India has emerged as the leading exporter of smartphones to the United States for the first time, overtaking China in a sweeping shift driven by Apple’s accelerating pivot away from Beijing.
According to research firm Canalys, smartphones assembled in India accounted for 44% of all U.S. imports in the second quarter of 2025, up from just 13% during the same period last year. In contrast, China’s share of U.S. smartphone imports collapsed to 25%, down sharply from 61% a year earlier. Vietnam’s share now stands at 30%, also ahead of China.
The figures reflect a broader realignment in the global electronics supply chain, particularly among top smartphone makers, as the trade war initiated under President Trump’s first term continues to reshape business decisions. A key driver of this shift is Apple’s deepening presence in India, spurred by persistent threats of tariffs on Chinese-made products and political pressure to manufacture closer to U.S. shores.
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The surge in shipments from India was primarily driven by Apple’s accelerated shift toward the country at a time of heightened trade uncertainty between the U.S. and China, said Sanyam Chaurasia, a principal analyst at Canalys.
This marks the first time India exported more smartphones to the U.S. than to China.
Apple, which began assembling iPhones in India in 2017, is now pushing to manufacture a quarter of all iPhones in the country within the next few years. Already, it has started trial production of the iPhone 16 Pro in India — a model historically manufactured almost exclusively in China due to the complexity of its components and high yield requirements. While these early units are not expected to fulfill the entirety of U.S. demand, the company’s move is significant in underlining India’s growing importance in Apple’s global strategy.
President Trump, who has made “Made in America” a cornerstone of his economic policy, has repeatedly urged Apple CEO Tim Cook to relocate more production to the United States. Although Cook has resisted calls to move core assembly stateside, citing feasibility and cost barriers, Apple has taken a middle path by expanding in India, a country with a large labor pool and government incentives for electronics manufacturing.
Trump’s administration earlier imposed high triple-digit tariffs on China-made electronics but opted for a more restrained 26% levy on Indian imports in April. While those tariffs are currently paused, the administration has warned that they could be reinstated after the August 1 deadline if trade talks with New Delhi don’t yield results. Despite the pause, the risk of unpredictable tariff policy continues to shape strategic decisions for global tech firms.
Meanwhile, Apple’s global peers such as Samsung and Motorola have also increased their assembly footprint in India, though their transition has been slower and more limited in scope. According to Canalys, Apple’s shift is unmatched in speed and scale.
Manufacturing firms like Agilian Technology, based in Guangdong, China, are also moving rapidly to reposition. The company is currently renovating a facility in India to begin partial production.
“The plan for India is moving ahead as fast as we can,” said Renaud Anjoran, Agilian’s executive vice president. Trial runs are scheduled in the coming weeks, with the goal of ramping to full-scale output.
However, the shift is not without hurdles. Industry executives say yield rates — which measure production efficiency — remain lower in India and Vietnam compared to China. Anjoran attributed these challenges to quality-control issues, an inexperienced workforce, and logistical inefficiencies.
Even as India captures a growing share of U.S.-bound smartphone assembly, the overall U.S. market is showing signs of cooling. iPhone shipments to the U.S. dropped by 11% in the second quarter to 13.3 million units, reversing strong growth earlier in the year. Globally, iPhone shipments fell 2% to 44.8 million units in the April-June period.
Investors have responded with caution. Apple shares have declined 14% in 2025 amid concerns about its heavy reliance on geopolitically fraught supply chains and rising competition in both hardware and artificial intelligence.
Still, analysts say the rebalancing of the supply chain is likely to continue. With Apple leading the charge and Washington maintaining pressure on China, India’s role as a key manufacturing base for the global smartphone market appears more solidified than ever.