India's Smartphone Economy
Apple's iPhone Shift to India
How Apple moved a growing share of iPhone production to India to diversify from China, with Tata Electronics becoming the first Indian iPhone maker, and India's rise as an iPhone export base.
Apple has shifted iPhone production to India.
Why
- Diversify away from China amid US-China tensions and COVID lockdowns.
- India’s PLI incentives.
- India’s growing market.
Makers
- Foxconn near Chennai and in Karnataka.
- Tata Electronics took over Wistron’s plant in 2023, becoming the first Indian iPhone maker.
Scale
India makes a growing share of the world’s iPhones; by 2025, most iPhones sold in the US were reported to come from India.
Apple stores
Apple opened its first Indian stores in Mumbai and Delhi in 2023.
Jobs
Plants employ tens of thousands, many of them women.
The US-bound iPhone
An iPhone bought in the US in 2025 was likely assembled near Chennai.
Thinking iPhones are made only in China
India makes a growing share.
Key takeaways
- Apple is diversifying to India.
- Tata became the first Indian iPhone maker in 2023.
- India supplies many US iPhones.
- Plants employ many women.
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