India has overtaken China to become the largest importer of smartphones to the United States. Phones assembled in India accounted for 44 percent of total imports of these devices to the US in the second quarter, a significant increase from 13 percent in the same period last year. Total smartphone production in India rose 240 percent year-on-year, according to a report released Monday by research firm Canalys. The data reflects a shift in the manufacturing supply chain due to uncertainty caused by tariffs.
Increased share of Vietnam
In contrast, China’s share of smartphone imports to the US fell to 25 percent in the three months to the end of June from 61 percent a year earlier. Vietnam’s share of phone imports to the US also increased to 30 percent. It was therefore also higher than China’s share.
The increase in sales from India was mainly due to Apple’s accelerated move to that country at a time of heightened trade uncertainty between the US and China, noted Canalys chief analyst Sanyama Chaurasia. According to some sources, Apple is accelerating plans to move production of most of the iPhones it sells in the US to factories in India. The company’s goal is to manufacture about a quarter of all iPhones in the country in the coming years.
US President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with further tariffs and called on CEO Tim Cook to manufacture iPhones in the US. According to some experts, this would be almost impossible because it would make iPhones more expensive. While a number of important Apple products, including iPhones and Mac laptops, have been granted exemptions from Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, officials have warned that this exemption may only be temporary.
Apple’s competition
Apple’s competitors Samsung Electronic and Motorola are also trying to move the assembly of smartphones for the US market to India. However, according to Canalys, their move is significantly slower and also limited in scope compared to Apple.
Total sales of iPhones for the US market fell 11 percent year-on-year to 13.3 million units in the second quarter. In the previous quarter, however, they rose by 25 percent, according to the Canalys report. Apple is the leader in the US market with a 56 percent share. Sales figures show the number of devices shipped to retailers. Although they do not reflect final sales, they are also an indicator of market demand.
Source: Czech Press Office
