Express Photo
“India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world,” Cook said in a press statement. “With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we are giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world.”
The iOS App Design and Development Accelerator is expected to open in early 2017.
Apple’s new development centre is an “initiative to support engineering talent and accelerate growth in India’s iOS developer community,” says the company.
“Apple’s investment in Bengaluru through its iOS Development Accelerator will have far-reaching effects for the area’s rapidly growing and highly talented developer community,” said NASSCOM President R Chandrashekhar. “The skills and training they gain through this effort will significantly improve their app design and help them reach a broader market. Initiatives like these move the country forward in our efforts to advance a growth-led and sustainable technology sector.”
All this feel good press and all is terrific but the fact remains that India is still a very small market as far as contribution to revenues is concerned.
Apple said that in the March quarter, revenues in India were up 56% year-on-year and although the company did not break out the number of iPhone units sold in the quarter in India, estimates are that the company sold 630,000 units in India in Q1:16.
Counterpoint Research expects Apple to sell 3 million iPhones in India in 2016 versus the 2 million sold in 2015.
Apple was recently denied permission to sell refurbished cell phones in India and the government is hoping that Apple will set up local manufacturing in India instead.
"If they can make in China to cater to the Chinese market then they can make for Indian markets here," said a government source to news agency Reuters.
If Tim Cook and company can leave India with an agreement with the local government to either allow refurbished iPhones to be sold in India or agree to set up a local manufacturing in India, that will be a game changer for Apple. Both agreements would of course be an absolute coup for Tim Cook and Apple however I am just hoping for one or the other.
Indian consumers snapped up 100 million smartphones last year and the smartphone market is expected to grow at a 25% pace for the foreseeable future.
With an even cheaper iPhone (locally made and/or sans import taxes), Apple can take a major piece of that action, given the fact that the iPhone is still considered to be the gold standard among smartphones.
There should be a lot more news forthcoming all week from Tim Cook's passage to India.
You can follow my trades at www.jaysomaney.com
(Long aapl, long and short calls)
