Apple aims to make most of its iPhones sold in the United States at factories in India by the end of 2026, and is speeding up those plans to navigate potentially higher tariffs in China, its main manufacturing base, a source told Reuters.

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The U.S. tech giant is holding urgent talks with contract manufacturers Foxconn and Tata to achieve that goal, the person, who declined to be named as the planning process is confidential, said on Friday.

Rising tariffs and trade tensions between the US and China are impacting Apple’s iPhone supply chain, which is still heavily dependent on China.
Apple is now planning to move the assembly of all its iPhones sold in the US to India to navigate potentially higher tariffs in China, its main manufacturing base, said a report in the Financial Times. The company still assembles most of its iPhones in China.

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The shift could potentially take place as soon as next year, as the tech giant attempts to reduce its reliance on China in the wake of the ongoing trade and tariff feud between the US and China. 
Apple sells more than 60 million iPhones per year in the US, which could all be produced in India by 2026-end, supporting its goal to diversify its supply chain. But for that, it would have to double current iPhone production in India, the FT report said.

Over the years, Apple has invested significantly in China to build a cutting-edge production line, which was vital to establishing itself as a global tech leader.

Apple uses a vast network of manufacturing partners and factories in China, such as Luxshare Precision Industry and Foxconn which have sprawling production plants in Zhengzhou, also known as “iPhone City”. 
iPhones are also made in Wuhan, Shenzhen, Kunshan, Beijing, Tianjin, Huizhou and Guangzhou.
China has now been hit with up to 145% US tariffs and has, in retaliation, imposed levies of up to 125% against the US.

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Although the US government has shared that it is reportedly considering lowering some of these tariffs and is willing to make a trade deal with China, Apple’s supply chain could still be impacted.

Meanwhile, Apple has already been increasing its manufacturing facilities in India with contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Tata Electronics and is setting up bases in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Foxconn has a factory in Hyderabad, primarily focusing on AirPods manufacturing. 
Some of Apple’s other suppliers, like Pegatron Technology India and Wistron also have production facilities in India.

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