The second quarter of 2025 saw a remarkable increase in the share of devices assembled in India exported to the US market – as much as 44 percent of all smartphone imports came from the country, compared to just 13 percent in the same period last year. The main actor in this change is Apple, which has significantly accelerated the relocation of some iPhone production outside of China.
The new structure of global production
According to an analysis by the research firm Canalys, India has surpassed China for the first time as the leading exporter of smartphones to the US market. This change marks a broader reorientation of the supply chain, driven by increasing political pressures and tariff barriers. In the same period, the total volume of devices exported from India increased by as much as 240 percent.
China on the decline, Vietnam on the rise
China's share of mobile device shipments to the US fell from a dominant 61 to just 25 percent, while Vietnam took the lead with a share of 30 percent. Tech giants, including Apple, are increasingly moving final assembly steps to alternative countries to reduce exposure to geopolitical risks.
Apple Leads Manufacturing Transition
The US iPhone maker has announced plans to shift up to a quarter of its production to India in the coming years. While US political leaders have called for the relocation of manufacturing facilities to the US, experts warn that this would drastically increase the cost of the devices themselves. Other brands such as Samsung and Motorola are also considering expanding production in India, but at a much slower pace.
Challenges of a New Manufacturing Base
While more companies are setting up operations in India, experts point out that efficiency and capacity are still lower compared to Chinese factories. Apple has already started assembling the iPhone 16 Pro in India, but it still uses sophisticated infrastructure from China for its high-end devices. iPhone shipments to the US market fell by 11 percent, highlighting the complexity of this transition and the need for careful planning.