Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump’s trade war forces the tech giant to pivot away from China, The Financial Times reported.
The push builds on Apple’s strategy to diversify its supply chain but goes further and faster than investors appreciate, with a goal to source from India the entirety of more than 60mn iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of 2026.
The target would mean doubling the iPhone output in India, after almost two decades in which Apple spent heavily in China to create a world-beating production line that powered its rise into a $3tn tech giant.
China, where Apple manufactures the majority of its iPhones via third parties such as Foxconn, has been subject to the US president’s most aggressive levies, though he has since signaled a willingness to negotiate with Beijing.
In the wake of Trump’s tariff announcements, which wiped $700bn from Apple’s market value, the company rushed to export available Indian-manufactured iPhones to the US to avoid the then-higher tariffs imposed on China.
Apple has in recent years been steadily building capacity in India with contract manufacturers Tata Electronics and Foxconn, though it still assembles most of its smartphones in China.
The Guardian reported: Apple is reportedly planning to switch assembly of all iPhones for the US market to India as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on a Chinese manufacturing base amid Donald Trump’s trade war.
The $3tn (£2.3tn) technology company aims to make the shift as soon as next year, the Financial Times reported.
Apple has been swept up in Trump’s aggressive tariff policies, with the iPhone maker at one point among the biggest stock market casualties because of the prospect of its Chinese-made products being hit with a hefty import tax when they reach the US.
However, the blow was softened by a White House decision to exclude smartphones from the heaviest Chinese tariffs, although Apple is still exposed to a 20% levy on all Chinese goods as part of the US president’s response to China’s role in producing Fentanyl.
The complex manufacturing process behind iPhones involve more than 1,000 components sourced from around the world – albeit they are largely put together in China. Apple is secretive about details of its production processes but analysts estimate that about 90% of its iPhones are assembled in the country.
Engadget reported: Apple may shift all of its US iPhone production from China to India in an effort to avoid Trump’s tariffs, according to a report from The Financial Times. The goal is to manufacture all 60 million iPhone devices sold to American consumers in India by 2026, doubling current production numbers in the nation.
That would be a stark shift, as Apple has manufactured the majority of its iPhone products in China since they debuted in 2007.
Apple first started building iPhones in India back in 2017 and in late 2023, pledged to build up 50 million iPhones in the nation within three years with suppliers Foxconn and Tata. With that in mind, it would only have to boost that number by 10 million to achieve the new 60 million unit goal.