Key Points

This is the first time the company will produce every new iPhone variant in India, a move seen as part of its strategy to reduce reliance on China and safeguard against US tariff risks.

According to sources, Apple has spread iPhone 17 production across five local factories, two of which have just begun operations. However, the sources confirmed that the tech giant is expected to manufacture fewer units of the ‘Pro’ models.

Tata Group’s new plant at Hosur in Tamil Nadu and Foxconn’s large new hub near Bengaluru airport are at the centre of this expansion.

Tata, which has rapidly risen as one of Apple’s key partners, is expected to handle nearly half of India’s iPhone output within the next two years.

Foxconn has already started rolling out iPhone 17 units at its new $2.8 billion facility in Devanahalli, near Bengaluru.

The plant, which is Foxconn’s second-largest iPhone factory outside China, is now running alongside its Chennai unit.

The company overcame an early setback this year when several Chinese engineers left, bringing in experts from Taiwan and other locations to keep production on track.

Apple’s bet on India has already started to pay off. Between April and July this year, iPhones worth $7.5 billion were exported from India, compared to $17 billion in the entire previous fiscal year.

In the financial year ending March, Apple assembled iPhones worth about $22 billion in India -- marking a 60 per cent jump from the year before.

The tech giant is expected to scale up production to 60 million iPhones this year, compared with around 35–40 million in 2024–25.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently underlined India’s growing role in the company’s supply chain, revealing during a July earnings call that a majority of iPhones sold in the US in June 2025 were made in India.

Analysts say Apple’s shift has boosted India’s status as a global manufacturing hub. With S&P Global estimating US iPhone sales at nearly 76 million units in 2024, Apple will need to double its shipments from India or reallocate devices from other markets to meet American demand.

Apple’s presence in India’s own smartphone market is also growing steadily. Shipments rose 21.5 per cent in the first half of 2025 to 5.9 million units, with the iPhone 16 emerging as the most shipped model.

In the June quarter, Apple’s shipments in India rose nearly 20 per cent year-on-year, giving it a 7.5 per cent share of the market.

Industry experts view the Bengaluru factory’s launch and the broader manufacturing shift as a major milestone in Apple’s diversification strategy.

- IANS