India has surpassed China as the largest source of cellphones sold in the United States, owing partly to Apple Inc.’s strategic decision to produce more iPhones in India. In the quarter ending June 2025, India accounted for 44% of smartphones delivered to the United States, becoming the market’s largest manufacturer for the first time.
This represents a huge increase from a year ago, when China led with more than 60% of shipments but has subsequently dropped to only 25%. Vietnam comes second, owing largely to Samsung’s manufacturing plants there.
The quick surge in India’s share can be attributed to Apple’s increased production capacity in the nation, as well as smartphone companies’ front-loading of device stocks due to tariffs and geopolitical concerns.
Apple, which still manufactures the majority of its iPhones in China, has significantly increased its Indian output, increasing the volume of made-in-India handsets sent to the United States over the previous year. Apple’s iPhone shipments to the United States fell slightly by 11% in the quarter, reflecting a distortion induced by abnormally large stockpiling earlier this year to reduce tariff risks.
Canalys market analysts remark that Apple built up high inventory levels in early 2025 and maintained them through Q2, while total US smartphone market growth was low (1%), indicating decreased consumer demand due to economic concerns.
This manufacturing relocation is also part of a larger attempt by smartphone manufacturers to diversify production outside of China in order to mitigate tariff and geopolitical concerns. Despite this, Apple currently produces no smartphones in the United States, but it has committed to considerable domestic investment and job creation over the next four years.
The restructuring of the US smartphone supply chain demonstrates India’s rise as a new manufacturing hub, fueled by Apple’s production relocation, altering long-held market dynamics and reflecting broader global supply chain realignments.
