Americans could soon find a “Made in India” label on their new iPhones, as Apple accelerates efforts to move production out of China amid growing tariff tensions between Washington and Beijing.
According to The Financial Times, Apple is planning to shift the assembly of all iPhones destined for the US market to India by the end of 2026. The move is aimed at avoiding potential new tariffs and shielding customers from price hikes on future devices.
Sources familiar with the matter told the publication that Apple wants to more than double its iPhone output in India, potentially manufacturing more than 60 million units annually just for the US by the end of 2026.
While Apple has been steadily ramping up production in India, scaling up to meet US demand will be a major leap. Last year, The Information reported that Apple had taken a significant step by involving an Indian factory in the early development of the iPhone 17:
For the first time, Apple is using an Indian factory to do the early manufacturing work for the base model of next year’s iPhone 17, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. The choice of an Indian factory for this stage of iPhone development—figuring out how to translate a prototype designed in Cupertino into a device that can be mass-produced—highlights the progress Apple has made in diversifying its supply chain to India from China and its confidence in the capabilities of Indian engineers.
During this early production phase, Apple had to tweak the iPhone’s design and test new materials and equipment to ensure the device could be mass-produced across multiple sites with minimal defects.
Still, the challenge ahead is significant. Indian factories will need to scale rapidly to meet the high volume of iPhones required for the US market.
BGR will continue to monitor the global impact of US tariffs and what this production shift means for Apple, and consumers, in the long run.
