Apple to Deepen Global Supply Chain Shift, Assembling 28% of iPhones in India by 2026

Apple's Growing Dependence on India in iPhone Manufacturing

Apple's efforts to reduce its dependence on China are bearing fruit, with India poised to assemble 28% of global iPhone shipments in 2026, up from 23% last year. This significant growth highlights the country's growing strategic importance in Apple's evolving global supply chain.

The shift in Apple's manufacturing strategy is a response to the need for a more resilient production network beyond China, amid tariff risks and rising geopolitical uncertainty. According to estimates by Smart Analytics Global (SAG), China's share in global iPhone manufacturing fell to 74% in 2025 from 83% in 2024, while India's contribution surged from 14% to 23% during the same period.

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Separately, estimates from Counterpoint Research suggest India's share in global iPhone manufacturing could rise to around 26% in 2026 from 23% in 2025, underscoring the broader industry view that Apple's India manufacturing push will continue to accelerate.

Apple has significantly scaled local production in India through manufacturing partners such as Foxconn and Tata Electronics. Tata Group's acquisition of Wistron and Pegatron's India operations marked a major localisation milestone in Apple's India strategy. Today, India assembles a growing share of global iPhones, including newer models, and has emerged as a critical export hub catering to markets such as the US and Europe.

Over the last five years, Apple produced iPhones worth nearly $70 billion under the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, with exports contributing around $51 billion, or nearly 73% of total output. iPhones also emerged as India's single largest exported commodity in the previous fiscal year.

India has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of Apple's supply chain realignment. What began as small-scale iPhone assembly has now evolved into a broader manufacturing ecosystem supported by government incentives, expanding local capabilities, and a rapidly deepening supplier base.

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The export story is also extending beyond iPhones. Apple has already shipped over one million AirPods units from its Foxconn facility in India to global markets and is further ramping up production volumes. In another notable shift, suppliers based in India are now exporting components and sub-assemblies such as PCBAs and mechanical parts to China, reversing traditional supply chain flows that historically moved almost entirely in the opposite direction.

At the same time, Apple and its suppliers are increasingly pushing for localisation of components within India, signalling a shift from the country being merely an assembly base to becoming a deeper part of the electronics supply chain ecosystem.

However, analysts caution that India is unlikely to fully replace China in Apple's manufacturing network anytime soon. China continues to retain major structural advantages, including its dense supplier ecosystem, mature labour and engineering base, logistics efficiency, and decades of manufacturing expertise.

"India will continue to gain share, but China is likely to remain the backbone of global iPhone production for the foreseeable future. Apple's strategy is more about building a more balanced, resilient, and flexible global manufacturing network," Abhilash Kumar, analyst at Smart Analytics Global, said.