Ahead of Apple’s September 9 event, seven verified facts explain India’s rapid rise as an iPhone production base

Apple scheduled its “Surprise and shine” event for September 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. PT, or 10:30 p.m. IST. As of this gallery’s 08:00 UTC fact-check cut-off, the event had not started, so an iPhone 18 Pro launch and its India production details could not be treated as confirmed.

Apple began assembling iPhones in India in 2017 through contract manufacturer Wistron, starting with the iPhone SE. That milestone was final assembly, so “made in India” should not be interpreted as meaning that every component was manufactured domestically. (Representative picture)

Bloomberg reported that India assembled about 55 million iPhones in 2025, up from approximately 36 million in 2024—an increase of roughly 53%. The estimate placed India near one-quarter of global iPhone output, but Apple did not publish those unit totals itself.

The same reporting said Indian factories assembled every iPhone 17 variant, including Pro and Pro Max models. That was a significant change from earlier years, but it does not independently confirm that every iPhone 18 variant will be assembled in India.

India introduced the Production Linked Incentive scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing in 2020. Government data says total Indian mobile-phone production more than doubled from ₹2.14 lakh crore in FY2020 to ₹5.5 lakh crore in FY2025; these are sector-wide figures, not Apple-only numbers.

Reuters reported in April 2025 that Apple aimed to source most iPhones sold in the United States from India by the end of 2026. The acceleration involved contract manufacturers including Foxconn and Tata and was partly intended to reduce exposure to potential US tariffs on China-made phones.

Ransomware group World Leaks said it published more than 204,000 Tata Electronics files, including purported client documents. Reuters could not verify the data’s authenticity, but Tata acknowledged a cybersecurity incident, restricted access to sensitive systems and hired a forensic consultant.