Apple's iPhones power India's smartphone exports to $13.5B in the first half of FY26, up 60%

NEW DELHI: Led by Apple, India’s mobile phone exports have shot up by 60% in the first half of this fiscal, closing Apr-Sept FY26 period with total shipment of $13.5 billion against $8.5 billion in the same period of 2024-25.

In Sept alone, when the new iPhone hit the global markets, shipments from India moved up by 95% on a total export of $1.8 billion, according to numbers released by India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA).“This confirms that India’s mobile phone manufacturing sector continues to build scale, efficiency, and reliability - the three pillars of sustained global competitiveness,” ICEA said, adding that the US, UAE, Austria, Netherlands, and the UK were the top destinations for smartphone exports. The share of the US is estimated at around 70% of the total exports during April-September 2025, compared to 37% during the same period last year. “This has been led by Apple which has made India the hub for meeting the requirements of the US customers,” market analysts said.ICEA said that exports to the US have surged from $3.1 billion in April-Sept 2024 to an estimated $9.4 billion in April-Sept 2025, registering a growth of almost 200%.

“This transformation underlines India’s growing role as a trusted source for global smartphone brands serving advanced markets.”The Tim Cook-led giant has been boosting production capacity at its two key suppliers in India — Taiwanese Foxconn and local Tata group.Apart from Apple, other brands being exported from India include Korean Samsung and Motorola. The Chinese trio of Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are still focused on catering to the local Indian market, with no aggressive plans for exports.“The sustained rise in exports reflects the strong foundation of India’s mobile phone manufacturing ecosystem. Global value chains are now deeply anchored here. The surge in exports to the advanced economies demonstrates trust in India’s capability to deliver quality, scale, and reliability.” ICEA chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said.ICEA estimates that mobile phone exports will reach approximately $35 billion in FY26, compared to $24.1 billion in 2024–25.

This growth consolidates India’s position among the world’s leading smartphone manufacturing and export destinations.With concerns over Trump tariffs growing in the early months of the year, companies such as Apple gave a major push to exports from India. Smartphones have emerged as one of the best performing categories in the country’s export kitty over the last five years since the launch of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.While the US govt has slapped 50% tariffs on a variety of sectors in India, smartphones are currently not covered in the new regime due to exemptions given by the American administration. Apple is estimated to have exported iPhones worth $17 billion from India last year. The company has been expanding its manufacturing footprint in India, despite reservations from Trump. Source told TOI recently that the company has decided to continue with its plans to boost manufacturing capacity to around 60 million units annually against the 40 million-plus units now. A large part of the expansion is being done for export markets, especially for supply to customers in the US.