India Overtakes China as Top Supplier of iPhones

In a significant strategic shift, Apple is preparing to launch the iPhone 17 next September. In an unprecedented move, reports indicate that India is set to become the largest producer of iPhones this year, surpassing China for the first time. Apple is scaling up its production across five factories in India, including new facilities owned by the Tata Group and Foxconn.

For the first time in Apple's history, all four iPhone 17 models will be manufactured in India in preparation for their market launch. The Indian production network includes two new Tata facilities in Tamil Nadu and a Foxconn factory near the Bangalore airport. Tata's plants are reportedly expected to handle up to half of India's iPhone production over the next two years.

This expansion follows a period of substantial growth in iPhone exports from India. From April to July of this year, the value of shipments from the country reached nearly $7.5 billion, compared to a total of $17 billion for the entire previous fiscal year. According to a recent report by Canalys, India may have already surpassed China as the largest manufacturer of smartphones shipped to the United States.

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has recently pledged $600 billion in U.S. investments over four years, in an effort to maintain exemptions for iPhones manufactured in India. Meanwhile, China appears to be displeased with this shift. Reports indicate that Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers from its Indian facilities, while Apple reportedly replaced them with engineers from Taiwan and Japan, albeit at higher costs.