India is one of the most crucial markets for Apple’s future plans and growth. The Cupertino-based giant has been manufacturing a significant chunk of its global iPhone production in India in a bid to bypass the global restrictions and trade sanctions in China, and supply India’s highly demanding market with a bit more ease. Now, the company has achieved a significant milestone in its global manufacturing strategy, as it now makes roughly one in four iPhones, or 25% of its total production, in India.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple produced about 55 million iPhones in India during 2025, which is 36 million more than the previous year, thus marking a 53% increase. Globally, Apple manufactures between 220 million and 230 million iPhones annually. Hence, when you add up the numbers, India’s share now represents approximately one-quarter of the total output.
Entire iPhone 17 series now assembled in India
Apple’s broader diversification plan for its iPhone manufacturing capability has led to India getting a lot of manufacturing duties lately. Ahead of its launch in September 2025, Apple started production of the iPhone 17 series in India. Alongside the standard iPhone 17, Apple also initiated manufacturing of the sleek iPhone Air and the two iPhone 17 Pro models. This was the first time Apple decided to make the Pro models in India, since previous years only saw the standard models getting manufactured locally.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has highlighted the progress, stating that the majority of US demand is now fulfilled by India-made iPhones. This isn’t surprising considering Apple needs to navigate potential US tariffs on Chinese imports. Rumours suggest that the company is looking to source more of its premium products from the Indian facilities.
Apple takes advantage of India’s manufacturing push
The local manufacturing of the iPhones comes at a time when Apple has to work around the geopolitical rifts between the US and China – the latter serving as its base for supplying the world’s iPhone quota. Simultaneously, Apple also takes advantage of India’s Modi government’s push to encourage more foreign entities to establish their assembly and manufacturing lines in the country. India’s incentives, including production-linked schemes under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, have helped attract major assembly operations.
Partners like Foxconn and others have scaled up facilities in states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, enabling high-volume production of premium models. India is also emerging as a key consumer market for Apple – the company shipped around 14 million iPhones in 2025 (up 9% year-over-year), with total sales surpassing $9 billion – its strongest performance yet in the country.
Apple has also expanded its retail store presence in the country lately, expanding its official outlets in key metro cities. The company is also rumoured to bring its Apple Pay financial service to the country.