Chinese-Made Smartphones Being Abandoned as New King Emerges
Jakarta – Global smartphone giants are beginning to move production away from China as their manufacturing hub. This shift is driven by heightened geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, which pose threats of elevated tariffs on products imported from China.
Seizing this opportunity, India is moving quickly to attract global smartphone vendors to produce devices within its borders. This aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda to boost domestic manufacturing.
India has set an ambitious target for electronics device manufacturing expansion to reach $500 billion by 2030, according to Reuters reporting from 13 March 2026.
India produced smartphones valued at nearly $60 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025, a remarkable 28-fold increase compared to the previous decade, according to government data.
Smartphone exports for the same period surged to nearly $21.7 billion, a staggering 127-fold increase from the previous decade. Smartphones have become India’s largest export product throughout 2025.
Given these figures, it is hardly an overstatement to call India the new ‘king’ of smartphones that will replace China’s position.
Apple is among the fastest-moving smartphone kings in transferring iPhone production facilities from China to India. Bloomberg reporting recently noted that 55 million iPhones were produced in India throughout 2025, a rise of approximately 53 per cent from the previous year’s 36 million units.
The volume of iPhone production in India is equivalent to roughly one-quarter of global iPhone production. According to Bloomberg reporting, total annual iPhone production ranges between 220–230 million units.
New Delhi is considering linking new incentives to exports to encourage more globally competitive production, according to an Indian official. The incentives will likely cover investments from April of this year onwards, the official added.
Previously, smartphone industry leaders such as Apple and Samsung had relied on India’s national production incentive scheme—a programme valued at nearly $21 billion designed to rival the power of China’s factories. However, this incentive programme is set to expire this month and is planned to be renewed.
The incentive programme helped Apple produce its most expensive and latest iPhone models in India, whereas previously it had only manufactured cheaper models. Trump’s high tariffs on China have also prompted some shifts in production.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has held consultations with industry regarding the design of a new incentive scheme, according to an industry executive familiar with the discussions.
The ministry has not yet responded to requests for comment.