Apple last year shifted a substantial amount of iPhone production outside of China despite the fact that it has to pay a premium to do so.
The company reportedly hit a significant milestone, reaching the halfway point in its objective to split iPhone production equally between China and India …
Apple’s 50/50 goal
The majority of iPhones are still assembled in China, but Apple has for many years been working on boosting the number of phones made in other countries. India is the company’s secondary manufacturing hub, with Apple reportedly aiming to achieve 50% of iPhone production there within a year or so.
The company had already ticked off one major step along the way: simultaneous production of the iPhone 17 lineup in both India and China. For previous models, launch production only took place in China, with India lagging some way behind.
US import tariffs on Chinese-manufactured products had added an additional incentive for Apple to accelerate progress on this goal, with the company seeking to manufacture all US iPhones in India.
Reportedly halfway there
We’ve been hearing for a little while now that Apple was approaching the 25% point – putting it halfway towards its goal – and this is now backed by a new Bloomberg report.
Apple increased iPhone production in India by about 53% last year and now makes a quarter of its marquee devices there […] Apple makes about 220 million to 230 million iPhones a year globally [and] assembled about 55 million iPhones in India in 2025, up from 36 million a year earlier, people familiar with the matter said.
Apple paying a premium
The report says that the company has hit this milestone despite having to pay a premium to assemble iPhones in India.
Apple has been working for some time on attempting to offset these costs through negotiating additional tax breaks. It’s already achieved one notable success, by avoiding tax implications on the production equipment it provides to local contract manufacturers.
Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
By
