Apple’s manufacturing of the iPhone 18 Professional and Professional Max is underway in India forward of the units’ anticipated September launch, with native factories rising output to satisfy demand from the US and European markets.
Foxconn will proceed to deal with the majority of the manufacturing, significantly models meant for international markets, the report stated. Tata Electronics is anticipated to tackle a bigger share of Professional-model manufacturing this yr in contrast with the earlier cycle, when it started with base fashions earlier than transferring to Professional variants later.
Tata’s increasing position
Tata didn’t begin manufacturing Professional fashions instantly after final yr’s launch, as a substitute starting with base and client variants earlier than shifting to Professional fashions. This yr, with the concentrate on Professional fashions from the outset, Tata is about to account for a relatively bigger share of Professional manufacturing, although Foxconn will nonetheless deal with nearly all of general volumes.
Manufacturing is more likely to be scaled up additional within the coming weeks, calibrated to demand and pre-orders from India, the US and components of Europe, the report stated. A lot of the India-made output is anticipated to be directed in the direction of export markets, significantly the US, alongside assembly home demand.
Tarun Pathak, analysis director at Counterpoint, reportedly stated the US and Europe stay two main markets for Apple, the place iPhone demand continues to be robust. He stated India’s share of iPhone exports is rising, and the ramp-up in manufacturing from India would supply further cushion in opposition to tariff-related pressures.
India presently has 5 factories producing iPhones, unfold throughout Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, together with Tata’s facility in Hosur and Foxconn’s manufacturing hub close to Bengaluru airport.
India’s share in international manufacturing set to rise
India is on monitor to account for 26% of worldwide iPhone manufacturing in 2026, up from 6% 4 years in the past, based on Counterpoint Analysis.
Pathak stated Tata Electronics has had a powerful run, delivering one of many quickest ramp-ups amongst electronics manufacturing companies suppliers. He stated breaking into one of many world’s most strong provide chains was a steep studying curve, which Tata navigated by way of strategic strikes, together with taking up the operations of Wistron and Pegatron.
Pathak added that Tata’s entry into the iPhone 17 Professional lineup final yr, together with manufacturing new fashions in India quickly after their international announcement, mirrored the corporate’s rising capabilities. He stated Tata is anticipated to proceed seeing double-digit progress in manufacturing volumes as India’s manufacturing share rises.
Tata presently accounts for a couple of third of iPhone manufacturing in India and is gaining floor sooner when it comes to worth and export orders, the report stated.
Smartphone exports from India, pushed largely by iPhones, touched a document $9.84 billion within the first quarter of the present fiscal yr, up 23.4% from a yr earlier, with the US remaining the most important export vacation spot. Foxconn’s exports rose sharply throughout this era on the again of iPhone shipments.
Apple’s first foldable cellphone, anticipated to be referred to as the iPhone Extremely, is unlikely to be manufactured in India in its preliminary manufacturing cycle, based on sources cited within the report. This may differ from Apple’s strategy with the Apple Air, which the corporate started manufacturing in India in the identical yr as its launch.
The report stated the choice is known to be pushed by the technical experience required for the brand new kind issue quite than uncertainty over demand. Apple is anticipated to introduce the foldable iPhone alongside its next-generation iPhone 18 Professional fashions, with the usual iPhone 18 reportedly slated for a March 2027 launch. Outlook Enterprise
