NEW DELHI: Apple reported record quarterly revenue in India for the 15th time as it notched up its highest-ever quarterly turnover globally. This, though, was not driven solely by iPhones, as chief executive officer Tim Cook called out record revenue growth for Apple’s subscription services in India as well as its Mac lineup of PCs and iPad tablets for the first time.
Analysts said this reflected Apple’s growing maturity in its India business as a larger user base is helping Apple push beyond the iPhone, still its primary cash cow, into selling its other products and services such as Apple Music and Apple TV. This, in the long run, could be key as quarterly double-digit iPhone sales growth in India slows down eventually.
“iPhone saw strength around the world, reaching all-time revenue records in many of the markets we track… as well as a December record in India. The iPhone active installed base grew to an all-time high and set a new all-time record for upgraders in aggregate and across many countries, including the US, China Mainland, Japan and India,” said Kevan Parekh, chief financial officer of Apple, at the company’s quarterly analyst call on Thursday.
Apple reported its best-ever quarter as it begins the countdown to 50 years of existence, with global revenue of $143.8 billion. While Apple does not call out nation-wise product sales or revenue figures, projections from three analysts collated by Mint show that Apple sold 15.5 million iPhones in India in calendar 2025, ending the year with $10 billion in revenue.
Huge opportunity
“We did set a quarterly revenue record during December. And to go a little further down, we set quarterly revenue records on iPhone and Mac and iPad, and an all-time revenue record on services. So, it was a terrific quarter in India,” Cook said during a call with analysts. “We really like what we see there—it is the second-largest smartphone market in the world, and the fourth-largest PC market. So, we still have, despite a very nice growth history, a modest share there—and so we think there is a huge opportunity for us there. And we could not be more excited about it.”
“The other thing that I would point out is that the majority of customers that are buying iPhones and Mac and iPad and Watch are all new to that product. So, it speaks very well to the opportunity there,” he added.
Parekh said Apple is seeing “strong double-digit growth in the installed base in India,” without divulging figures for the total number of iPhone users in the country.
Analysts said Apple’s growth trajectory showed that the company was benefitting from customers venturing deeper into its products and services ecosystem, after over five years of sustained double-digit growth in India.
"Apple exited 2025 with its highest-ever smartphone market share, with 9% market share by volume and 28% market share by revenue… The iPhone 16 was India’s top-shipped model. Now, we’re seeing Apple’s ecosystem strengthen, as the all-time-high installed base of customers is ripe for ecosystem cross-selling,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at market research firm Counterpoint India.
“We’re seeing a clear 'halo effect' of Apple’s growing user base as services, Mac and iPad all posted record quarterly revenue in India. Strong products, coupled with sales channel strength, are helping Apple reach an aspiration-filled user base faster than ever before,” Pathak added.
Exponential growth
Apple had a meagre 0.9% market share by volume in 2019 when it sold about 1.5 million iPhones through the year in India, as per Counterpoint data. Since then, it has been on an exponential growth trajectory, with sales expected to hit 15.5 million units in 2025. This marks a 10x growth in annual iPhone sales over seven years, which is now helping Apple also sell its laptops, tablets and subscription services to its India customers.
Apple's subscription services include Apple Music, iCloud for storage, Apple TV for video streaming, Apple Arcade for gaming, and Fitness+ for activity and fitness.
Cook added that the company plans to open a physical retail store in India this year, after it added three stores across Bengaluru, Pune and Noida through 2025.
Prabhu Ram, vice-president of industry research group at CyberMedia Research, concurred that Apple’s performance in India “reflected strengthening underlying demand and increasing ecosystem depth.”
“Apple remains in the early stages of its India journey, with substantial headroom for growth. This momentum is being supported by both new customer additions and a growing base of loyal users, with consumer engagement increasingly extending beyond device purchases to broader ecosystem adoption, reinforcing Apple’s long-term growth potential in the market,” Ram said.
Of Apple’s global quarterly revenue of $143.8 billion, sales of iPhones rose to over $85 billion, and services climbed to $30 billion.
However, not all were convinced that Apple's diversification of growth factors in India is a result of an organic push by the company. Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president at IDC India, said Apple "isn't necessarily doing anything specifically to push its services in the country."
"Mac is growing independently because of excellent deals and discounts that Apple is offering across its laptop lineup. While there is some degree of truth that iPad sales are growing due to a rising iPhone base, services is a factor of necessity arising because of users' demand for storage in the long run. But Apple isn't going beyond iPhones as a sales strategy, and its market focus still remains on its smartphones for the time being," Singh added.