One in every five iPhones is made in India, Apple will have to wait for production in the US

Apple, which produces one of every five phones in India, made phones with a value equivalent to Rs 1.90 lakh crore or $22 billion in a year between April 2024 and March 2025. This is 60 percent greater than in the previous year. It is also a result of the company diversifying further from China. However, according to Apple, there are no such conditions in the US now under which they could initiate the production of iPhones.

This growth demonstrates that suppliers and manufacturer of iPhones are shifting their focus from China to India. This began after the stringent lockdown caused by Corona impacted production in Apple's largest factory. Most of the iPhones produced in India are assembled in the South Indian factory of Foxconn. Even Tata Group's electronics production unit, which acquired Wistron Corp and runs Pegatron Corp's operations, is contributing a lot to it.

The Trump administration late Friday exempted electronics goods including smartphones and computers from retaliatory tariffs. This is good news for companies like Apple and Nvidia Corp. However, this exemption does not apply to the separate 20 percent duty imposed by Trump on China, which was used to pressure Beijing to crack down.

The US is not currently imposing any duty on iPhones made in India. Since the US has imposed heavy duties on China, companies like Apple will be forced to accelerate the change in their supply chain. India will directly benefit from this. However, due to about 200 suppliers and excessive dependence on China, it may take several years to move to other countries.

Despite Trump's ambition to make iPhones in the US, Apple is unlikely to start production there anytime soon, as there are key factors such as lack of facilities and labor required to produce the devices. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, it would take eight years to move just 10 percent of Apple's production capacity out of China. Apple now assembles its entire iPhone range in India. Apple has a market share of about 8 percent in India's smartphone market. Its sales are expected to reach about $8 billion in FY24.