MC EXCLUSIVE AirPods join iPhones in driving Apple’s India export boom to US, LatAm, Europe; over a million units shipped

airpods

• Apple exported 1 million+ AirPods from India since August 2024
• Foxconn's Hyderabad plant now ships 200,000 AirPods units monthly
• India's role in Apple's supply chain grows with AirPods exports

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After clocking record iPhone shipments, Apple has quietly scaled up another export engine from India, shipping over 1 million AirPods units from its Foxconn facility between August and December to the US, Latin America, and Europe. The company is also in the process of further ramping up exports in the coming months, sources told Moneycontrol.

The AirPods export milestone underscores India’s fast-rising role as a global manufacturing and export hub for Apple, alongside China and Vietnam.

This comes amid rising iPhone exports from India — Apple, through five iPhone factories, exported a record $16 billion worth of iPhones during April–December 2025 and $50 billion during the PLI period, which began in FY22.

Apple’s Taiwanese contract manufacturing partner Foxconn’s subsidiary, Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), commenced trial production of Apple AirPods in April last year at its Hyderabad facility for exports and began commercial shipments in August, sources said.

“Foxconn has ramped up the production to around 200,000 AirPods units a month now. From August to January, the overall shipments have surpassed a million units,” a person familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol.

Production at the factory is largely meant for exports, as local supply from the facility is negligible. “Apple is largely importing AirPods to cater to India demand,” the person added.

The factory has seen an investment of around Rs 3,000 crore, with total investment expected to reach approximately Rs 4,800 crore, according to previous media reports. Another person said expansion at the facility is already underway, with headcount likely to increase to up to 5,000 from around 2,200.

Apple’s supplier Jabil currently manufactures plastic bodies or casings for AirPods at its Pune plant and is also reportedly expanding to support AirPods production in India by Foxconn. Salcom's India unit also makes mechanical components for AirPods in India.

Queries sent to Apple did not elicit any response.

Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, told Moneycontrol that Apple's expansion of hardware manufacturing in India is a strategic evolution of its 'Make in India' commitment, successfully leveraging local incentives and a maturing supply chain.

AirPods grew 39% year-on-year in 2025 and helped Apple secure the second spot with a 20% share in the premium (>Rs 5,000) TWS segment in India, according to Counterpoint data.

“Domestic consumer demand remains robust and diversifying beyond iPhones. Not just local demand, but we have seen export of AirPods in regions like North America, LATAM and Europe,” Pathak said.

comHe added that localising production of AirPods further provides the necessary scale to optimise costs while tapping into a rapidly premiumising market locally and globally. “Ultimately, manufacturing AirPods in India is a logical next step in building a resilient, multi-category hardware ecosystem,” Pathak added.