Apple has set a new high water mark in India – annual sales in the country topped $10 billion for the full fiscal year for the first time (this was for the 12-month period ending in March).
This is up from the $9 billion figure for the previous fiscal year and an impressive 67% growth compared to three years ago.
Most of the sales came from the iPhone line, of course, but Apple also saw increased demand for iPads and MacBooks, according to an insider who spoke to Bloomberg.
India is still a relatively small market – Apple’s quarterly sales in China were $18.8 billion (i.e. over a three-month period). This did miss the $19.6 billion estimate by analysts, but it shows the difference in scale between the two markets.
Still, the $10 billion number in India is impressive as unfavorable exchange rates put a downward pressure on things – the Indian rupee fell 10% against the US dollar since the start of 2025.
Customers line up outside of Apple Saket ahead of the store’s grand opening
Local taxes aren’t helping things – not locally, anyway. As Bloomberg points out, the base iPhone 17 sells for ₹82,900, which works out to around $870 – that’s more than the $799 price tag that US buyers are looking at. However, Apple has been working with banks to offer credit card rebates. It also offers high student discounts and trade-in offers for older phones to stimulate sales. And judging by the results, it has been working.
The leadership at Cupertino has spent years on trying to spread out Apple’s manufacturing capacity, which was at one point 100% in China. It’s still centered on China, but this March the news came out that a quarter of all new iPhones were made in India. This was an estimated 55 million units produced in a year, up from 36 million for the year prior.
And here’s how Apple’s focus on India may be rewarded – the country is considering extending the tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment and component imports to 2041 (originally, they were set to expire in 2031). The exemption on components applies to parts used to manufacture devices for export outside of India – this aids Apple’s attempts to turn the country into a manufacturing hub for the global market (Apple wants to build all US iPhones in India, for example).
