Computers and electronics: Follow one offering through the chain
Assemblers turning chips and displays into phones, PCs, servers and consumer devices
Follow one offering through the chain
An iPhone 17 assembled in India
Follow one phone from Asian chips, panels and casings through an Indian assembly line to the shop and, finally, the recycler.
Chips from Taiwan and Korea
70%TSMC share of foundry revenueThe A-series processor is designed by Apple and made by TSMC in Taiwan, which took about 70% of world foundry revenue (TrendForce) in the second quarter of 2025. The memory comes from the three big DRAM makers, SK hynix, Samsung and Micron, which together held about 92% of DRAM revenue in Q3 2025 (calculated). Chips are the costliest parts of most devices.1,2
Constraint Leading processors come from one foundry and memory from three makers, so a Taiwan or Korea disruption would stop assembly. Si SiliconAu GoldESG Electronic specialty gasesSemiconductorsA crowded board of tiny parts
106component projects cleared, Aug 2026Capacitors, resistors, inductors and connectors are soldered onto a dense multilayer circuit board. Apple says the gold plating and tin solder on its own boards in the iPhone 17 are 100% recycled. Most passives still come from Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China; to build them locally, India's component scheme had cleared 106 projects worth over ₹69,000 crore by August 2026.4,3
Constraint High-end capacitors and fine-line boards come from a few Asian makers, and qualifying a new Indian supplier takes months. Cu CopperTa TantalumPd PalladiumSn TinEPX Epoxy resinsMetal productsPlastic and rubber productsA screen and a recycled battery
100%recycled cobalt in the batteryThe OLED display, the largest non-chip cost, comes from panel makers in Korea and China, and the lithium-ion cell from Asian battery firms. Apple reports that the iPhone 17 battery uses 100% recycled cobalt and 95% recycled lithium, and that all its magnets use recycled rare earths, so part of this step now runs on metal from old devices.4
Constraint Panel output is concentrated in China and Korea and consumer cells in China, with few qualified alternatives for flagships. In IndiumLi LithiumCo CobaltCAM Battery cathode materialsREE Rare earthsSemiconductorsA frame of recycled aluminium
85%recycled aluminium in the enclosureThe frame is machined from aluminium and finished with coatings, glass and adhesives by enclosure makers in China and, increasingly, India, Tata Electronics among them. Apple says the iPhone 17 enclosure is 85% recycled aluminium and that recycled content makes up 30% of the phone's mass, which saves the large amount of electricity needed to smelt new metal.4
Constraint Machining lines need many precision tools and steady power; recycled aluminium supply limits how far the 85% can rise. Al AluminiumPC PolycarbonateAdh Adhesives and sealantsPnt Paints and coatingsMot Electric motors and drivesMetal productsMachinery and equipmentPlastic and rubber productsApple designs it and keeps the margin
55 kgCO2e over the phone's lifeApple sets the design, picks every supplier and assembler, writes the software and takes most of the profit. Its environmental report puts the iPhone 17's lifetime footprint at 55 kg of CO2 equivalent for the 256 GB model, and says 35% of the electricity used to make it came from supplier clean-energy projects under Apple's programme.4
Constraint Only 35% of manufacturing electricity came from supplier clean-energy projects; the rest depends on Asian grids, many coal-heavy. PV Solar photovoltaicsDC Data centresSemiconductorsSoftware and IT servicesPut together by Foxconn, Tata, Pegatron
55 mniPhones assembled in India, 2025Contract manufacturers Foxconn, Tata Electronics and Pegatron assemble and test the phones in Indian factories on thin margins. About 55 million iPhones were assembled in India in 2025, up from 36 million a year earlier and roughly a quarter of Apple's world output (Bloomberg, as reported). Scale is the business model: Foxconn booked NT$ 8.10 trillion of revenue in 2025 across all customers.5,6
Constraint India adds mainly assembly value; the costliest parts are imported, and the phone incentive (PLI) window closed in March 2026. Sn TinAg SilverCu CopperN2 Nitrogen gasIPA IsopropanolMachinery and equipmentElectrical equipmentReal estateSold at home and abroad
$9bn+Apple's sales in IndiaMost iPhones made in India are exported, about US$ 23 billion worth in 2025, mainly to the United States. The rest reach Indian buyers through Apple's own stores (six in March 2026), carriers, distributors, electronics chains and online marketplaces, often on instalments and trade-in deals. Apple's India sales passed US$ 9 billion (Bloomberg, as reported), and authorised centres handle repairs.5,8
Constraint Retail is no chokepoint; the risk is trade policy, since most of the US$ 23 billion of exports went to America. Bld Energy in buildingsLED Lighting and displaysWholesale and retail tradeE-commerce and digital marketplacesFinance: banking, insurance, marketsBack to gold, copper and cobalt
22.3%e-waste formally recycled, 2022When the phone dies, collectors and recyclers wipe it, refurbish what can be resold and shred the rest to recover gold, copper and cobalt for refiners. The world generated 62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, but only 22.3% was documented as properly collected and recycled, so most of the metal in old electronics is still lost.7
Constraint E-waste is growing five times faster than documented recycling, and informal dismantling loses metal and harms workers. Au GoldCu CopperCo CobaltH2SO4 Sulphuric acidWaste and recyclingWhat the chain shows
India has won the assembly step fast; the chips, panels and cells that carry most of a phone's value are the next and harder prize.
Sources
- 2Q25 foundry revenue surges 14.6%, TSMC extends market dominance (TrendForce data) Evertiq, 2025
- Global DRAM revenue jumps 30.9% in 3Q25 (TrendForce data) Evertiq, 2025
- Govt clears 31 electronics component projects worth Rs 7,877 cr, investments in 5 rounds top Rs 69,000 cr ThePrint, 2026
- iPhone 17 Product Environmental Report Apple, 2025
- Apple scales India output 53 pc, accounts for quarter of global iPhone production (Bloomberg report) IANS, 2026
- Foxconn posts record Q4 revenue on surging AI server demand TelecomLead, 2026
- Global E-waste Monitor 2024: electronic waste rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling UNITAR and ITU, 2024
- Apple's iPhone exports from India cross ₹2 trillion mark in 2025, a first-ever milestone Outlook Business, 2026