India Now Leads US Smartphone Shipments, Powered By Apple’s Production Shift From China

India has now surpassed China to become the largest source of smartphones shipped to the United States, a change largely fueled by Apple’s decision to increase its iPhone manufacturing in India, Bloomberg reported.

According to global technological market analyst firm Canalys, India accounted for 44 per cent of the US smartphone market in the quarter ending June, marking the first time it took the top spot.

In second place was Vietnam, where Samsung also does a significant portion of its production, while China saw its share plummet from over 60 per cent to just 25 per cent.

This sharp shift comes as Apple, alongside other smartphone makers, adjusted their production strategies in response to tariff concerns.

By ramping up production in India, Apple helped more than triple the volume of smartphones made in the country in just a year.

However, this wasn’t enough to prevent a dip in Apple’s iPhone shipments to the US, which fell by 11 per cent.

This decline was partly due to an unusually high volume of shipments earlier in the year, aimed at stockpiling inventory before potential tariff increases.

The shift in smartphone production is part of a broader trend where Apple and its competitors are reducing their reliance on China, choosing countries like India and Vietnam as alternatives.

This shift, while a smart move to hedge against trade risks, has not gone unnoticed.

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged companies to bring manufacturing back to the US, yet Apple continues to produce the majority of its iPhones in China.

While Apple has no production in the US, it has committed to investing $500 billion domestically over the next four years and increasing its workforce stateside.

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