Apple’s iPhone exports from India have increased dramatically – Omdia
Eyebrows may move North on news Trump plans a US-made Trump phone at the same time as slapping huge tariffs on advanced devices from other manufacturers, but aside from potential conflict of interest there, Apple’s plan to make iPhones in India seems to have entered full effect, with iPhone exports from India to the US increasing 57% between January and May 2025.
Up, up and away
That’s the news from Canalys/Omdia, which claims Apple’s contract manufacturers churned out over 20.4 million iPhone during the period. 77% of those devices were made for the US market, the report said. It goes a little further too, in that the data provided suggests devices that may have been intended for sale elsewhere were also diverted to the US to feed the appetite of tariff avoiding customers there.
“While Foxconn still leads with 52 per cent of total iPhone exports so far this year, Tata has rapidly emerged as a key force in Apple’s India strategy,” Sanyam Chaurasia, senior Analyst – Mobility, Canalys (part of Omdia), said. “Its [Tata’s] share jumped from 13 per cent in 2024 to 37 per cent YTD, shipping over 7.5 million iPhones in just five months,” he said.
US soft power by manufacturing
The analysts also note that high-end Apple iPhones are also now being made in India, though China and elsewhere in SouthEast Asia remain critical to the Apple supply chain.
Tata in India has now become a key player in Apple’s manufacturing ecosystem. The existence of that relationship is good for Apple as it works to diversify outside China – but also useful to a US now involved in carving out a new political reality on a world in conflict. What’s good for India may be good for its ally, and Apple’s lucrative business acts as a lubricant to the relationship between the two states.
For Apple, maintaining an iPhone hegemon matters because of the attach rate it has built across all its devices. In developed markets, almost half of all iPhone owners also have an iPad, while one in three own a Mac, according to recent Omdia consumer surveys.
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