Apple Plans to Open Four New Stores in India by the End of 2025 | Will It Cut Down on iPhone Smuggling?
Apple plans to open four new retail stores in India by the end of 2025, joining the Cupertino firm's existing stores in Delhi and Mumbai.
New retail locations are slated for Bengaluru and Pune, while Delhi and Mumbai will each get second outlets. Apple already has its Indian corporate headquarters in Bengaluru, although it doesn't have a retail store there.
Apple's existing Delhi and Mumbai stores opened in 2023. Both were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The two stores contribute nearly 20% of Apple's revenue in India.
"Our stores are incredible places to experience the magic of Apple, and it's been wonderful to deepen our connection with our customers in India," said Apple Retail Senior Vice-President Dierdre O'Brien. "We can't wait for them to have even more opportunities to discover and shop for our amazing products and services and connect with our extraordinary, knowledgeable team members."
The new Apple retail stores in India will sell iPhones that are made in the country. Currently, Tata Electronics production facilities are cranking out iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models, and a Pegatron factory assembles the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple first began assembling the iPhone in India in 2017 and has steadily increased production capacity in the country over the years. India now produces seven percent of all iPhones sold worldwide.
While Apple's new retail stores will certainly make it easier for customers to buy the iPhone, will they also help reduce the number of iPhones smuggled into the country?
Currently, the Indian government levies a heavy tax on any iPhone 16 Pro Max imported into the country. This has resulted in customs officials seeing an increase in smuggling cases.
Delhi airport officials say that they seized 38 iPhone 16 Pro Max units in two separate incidents on the same day.
In the first incident, four passengers arriving on a flight from Dubai attempted to smuggle 12 iPhone 16 Pro Max devices into the country by hiding them in tissue paper. In a second incident later that same day, a single passenger arriving on a flight from Hong Kong attempted to smuggle in 26 iPhone 16 Pro Max models in her vanity bag. (Wow! I really want to see the size of that vanity bag. Aren't they usually rather small?)
If all of the devices had made it into India undetected, the government would have lost out on collecting approximately $14,000. That's due to the cost difference between iPhones in other countries and the retail price in India, which can be more than $500 more than the price in the US. (A base iPhone 16 Pro Max sells for $1,199 in the US, while in India, the base price translates to $1,724, or 144,900 rupee.)
Customs officials seized all 38 iPhones, although there hasn't been any word on whether the smugglers will be charged. I'd also be curious to find out whether 38 iPhones is a record for a single day or if there have been bigger numbers seized in a single day.
Unfortunately for Indian iPhone buyers, the Indian government places a hefty import tariff on specific devices, including iPhones. The government does this to push companies to manufacture their devices in the country, which is why Apple now assembles iPhones in India for local sale.
While Apple has increased its Indian iPhone production capacity, the majority of the iPhones assembled in the country are intended for export to other countries and are, therefore, not subject to tariffs.
Will Apple begin making more iPhones in India for sale at its new retail stores? Only time will tell.
