According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), India’s smartphone exports rose 39 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $1.53 billion in August 2025, while shipments to the US doubled to $965 million from $388 million in August 2024.
ICEA issued this clarification in response to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), which cited the month-on-month decline in iPhone exports to the US from India as a sign of slowing overall smartphone exports despite no tariff impact.
The industry body countered the slowdown claim, noting that mobile phone exports typically soften in August and the first half of September, a pattern observed consistently over the past five years.
Additionally, this period aligns with new model launches by companies such as Apple. With global customers waiting for fresh releases, purchases in August dip, resulting in lower exports. At the same time, large-scale retrofitting of plants and machinery to ready new models reduces output and therefore exports in a planned manner to match demand.
Further, as per ICEA, companies often redirect production to the domestic market to serve festive-season demand that builds through September and early October. Exports usually remain subdued until early to mid-October as capacity is diverted to meet peak festival-led consumption.
