Apple exports 1M+ AirPods from India as output scales
What's the story
Apple has exported over a million units of its AirPods from India between August 2025 and January 2026. The shipments were made from the company's Foxconn facility in Hyderabad to markets in the US, Latin America, and Europe. The move highlights India's growing importance as a global manufacturing and export hub for Apple products, along with China and Vietnam.
Production ramp-up
Foxconn ramping up production to around 200,000 units per month
Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), a subsidiary of Apple's Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, started trial production of Apple AirPods at its Hyderabad facility in April last year. The company began commercial shipments in August and has since ramped up production to around 200,000 units per month. From August to January, total shipments from the facility exceeded one million units.
Future prospects
Expansion underway at Hyderabad facility
The Hyderabad facility has seen an investment of around ₹3,000 crore, with total investment expected to reach about ₹4,800 crore. Expansion at the plant is already underway and the headcount is likely to increase from around 2,200 to up to 5,000. Apple's supplier Jabil currently manufactures plastic bodies or casings for AirPods at its Pune plant and is also expanding operations in India for Foxconn's AirPods production.
Market strategy
Apple is successfully leveraging local incentives and maturing supply chain
Apple's expansion of hardware manufacturing in India is a strategic evolution of its 'Make in India' commitment, said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research. He noted that the company is successfully leveraging local incentives and a maturing supply chain. Despite local supply being negligible and Apple largely importing AirPods to meet domestic demand, the localization of AirPods production provides scale to optimize costs while tapping into a rapidly premiumizing market locally and globally.