India overtakes China as top smartphone exporter to US, powered by Apple’s manufacturing shift

India has emerged as the largest supplier of smartphones to the United States for the first time in history, surpassing China, thanks to Apple’s strategic manufacturing pivot. According to new insights from Canalys, a part of Omdia, smartphone shipments from India to the US surged by 240% in Q2 2025, accounting for 44% of all US-bound smartphones — a remarkable jump from just 13% in the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, China’s share of US smartphone imports dropped dramatically to 25%, a steep fall from 61% in Q2 2024. The main driver of this shift is a combination of supply chain realignment, escalating US-China trade tensions and Apple’s increasing reliance on Indian production lines.

Apple, which has steadily expanded its manufacturing presence in India in recent years, is now seeing that strategy pay dividends.

Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Canalys reportedly said that India has become the leading manufacturing hub for smartphones sold in the US for the very first time in Q2 2025, largely driven by Apple's accelerated supply chain shift to India amid an uncertain trade landscape between the US and China.

With trade friction between Washington and Beijing continuing to escalate, smartphone makers are rethinking where and how they produce their devices. Apple has responded by increasing local assembly of its iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 base models in India, and is now assembling some iPhone 16 Pro units in the country — a major step, even though its main Pro production still occurs in China.

Other manufacturers like Samsung and Motorola are also stepping up shipments of India-made smartphones to the US. However, Apple remains the largest contributor to this shift. Samsung still relies primarily on Vietnam, and Motorola's manufacturing base continues to be largely centred in China, despite growing output from Indian facilities.

This movement underscores a broader industry trend: US smartphone companies are actively diversifying their supply chains in response to tariff risks and unstable trade policies. Canalys analysts note that many brands are now front-loading inventory and revising sourcing strategies, turning to India not just for budget models, but increasingly for premium and flagship devices.

Despite the shake-up in sourcing, the US smartphone market itself saw modest growth of just 1% year-on-year in Q2 2025. Apple's shipments declined by 11%, while Samsung posted an impressive 38% growth. Motorola also recorded a small 2% increase, with Google and TCL rounding out the top five brands.