Apple's supply chain makeover just gave India a massive win over China

Business Insider

30-07-2025

India has overtaken China to become the top smartphone exporter to the US, and the country has Apple to thank for its new ranking.
India's share of smartphone exports in the quarter that ended in June rose sharply from the same time last year.
The country's dethroning of China is largely driven by Apple's shifting supply chains, according to analysis from research firm Canalys published on Monday.
"Apple has scaled up its production capacity in India over the last several years as a part of its ' China Plus One' strategy and has opted to dedicate most of its export capacity in India to supply the US market so far in 2025," wrote Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Canalys.
Still, much of iPhone manufacturing takes place in China, and the company depends on manufacturing hubs in China for Pro model parts, Canalys said.
Smartphones assembled in India made up 44% of US imports in the second quarter, a significant jump from 13% in the same period last year. The total volume of smartphones made in India soared 240% from a year earlier, Canalys said.
Vietnam came second, taking 30% of the market share. China's share fell from 61% to 25% year over year.
Samsung and Motorola have also increased their share of US-targeted supply from India, but their shifts are significantly slower and smaller in scale than Apple's, the Canalys report said.
Apple has been rapidly shifting iPhone production to India, in an effort to reduce reliance on China and cut back on geopolitical risks. The iPhone 16 is being assembled in India.
In the company's first quarter earnings call, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, addressed Chinese diversification and said the company expects "the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin" in the quarter ending in June.
Apple's manufacturing in India and China has been repeatedly scrutinized by President Donald Trump's administration.
In May, Trump threatened Cook with a 25% tariff on iPhones if the devices were made in India or elsewhere, in a move to pressure Apple to build its flagship product domestically. Trade experts have said that making iPhones in the US will push their prices higher.
Earlier this month, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Cook isn't doing enough to move manufacturing out of China.
"Going back to the first trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China," Navarro said on CNBC. "I mean it's the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley. My problem with Tim Cook is he never takes the steps to actually do that."
While many of Apple's core products, including iPhones and Mac laptops, have received exemptions from Trump's "reciprocal tariffs," officials have warned that it could be a temporary reprieve.