Apple CEO Tim Cook made several calls to India during the company's quarterly earnings calls, specifically highlighting the country as an exciting market and an opportunity for further expansion. The Cupertino-based tech giant has been investing heavily in India in recent years. Cook also revealed that the company achieved record quarterly revenue in the country in March, with strong double-digit growth. Separately, he also hinted at Apple's expansion plans to further consolidate its position in the Indian market.
Tim Cook's comments came on a shareholder call to discuss the company's performance in the fiscal second quarter of the year (in the U.S., the fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and ends Oct. 30 September). While Apple's global revenue fell 4% year-on-year, it continued to post strong numbers in India and several other regional markets. Speaking about the development, Cook said: “We were very, very happy.”
“As you know, as I said before, I see it [India] as an incredibly exciting market and is an important focus for us. Regarding the operational side or the supply chain, we are producing there, from a pragmatic point of view, we need to produce there to be competitive”, he added.
Notably, Apple started contract manufacturing in India in 2017, but it was only entry-level and legacy devices. In 2021-22, the tech giant started production of iPhone 14 units in India through the Foxconn plant in Tamil Nadu. According to a Bloomberg report, India's production grew massively with iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus units, accounting for about 14 percent of the company's total manufactured units, or about one in every seven iPhone units.
Addressing this, the Apple CEO said, “We have both operational things going [in India] and we have market releases and other initiatives underway. We just opened a couple of stores last year and we see a huge opportunity there.” Cook also confirmed that the company is working to build a developer ecosystem in the country and says it's already growing rapidly. “We're working on everything the entire ecosystem, from developer to market to operations, everything. And I just…couldn't be more excited and excited about it.”
India was also mentioned by the CEO during his announcement about Apple's approach to sustainability. He said the company was working with its partners in the country to replenish 100 percent of the water used in the production process, saving billions of gallons of water over the next two decades.
