Apple’s iPhone has emerged as India’s most valuable export item in 2025, with shipments worth nearly USD 23 billion, largely to the US. Smartphones overtook automotive fuel as the country’s top export category
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Apple iPhone has now become the most valuable export item from India in 2025, with around USD 23 billion worth of devices shipped from domestic factories in the country.
As reported by news agency IANS, the iPhones from India were mostly exported to the United States, according to industry data.
“The sudden surge in Apple exports was driven by production incentives such as the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme and diversification from Chinese suppliers,” said industry players.
Apple accounted for 76 per cent of total smartphones exported from India
Surpassing automotive diesel fuel, smartphones were India’s top export category for the first time, with a total of USD 30.13 billion worth of exports in the January-December period.
Surprisingly, Apple accounted for 76 per cent of total smartphone exports. Apple’s five‑year PLI window is scheduled to end in March 2026.
Apple’s manufacturing footprint in the country includes five iPhone assembly plants – three operated by Tata Group entities and two by Foxconn. The export, however, is supported by a supply chain of around 45 companies, including many MSMEs supplying components for domestic and global operations.
India becomes the second-largest smartphone producer
While the exports from India experienced a sudden surge, India has also become the world’s second-largest mobile phone producer, with more than 99 per cent of phones sold domestically now made in India, moving up the manufacturing value chain.
The Indian consumers’ smartphone buying patterns also showed a marked shift moving away from the traditional budget‑segment dominance, as Apple's iPhone 16 base variant emerged as the top‑selling smartphone model in 2025, a report from Counterpoint Research said recently.
For the December quarter, Apple set all-time revenue records in the Americas, Europe, Japan, and the rest of Asia Pacific.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, during the earnings call, emphasised, “We continued to gain momentum in emerging markets, which includes India, where we saw strong double-digit revenue growth,” reported IANS.
The Apple CEO further said that they set a quarterly revenue record during the December quarter in India.
“India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world and the fourth-largest PC market. Set quarterly revenue records on iPhone, Mac, and iPad, and an all-time revenue record on services,” Tim Cook added.
(With inputs from IANS)
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