In the first five months of this fiscal year, Apple exported iPhones worth $13.2 billion from India. This is about 47 percent more than last year and during this period Apple accounted for almost half of the country’s total electronics shipments and 82 percent of smartphone exports. According to media reports, during April-August, total smartphone exports grew by nearly 36 percent to $15.96 billion over last year, with 98% of this increase accounted for by the iPhone alone. Electronics exports rose 34 percent to $26.66 billion. Apart from Apple, Samsung and Dixon (Motorola) also contributed to smartphone exports along with some third-party exports, said a person familiar with the data. There is no official statement from Apple yet in this regard.

Smartphones have become India’s biggest export item

Experts say that Apple’s performance has improved due to the government’s new mobile phone manufacturing scheme. The scheme was implemented in April this year and has replaced the already ongoing Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) programme. Smartphones have now become India’s biggest export item, an official said in an ET report. Exports were 21% higher than automotive diesel exports during this five-month period, the official said. Automotive diesel was second with $13.2 billion in shipments. An analyst tracking the sector said a surge by Apple has pushed mobile exports to $15.96 billion in the first five months of fiscal 2027, higher than India’s full-year smartphone exports ($15.8 billion) in fiscal 2024.

Why has the iPhone become important?

Apple exported $9 billion worth of iPhones from India in the first five months of last fiscal year. The company has been steadily expanding its iPhone manufacturing and supplier base in India, as India’s role as an important manufacturing hub has become crucial to its strategy. On the very first day of the India-made top-tier iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models going on sale this month, it started selling them in the global market alongside the Chinese models. Earlier, iPhones made in India used to take days to months to reach the global market. Now most of the iPhones sold in India are made here.

More than 1 lakh people work in 5 factories

Apple began assembling iPhones in India with the iPhone SE in 2017 and further expanded production in 2021 under the PLI scheme. Its vendors currently have five large factories, two of which are run by Foxconn and three by Tata Electronics. According to experts, iPhone manufacturing has now become one of the top five manufacturing sectors in India in terms of employment generation. During peak production months, more than 100,000 people work in the five Apple vendors’ factories. Along with iPhone manufacturing, Apple’s vendors have also started making components locally. These components include the enclosure, printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), mechanics, housing, flex PCBA, and conductive graphite buttons (such as volume and power buttons).