India has achieved a record $13.34 billion in smartphone exports in the four months to July, with a significant boost from iPhone shipments to the US, strengthening its role in Apple’s supply chain amid shifting global trade dynamics.
India’s smartphone exports hit a record $13.34 billion in the four months to July, helped by a sharp rise in iPhone shipments to the United States, according to government data cited by Business Standard. The latest figures underline how quickly the country has become more deeply embedded in Apple’s supply chain, with the American market taking a dominant share of India’s handset exports.
Shipments to the US accounted for 70 per cent of India’s total smartphone export value in the period, reaching $9.4 billion, a rise of 26 per cent year on year. In July alone, exports to the US jumped 53.8 per cent from a year earlier to $2.34 billion, making up 67 per cent of all smartphone shipments that month. Business Standard said Apple’s iPhone was the main driver, ahead of Lenovo, which also exports devices from India to the US.
The acceleration comes against a shifting trade backdrop. Earlier reports had suggested India’s advantage could narrow after a US court invalidated a 20 per cent tariff on Chinese smartphones, a move that had previously helped India’s duty-free exports. Even so, India has continued to build scale. Industry estimates cited by Business Standard suggest the country could supply more than a quarter of the $100 billion US smartphone market this year. Canalys data reported by MacRumors in July showed India had already overtaken China as the leading source of smartphones shipped to the US, a change largely attributed to Apple’s supply-chain shift.
The momentum also reflects policy support at home. Industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association expects smartphone exports to reach $36 billion to $40 billion in FY27, while the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has said it expects 30 per cent to 35 per cent of global iPhone production to move to India by FY31. The government has also rolled out a new mobile manufacturing scheme worth more than Rs 62,500 crore in incentives, replacing the production-linked incentive programme that ended in FY27. Smartphones have now become India’s biggest export to the US, accounting for 38.7 per cent of bilateral export value.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
