Mumbai: US-based tech giant Apple sold close to 6.5 million units of the iPhone 16 in India during the first 11 months of 2025, making it the country’s best-selling smartphone, a new report has said.

According to Counterpoint Research, Apple stayed ahead of its Android competitors over the same period. The research firm’s findings also showed that the iPhone 15 secured a place among the top five best-selling smartphones.

The research firm said Apple’s performance reflects changing buyer behaviour in a market, historically dominated by entry‑level and mid‑range devices.

Further, the change is underpinned by a strategic push by Apple to expand local manufacturing and reduce reliance on China. Apple recently opened three new Apple Stores in Bengaluru, Pune, and Noida, taking its total retail presence in India to five stores.

Financing options such as no‑cost EMIs, cashbacks and bank schemes have made high‑end phones more attainable to more consumers. Apple Inc clocked the highest value of exports from India in November, shipping iPhones worth $2 billion, as per latest industry data.

Apple clocked the highest value of exports from India in November, shipping iPhones worth $2 billion. In November, a company filing showed that Apple India posted a record high domestic sales of $9 billion in FY25, and one in every five iPhones made globally in FY25 was manufactured/assembled in India.

The company’s manufacturing in India contributed 12 per cent of Apple’s global production value. The iPhone maker also began local assembly of high-end Pro and Pro Max models of iPhones in India for the first time.

The company filings showed that the Americas brought in $178.4 billion in FY25 – nearly 43 per cent of Apple’s global revenue – and a growing share of those iPhones were shipped from India. ­­­­

IANS