“Tim Cook is getting the rock star treatment on his first trip to India,” Siddharth Vikram Philip reports for Bloomberg. “Paparazzi have tailed him since he began the visit Wednesday in the financial capital Mumbai, keeping Cook’s bodyguards busy as the Apple Inc. chief executive officer toured the city’s most famous temple.”
“He flew to Hyderabad on Thursday, opening a development center with a prominent politician, before jetting off to another city to watch a cricket match. Just about every step has has been reported, photographed and tweeted.,” Philip reports. “Cook was in New Delhi on Friday, and may meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he departs from India. The administration is currently reviewing Apple’s application to open retail stores in Asia’s third-largest economy.”
“The challenge for Apple is that its products are beyond the reach of many in India, where most people live on less than $3.10 a day, according to World Bank data,” Philip reports. “In an interview with the local NDTV channel that aired Friday, Cook said Apple wants to lower the price of devices over time in India, sell pre-owned iPhones refurbished in the country and introduce Apple Pay.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Apple has more than enough cash to strategically invest in countries until the authorities approve whatever business the company wants to conduct within their borders.
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Cook: ‘We are in India for the next thousand years’ – May 20, 2016
Watch Apple CEO Tim Cook at his first cricket game in India – May 19, 2016
Apple opens Maps development office in Hyderabad, India – May 19, 2016
Apple CEO Cook debuts in India – May 18, 2016
Apple to open first-of-its-kind iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in India – May 18, 2016
Tim Cook visits India: Apple to expand its Indian software development center, build local start-up accelerator program – May 17, 2016
Apple Retail Stores to open in India by end of next year – May 16, 2016
iPhone sales surge 56% in India as Apple eats into Samsung’s high-end share – May 8, 2016
Apple deprivileged as India bows to Washington D.C. consensus on mobile phone import tariffs – May 7, 2016
India rejects Apple’s plan to import and sell refurbished iPhones – May 3, 2016
Indian government panel paves way for wholly-owned Apple retail stores in India – April 28, 2016
You can bet that Apple will also look at whether they can offer phones designed specifically for India to garner first time buyers.
India stands a chance to become a larger Apple market than China as India’s business development grows and its population overtakes China.