Counterpoint Research recorded India’s smartphone shipments down 20% in Q3 2026, with the sub-₹20,000 segment down 47%.
NEW DELHI: Apple has recorded its highest-ever September-quarter revenue in India, Chief Executive John Ternus said on his first earnings call. India also saw record iPhone upgraders for a September quarter. Notably, the news arrived while overall smartphone shipments in the country fell 20% in the third quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. Globally, Apple reported revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12%.
What Apple said about India
Apple does not disclose country-level revenue in its filings, so the claims rest on executive statements. Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh added that India set an all-time record for Mac revenue. He also placed India among the leading emerging markets for Services growth, alongside Latin America. Furthermore, filings by Apple India Private Limited show annual domestic revenue above ₹1 lakh crore and a 66% jump in net profit for fiscal 2026. Meanwhile, Apple’s global installed base crossed 2.5 billion devices.
An upgrade story in a shrinking market
India’s overall shipments fell 20% in the third quarter, the lowest for that quarter in a decade. The sub-₹20,000 segment dropped 47% as memory costs pushed up prices. Apple moved the other way. Counterpoint reports that launch-window sales of the iPhone 18 Pro series grew nearly 20% over the iPhone 17 Pro series a year earlier. Consequently, the market has split. Buyers at the top keep upgrading, while price-sensitive buyers wait. Zero-cost EMIs, trade-ins and bank cashbacks have eased entry to premium devices. Likewise, the foldable iPhone Duo has widened Apple’s reach among high-income urban consumers. Globally, iPhone revenue grew 17% to $57.6 billion, and upgrader volumes also hit records in the United States and Mainland China.
Beyond the iPhone
Mac demand rose on corporate deployments, software development growth and higher-education adoption. M6-powered machines and the entry-level MacBook Neo helped. Globally, Mac revenue grew 24% to $10.8 billion. In services, Apple Pay launched in India with Axis Bank, bringing tokenised card payments and contactless transactions. Furthermore, iCloud+, Apple Music and App Store spending give Apple recurring revenue from its Indian user base. Services revenue reached a record $31.6 billion worldwide, up 10%, with a gross margin of 76.0%.
Made in India
The commercial rise has an industrial twin. Smartphones have become India’s leading branded export and Apple accounts for over 75% of phone exports. Under the Production Linked Incentive scheme, Tata Electronics shipped $26.3 billion of iPhones between FY22 and FY26, overtaking Foxconn at $25.6 billion in exports. However, Foxconn kept the lead in total assembly value at $38.0 billion against Tata’s $35.5 billion. The ecosystem employs about 250,000 people, with over 70% women across assembly facilities. Nevertheless, domestic value addition is estimated at 15% to 18%, and major assemblers spent ₹1.29 trillion on imported components in FY2026. Display panels, chips, camera modules and memory still come largely from East Asia.
Costs and rivals
Memory prices are the immediate test. Apple guided gross margin to 45.0% to 46.0% for the December quarter, from 47.9%, citing unprecedented memory inflation. Excluding a tariff refund, September-quarter product margins fell about 100 basis points sequentially. Operating expenses rose 21% to $19.2 billion as Apple accelerates Siri AI and infrastructure spending. Competition is sharpening too. Samsung reclaimed first place overall in India with a 17% share, ahead of Vivo at 16% and OPPO at 12%. Meanwhile, Google’s shipments grew over 50%, helped by the Pixel 11 series.
What to watch
Four indicators will show how durable the momentum is. First, festive and wedding season sales on online platforms and in stores will reveal whether demand rebounds after a weak third quarter. Second, progress on sourcing enclosures, batteries and wiring locally will test whether value addition rises above 15% to 18%. Likewise, adoption of Apple Pay and App Store spending will show how much Services revenue each Indian user generates. Furthermore, any hardware price changes will test how far upgrader demand tolerates higher memory-driven costs. Finally, the next quarterly earnings call will show whether India again earns a mention.
India has moved from a promising market to a visible pillar of Apple’s growth. Greater China revenue rose 21%, yet India offers geographic balance to the company’s supply chain and retail plans. Encouragingly, demand, manufacturing and services are advancing together. If local component sourcing deepens, more of that value could stay in India. Ultimately, the coming quarters will show whether the premium buyer can carry growth through a softer mass market.
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