Apple beats Samsung to become biggest smartphone exporter from India

Apple has outpaced Samsung to become the leading smartphone exporter from India. The Cupertino-giant contributed 49% of the country’s total 12 million smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2023). Meanwhile, its closest counterpart Samsung accounted for 45% of smartphone shipments in the June quarter.

This marks a major achievement for Apple, as it has been steadily gaining ground in its manufacturing aspirations in India in recent years. Starting in 2017, Apple made inroads into Indian manufacturing by producing the iPhone SE, and since then, it has broadened its production to encompass other models, including the latest iPhone 15.

The company’s exports saw a significant rise from 9% in the same quarter last year to 49% this year. Apple has three contact manufacturers in India- Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron. Apple began manufacturing in India in 2017 starting with iPhone SE. However, manufacturing ramped up in 2022 with iPhone 14. This is the first time in Apple’s history that iPhone 15’s made in India models are available for sale on the same day as its global sales debut. It previously shipped made in India phones days after the launch date. To recall, iPhone 14 went for sale in India almost 10 days after its global launch date.
The iPhone 15 sales began from September 22. The new phones are said to manufactured by Foxconn’s at its Chennai plant. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, called this a milestone for India.

“Indians now accessing the latest products without waiting. We expect the iPhone 15 to be exported from India to the world soon. Congratulations, Team Apple,” he posted on X.

Apple’s surge in smartphone export from India is an achievement for the country. It also shows Apple’s commitment to the country and its aim to turn India into a global hub for iPhone manufacturing. The company is currently said to be manufacturing 7% of its iPhone models in the country.