Apple plans to move the assembly of iPhones sold in the United States to India starting next year, according to sources cited by the Financial Times.
This decision comes in response to escalating US-China trade tensions and aims to diversify Apple’s supply chain.
The plan aims to fully transition the production of more than 60 million iPhones sold in the US to Indian factories by the end of 2026.
This shift represents Apple’s largest manufacturing change in decades and builds on its recent investments in India.
While the company has traditionally relied on Chinese assembly through partners like Foxconn, rising tariffs from the Trump administration, which reached over 100% on some Chinese imports, have made production in China increasingly costly.
While smartphones were temporarily exempted from the highest tariff bands, a 20% duty still applies to Chinese-made devices entering the US.
In contrast, India faces a paused reciprocal tariff of 26%. Additionally, India is negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US.
US Vice President JD Vance recently visited India, describing the progress on this front as “very good.”
India is likely to be the first country to secure a trade deal with the US, which would help it avoid Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
In the meantime, Apple has been increasing its manufacturing footprint in India through partnerships with Tata Electronics and Foxconn, which have been importing component sets from China and assembling iPhones locally.
Recent data from market intelligence firm IDC shows that over three million iPhones were shipped from India in the first quarter of 2025, despite a contraction in the broader smartphone market in the country.
