India Is Now the Leading Smartphone Exporter to the US, Overtakes China: Report

India has taken the top spot as the leading manufacturing hub for smartphones sold in the US in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, a market research firm said. The subcontinent's rise comes as trade uncertainty between the US and China grows, and to avoid supply chain disruptions, manufacturers start adopting the ‘China plus one' policy. This is a significant achievement for the country, as the current government has been encouraging businesses to “Make in India” and assemble in India.

Made-in-India Smartphones Witness Significant Jump

According to a report by the market research firm Canalys, in Q2 2025, the total volume of smartphones being manufactured in India grew 240 percent over the same period in 2024. This increase has brought the country's smartphone shipments' share in the US to 44 percent, up from 13 percent in Q2 2024. This jump has propelled India to the top spot as the leading manufacturing hub for phones sold in the US for the first time, overtaking China, in the US mobile market.

In Q2 2024, China used to command a massive 61 percent share in the US smartphone shipments, which in the same quarter this year has more than halved, falling to 25 percent. A big part of this decline has been picked up by India, the research firm added. This is because smartphone manufacturers have become more wary of the growing tariff uncertainties and trade challenges between the US and China. The smartphone market is witnessing a supply chain reorientation, where companies have started looking outside China, following the ‘China plus one' policy.

However, much of India's gain can be attributed to Apple's supply chain shift to India from China, as the company started manufacturing the iPhone Pro models in the subcontinent. The report highlighted that Apple has scaled up its production capacity in India over the past few years, as part of the ‘China Plus One' strategy. It has also dedicated most of its export capacity in India to supply products to the US. However, the Cupertino company still relies on China for the scaled supply required for Pro models in the US. As per the report, in Q2 2025, iPhone variants' shipments to the US fell by 11 percent year-on-year (YoY), to 13.3 million units.

Apart from Apple, Samsung and Motorola have also started increasingly assembly smartphones in India that are sold in the US. Samsung's overall mobile shipments to the US saw a 38 percent YoY growth, rising to 8.3 million units. Meanwhile, Motorola merely grew 2 percent YoY to 3.2 million units in Q2 2025.

Following India, Vietnam is the second-largest manufacturing hub for smartphone shipments to the US, retaining its position from Q2 2024. Vietnam's share in Q2 2025 grew to 30 percent from 24 percent last year. It remains the manufacturing hub for primarily Samsung handsets.