MC EXCLUSIVE Exclusive: Apple exports iPhone worth $5 billion in June quarter; overall smartphone exports hit record $7 billion

A significant majority of Apple’s India-made iPhones continue to be exported to the United States. (File image)

Apple has exported over $5 billion worth of iPhones from India in the April–June quarter (Q1 FY26), accounting for approximately 70% of the country’s total smartphone exports, according to preliminary data exclusively reviewed by Moneycontrol. This marks a sharp increase from around $3 billion during the same period last year.

Driven by Apple’s production ramp-up through Foxconn and Tata Electronics, India’s overall smartphone exports surpassed $7 billion in the June quarter, up more than 40% year-on-year from approximately $5 billion in Q1 FY25. These figures reaffirm India’s growing role in global smartphone supply chains, particularly for high-value devices.

While iPhone exports remained robust, they were slightly below the January–March quarter, when devices worth Rs 48,000 crore ($5.58 billion) were shipped, boosted in part by Apple’s effort to build inventory ahead of new US import tariffs effective April 2. Exports typically dip in the June quarter as global demand softens in anticipation of the new iPhone launch cycle in September.

Foxconn contributed the lion’s share of iPhone shipments during the quarter, followed by Tata Electronics, which has recently acquired operations from Pegatron. A significant majority of Apple’s India-made iPhones continue to be exported to the United States.

“Mobile phones have been one of the major success stories, and continuous support from the government is needed, especially in light of the targeted Chinese restrictions around capital equipment, rare-earth minerals, and the availability of skilled Chinese technical personnel,” an industry executive told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.

The executive added that the incremental $2 billion growth in India’s total electronics exports in the June quarter came entirely from smartphones.

Smartphone production in India reached $64 billion in FY25, with exports contributing $24.1 billion—nearly 38% of total output. From being the 167th-ranked export category in FY15, smartphones have now emerged as India’s third-largest export in FY25, behind engineering goods and petroleum.

The Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents Apple, Foxconn, Tata Electronics, Google, Lava, Dixon, and even Chinese brands like Oppo and Xiaomi, has flagged growing concerns over China’s informal trade restrictions. In a July 1 letter to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, ICEA warned that these disruptions threaten India’s $32 billion export-linked electronics manufacturing and the gains made under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The restrictions, described by the industry as “carefully calibrated”, are said to be affecting the import of capital equipment, critical minerals, and the availability of skilled Chinese technical personnel, all of which are essential for electronics manufacturing at scale.

“The interventions by the Government will ensure supply chain continuity, enable technology transfers, and—most importantly—preserve India's competitiveness as a manufacturing hub by keeping overall manufacturing costs low,” ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo wrote in the letter, which was also sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of External Affairs, and DPIIT.