The volume of smartphone exports from India between April and July reached a record high of $13.34 billion, representing a growth of over 31 percent compared to the previous year. This surge is attributed to increased shipments of Apple's iPhones to the United States, according to government data.
Shipments to the US accounted for 70 percent of India's total smartphone export value during this period, reaching a record $9.4 billion, which is 26 percent more than in the same period last year. In July alone, smartphone exports to the US grew by a record 53.8 percent year-on-year, amounting to $2.34 billion, or 67 percent of India's total shipments for that month.
It is estimated that India could capture over a quarter of the US smartphone market this year, which is valued at $100 billion. The leader of this export growth in the US is Apple's iPhone model, surpassing Lenovo, which also supplies phones to this market from India.
This growth occurred despite concerns that India might lose its competitiveness after the US court annulled the 20 percent tariff on Chinese smartphones, which previously favored India's duty-free status.
These changes may force Apple, which relocated production to India to leverage price arbitrage opportunities, to consider moving production back to China. China's attractiveness is enhanced by India having a production cost disadvantage for iPhones ranging from 6 to 8 percent.
According to estimates from the Indian Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Association, approved by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), India will export smartphones worth $36–40 billion in the 2027 fiscal year. In the 2026 fiscal year, India exported smartphones worth $29.3 billion, and this figure is expected to increase by 22–36 percent by the 2027 fiscal year. An official spokesperson for MeitY stated that the government expects 30–35 percent of global iPhone production to shift to India by the 2031 fiscal year.
The government recently announced a new mobile manufacturing scheme offering over 62,500 crore rupees in incentives for eligible participants, replacing the Production Linked Incentive scheme, which ends in the 2027 fiscal year. Smartphones have become India's leading export item to the US, accounting for 38.7 percent of the total bilateral export value.