India was fourth-largest iPhone market in Q2 2026, says Omdia data report

Apple shipped 3.45 million iPhones to India in Q2 2026, accounting for 6.25 per cent of its global shipments and giving it a 10 per cent domestic market share

India was the fourth-largest global market for Apple iPhone shipments in the second quarter of 2026 — behind only the United States, China, and Japan — according to the latest Omdia data. However, India was ahead in shipments compared to the UK, Canada and Germany, which are among the company’s top ten markets.

 

As Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook stepped down on September 1 and John Ternus took the reins, the company shipped 3.45 million iPhones to India (6.25 per cent of its global total) helping it capture a 10 per cent share of the country’s smartphone market. Total global iPhone shipments were pegged at 55.12 million in the second quarter of 2026.  

 

 

However, the US topped the charts with 17.61 million iPhone shipments in the second quarter — five times India’s volume — accounting for 31.9 per cent of Apple’s global total. China followed in second place with 12.43 million units (3.6 times India’s volume), while third-placed Japan represented a much smaller market, with 4.50 million shipments accounting for 8.16 per cent of global iPhone volume.

 

Given the wide gap in iPhone shipments between India and the top two markets — the US and China — analysts suggest the country’s next immediate milestone is taking third place from Japan. However, Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Omdia, says: “India can hit number three in one-off quarters like Q3 which is festival seasonality in India. But to hit it consistently it will require some time. Our projections show that it is not overtaking Japan anytime soon in the next three to four years.”

 

However, Japan is a smaller but high-value market averaging 10 million smartphone sales per quarter, compared to India’s 35 million. Consequently, iPhones command a 50–60 per cent share of Japan's total smartphone market, whereas Apple's share in India sits at around 10 per cent.

 

The Japanese market focuses heavily on higher-end iPhones like the Pro and Pro Max, unlike India, where the bulk of sales are in base models. Japan is a mature market with substantial service revenues, remaining remarkably stable in recent years; price rises do not depress demand because most phones are bundled by telcos. In contrast, Indian sales occur through retail channels where price increases immediately hit volume.

 

Chaurasia said that iPhone growth in India — previously running at 10–12 per cent quarter-on-quarter — is now projected to ease due to memory-led price hikes in 2026 and 2027.