Apple’s $22 billion pivot to India could be a win-win situation amid US-China trade war?

Apple produced $22 billion worth of iPhones in India in the 12 months through March 2025 — a staggering 60 per cent jump from the prior year. According to a Bloomberg report, That means ONE in every five iPhones globally is now made in India, a sharp climb from near-zero just a few years ago.

The iPhones are built across factories in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, mostly by Foxconn, Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner globally. Tata Electronics and Pegatron also contribute to this growing output.

Apple exported $17.4 billion worth of iPhones from India during the same period, according to IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, underscoring India's emergence as a key export hub for Apple’s global supply chain

Apple’s pivot has enabled, price stability in the US market amid tariff tremors. Lower reliance on Chinese production amid rising political risk. Access to India’s skilled labor and favorable policy climate.

Meanwhile, the US remains unlikely as a large-scale iPhone production site. “In the US, you could have a meeting of tooling engineers and I’m not sure we could fill the room. In China, you could fill multiple football fields,” Cook said in 2017, illustrating the limits of reshoring.