“Apple Inc will set up a software laboratory in India to help Indian startups and developers working on the company’s iOS platform, Apple said hours after Chief Executive Tim Cook began his first official visit to the country,” Himank Sharma and Rupam Jain report for Reuters. “Cook arrived late on Tuesday, and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other officials, later in the week.”
“The app design and development accelerator – the term used for hothouse laboratories in the tech sector – will open in Bengaluru, as Bangalore is now known, in early 2017,” Sharma and Jain report. “Apple said in a statement the accelerator would help Indian developers and startups design their apps for Apple’s iPhone and iPad.”
“Cook’s visit coincides with India’s emergence as one of the last large growth markets for smartphones, with sales in the United States and China beginning to taper off. Over 100 million smartphones were sold in India last year, a number that is expected to grow by 25 percent this year,” Sharma and Jain report. “Although India is in the world’s third-largest smartphone market, Apple’s iPhone only has a two percent market share, but sales grew 56 percent in the first three months of 2016.”
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MacDailyNews Take: As Apple targets BRICS economies with iPhone SE and refurbished iPhones (blocked in India, so far), the divide between iPhone-haves and iPhone-have-nots will become ever more stark. Fragmandroid iPhone wannabes will be only in the pockets of the poorest of the poor while Apple’s rich, vibrant ecosystem flourishes.
SEE ALSO:
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