Apple reportedly produced around 55 million iPhones in India during 2025, up from around 40 million the year before, as the company continues to drastically reduce its reliance on China.

In 2023, an Indian trade minister revealed that Apple ultimately aimed to increase local iPhone manufacturing from the then around 6%, to 25% by 2025. Now according to Bloomberg, Apple has done exactly that.

Reportedly, Apple had approximately 55 million iPhones produced in India during 2025. Apple tends to make between 220 million and 230 million iPhones annually, meaning India accounted for a quarter of that.

This is an increase from 2024 when unspecified sources say that Apple had 36 million iPhones made in the country. In April 2024, it was reported that India was already producing one in five of all iPhones worldwide.

India's rapid expansion

Apple was first rumored to be starting iPhone manufacturing in India back in 2016. It then did partner with Wistron to make the iPhone SE from May 2017.

Initially, however, the manufacturing was specifically for iPhones that would be sold only in India. It was also only of older iPhone models, rather than the latest ones where manufacturing was increasingly complex.

This was because of local laws that made it more cost effective for Apple to make what iPhones it could within the country. At that point, it wasn't economic to have suppliers develop plants that could make the newest models too.

But then from no later than 2022, Apple pivoted to seeing India as a potential source for all iPhones, and for iPhones to be sold worldwide.

The reason was partly down to trade tensions between the US and China, which were to later be exacerbated by Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs. But also, Apple was then close to entirely reliant on China.

This became an issue in the aftermath of COVID. China's strict lockdown procedures led to sufficient delays on the iPhone 14 that Apple issued a rare statement on the situation.

Plus ongoing power cuts across China have been affecting all manufacturing since at least 2021.

All of these pressures have made it worth Apple investing in developing manufacturing in India. Then during 2025, as the full impact of Trump's ever-changing tariffs hit, Apple spent millions changing its worldwide manufacturing and distribution network.

That was only the latest in the company's investment in alternatives to China. The most recent figures available are from January 2024, when it was reported that Apple's suppliers had so far spent $16 billion on moving away from China.

India is not the only country to benefit from this move, with Vietnam making the M5 Apple Vision Pro for instance. But India appears to be the major beneficiary as far as the iPhone is concerned, and Chinese suppliers are being significantly affected.