of Tata Electronics is another important part of this story. According to vendor data submitted to the government and reported by Business Standard, Tata Electronics exported about $26.3 billion worth of iPhones from India during FY22-FY26, marginally ahead of Foxconn’s $25.6 billion. The figures underline Tata Electronics’ rapid rise as a major manufacturing partner in Apple’s Indian supply chain.
Foxconn remains a major manufacturing partner, alongside Tata Electronics and Pegatron, as Apple expands its production network in India. Apple has also expanded the range of products being assembled locally. Bloomberg reported that Apple’s Indian manufacturing operations have expanded to include the full iPhone 17 lineup, including the higher-end Pro models.
But calling India a replacement for China would still be premature.
China’s advantage is not limited to assembling the final iPhone. It has spent decades building a dense network of component suppliers, logistics providers, specialised manufacturers and engineering talent. Even as production moves to India, many components and sub-assemblies continue to originate from China.
India’s rise therefore does not mean that Apple’s supply chain has become independent of China. Chinese suppliers remain deeply integrated into the wider electronics ecosystem, including the components and sub-assemblies used in products manufactured in India.
In fact, an interesting development shows how interconnected the two countries remain. The Economic Times reported that Apple-linked vendors in India exported about $2.5 billion worth of electronic components and sub-assemblies to China in FY26, highlighting how the two countries can remain interconnected even as Apple diversifies final assembly.
India still faces gaps in manufacturing scale, supplier depth, logistics and the availability of a locally integrated component ecosystem compared with China. Counterpoint Research has noted that building a competitive manufacturing ecosystem is a long-term process and cannot happen overnight.
That is why the most accurate way to understand Apple’s strategy is not “China out, India in”. It is “China plus India”.
China remains indispensable, but India is becoming indispensable too. Apple is spreading production across geographies so that a disruption in one market does not threaten its entire global supply chain.
The bigger significance for India goes beyond the iPhone itself. If this expansion continues, India could benefit from deeper component manufacturing, greater technology capabilities, skilled employment and higher electronics exports. The government’s Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme is intended to encourage domestic production of electronic components and strengthen the supply chain beyond final assembly.
So, is Apple turning India into its second major iPhone manufacturing base? Increasingly, yes. But it is better described as a second major manufacturing pillar rather than a replacement for China.
Apple is not walking away from China. It is making sure that it does not have to depend on China alone. And in that calculation, India is no longer merely a small alternative production base. Its growing share of iPhone assembly and exports suggests that it is becoming a central pillar of Apple’s manufacturing diversification strategy.
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