Apple Moves Away from China, Plans Doubling India Output

Apple accelerated its pullback from China after new tariff hikes by the US. The iPhone maker plans to assemble all smartphones for the US market in India by end-2026.

The vendor set the ambitious target of assembling all of the more than 60 million iPhones destined for the US in India. The goal will require India, which started making low-end iPhones in 2017, to more than double its current output. Canalys senior analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said a full shift of US production to India within that timeframe is unlikely, although by next year, it will move the majority, due to the need for more capacity investment and continued reliance on China-sourced components.

He added increasing capacity can be done by adding lines within that timeframe, but sourcing components from China could be more difficult. Chaurasia said India accounted for about 21% of global iPhone production in Q1 and is projected to reach 25% to 26% by end-2025. The remaining 79 per cent came from China. Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year, with the US, China and Europe its largest markets.

The rapid pivot to India was first spotted by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who stated in early April due to fresh tariffs, assembly lines in China for iPhones to be shipped to the US remained halted. He noted this implies Apple plans to make all units for its domestic market exclusively in India starting this year.