Apple to shift all US iPhone assembly to India by 2026 amid trade war with China

You have a tremendous menu of problems created by tariffs, and moving to India doesn't solve all the problems. Now granted, it helps to some degree,

the MoffettNathanson partner and senior managing director told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Friday

The bottom line is a global trade war is a two-front battle, impacting costs and sales. Moving assembly to India might (and we emphasize might) help with the former. The latter may ultimately be the bigger issue,

he wrote to clients

You also have the demand destruction that's created by potentially higher prices. Remember, you had AT&T , Verizon and T. Mobile all this week come out and say we're not going to underwrite the additional cost of tariff [on] handsets,

he added

I don't think of myself as the biggest Apple bear,

he said

None of this is because Apple is a bad company. They still have a great balance sheet [and] a great consumer franchise,

he said

To raise the share of global production to say 40 per cent by next year from the current 17–18 per cent, Apple will need to more than double its production capacity to 80–90 million in the next few years in India,

said Upasna Joshi, analyst at IDC

Apple’s manufacturing partners in India, including Foxconn and Tata, are steadily ramping up production. India has the potential to meet US demand; the real test will be how fast and efficiently it can scale."

Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint, confirmed the positive trend and said

For raising production capacity within India, contract manufacturers will still heavily depend on the Chinese ecosystem for advanced parts and machinery. This mechanism should remain smooth for rapid expansion, and any delays on this will have a direct impact on the estimated numbers. Hence, these are achievable only with a smooth partnership between both sides,

Joshi noted

A massive uptake in the growing power of India's electronic manufacturing, thus evolving as a star spot for an effectively price-competitive market landscape too.”

Joshi added

Apple recently sent 1.5 million iPhones from India to the US via chartered cargo flights to avoid tariff-related costs. This was not just to avoid tariffs but also to assess whether Indian manufacturing could meet sudden surges in demand. The trial was viewed positively within the company, and now, Apple aims to fulfil all US iPhone demand from its Indian facilities,

the report said citing a source familiar with the development

The issue of shipments of specialised manufacturing equipment meant for India is repeatedly being held up in Chinese ports. The problem started in 2024, and since then, Chinese authorities have been stopping shipments or not giving approvals,

the report added quoting a source

India will help, but it’s not moving the needle on China’s dependence for Apple. It will take years to make this move, as Apple is caught in the tariff storm,

Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, told Al Jazeera

They have massive amounts of infrastructure problems in terms of traffic and mobility, and all these different variables that make the cost of the production longer, which eventually cost more money for the company,

Hafezi added

In terms of core iPhone production, it would take years to move a significant piece from China to India,

Ives added, referring to the phone’s components that are made in China and shipped to India to be assembled into the final product

You need secure, continuous, and productive infrastructure to maximise manufacturing as best as you can and be globally competitive,

he continued

If you’re charging import tax for intermediary goods, then you cannot actually be competitive versus somebody who does not. Their objective is to be as competitive as they can be to become the leading manufacturing hub,

Babak Hafezi, chief executive officer at Hafezi Capital, an international consulting firm, told Al Jazeera

Given that the furore has also knocked consumer confidence around the world, shoppers may still be more cautious about spending big on little devices in the months ahead, whatever AI promises are dangled,

said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown

If consumers want a $3,500 iPhone we should make them in New Jersey or Texas or another state,

the Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said

If Apple didn’t think the US could do it, they probably wouldn’t have put up that big chunk of change,

she said

To train 200,000-300,000 people to come in and assemble iPhones is simply not practical,

he said