Whoever can make acquiring smartphones more affordable will win the sales game.
India is at a "tipping point" and a major focus for Apple, the technology giant's CEO Tim Cook has said, terming the opening of its first two retail stores in the country - in Mumbai and Delhi - as a "milestone" for the company. Speaking at Apple's Q2 2023 earnings call on Thursday, Cook emphasised the dynamism and vibrancy in the Indian market, calling it "unbelievable". "Looking at the business in India, we did set a quarterly record, grew very strong, double digits year-over-year.
American tech giant Apple on Friday warned of a flaw that is allowing hackers to seize control of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. The tech giant directing users of most of its devices to update their software after the company discovered a vulnerability in its operating systems that it says "may have been actively exploited," reported CNN. It urged users to install emergency software updates but has not disclosed the extent to which the flaw has been exploited.
After a five-day long visit, Apple CEO Tim Cook left India with a note that he can't wait to return to the country. The visit of Cook coincided with 25 years of the iPhone maker's presence in India. Cook arrived in India on Monday. The visit started with the launch of the first official Apple store in Mumbai on April 18 followed by a second in the national capital on April 20.
The Apple 'Far Out' event, which was one of the most anticipated tech events of the year, finally happened on Wednesday, bringing new gadgets galore including new iPhones, new watches and new AirPods. However, for those who missed it, worry not, here's the roundup.
Clearly, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and his team are looking to raise their game in India.
India's stiff labour laws were one key issue that Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Modi on his recent visit.
Korean electronics major Samsung expects its new foldable devices Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 will enable it to capture half of the super premium smartphone segment in India, currently dominated by iPhone maker Apple.
The new mantra was to align Apple's ambition with the government's, focusing on Modi's favourite themes of Make in India, employment generation and India as a high-tech export hub.
Local residents say until about two months ago, this board carried the name of Motorola, which once had a manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur, 40-odd km from Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In May 2020, Luxshare Precision Industry Co, a China-headquartered AirPods and iPhone assembler, had entered into a deal with the Tamil Nadu government to take over the defunct Motorola unit.
Taiwanese electronic contract manufacturer Foxconn on Monday said it has decided to pull out of semiconductor joint venture with Indian conglomerate Vedanta, according to a statement. Foxconn said it is "working to remove the Foxconn name from what now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta". "Foxconn has no connection to the entity and efforts to keep its original name will cause confusion for future stakeholders," Hon Hai Technology group (Foxconn) said.
At a time when Apple delivered its flagship line of new products on schedule despite battling a year of supply-chain turmoil, India could account for at least 12 per cent of the free-on-board (FoB) value of Apple Inc's iPhones manufactured by its vendors globally by 2025-26 (FY26). The number represents a significant shift for the Cupertino-based company's over-dependence on China, where 95 per cent of its phones are still being made. India's growing importance can be seen from the fact that in 2021-22 (FY22) - the first year of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme (the scheme was extended by a year due to the pandemic) - the FoB value of iPhones made in the country was $1.75 billion, translating into less than 2 per cent of the global value.
Apple unveiled its highly anticipated iPhone 14 during its 'Far Out' event on Wednesday along with the iPhone 14 Plus variant, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. This new lineup is inspired by the iPhone 13, with sharp metal edges, rounded corners, a glass back, the recognisable notch at the top of the handset, and a lightning port.
The price of the base model of the iPhone increased 25 per cent between 2017 and 2022, whereas inflation rose 29.7 per cent between September 2017 and September 2022.
Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software. This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said. Apple users have to enrol for the beta programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Two days after Apple opened its first India store at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, CEO Tim Cook did the honours at Apple Saket at the Select Citywalk Mall in New Delhi.
Seven months after it was launched in India, Apple is expected to start manufacturing the iPhone 13 at the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai from April, according to sources. The phones will be for both the domestic and export market. The production of the iPhone 13 in the Chennai plant was meant to start from January but had to be postponed after Apple suspended production following protests in December by women workers about food poisoning. An Apple spokesperson did not respond to an e-mail query.
Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com was present when Apple CEO Tim Cook opened India's first Apple store at the Bandra Kurla Complex, north west Mumbai, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
A sneak peak into 14 gadgets released recently: four in India and the rest worldwide.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the iPhone manufacturer is looking to invest more in the world's second-largest smartphone market. Cook, on his first trip to India in seven years, opened Apple's first retail store in the country in Mumbai on Tuesday and will launch another in Delhi on Thursday. Looking to replicate what China did to Apple's business in the last 15 years, the tech giant is eyeing India's massive market with an expanding middle class to power sales growth, and potentially make it a home base for the production of millions of Apple devices.
The users of 5G-enabled Apple iPhones will be able to try 5G telecom services - wherever available publicly in the country - from next week, both on standalone (Reliance Jio) and non-standalone networks (Bharti Airtel). Airtel and Jio customers who download the iOS 16 Beta software update as part of its 'Apple Beta Software Program' can try the service and send their feedback to the company. The final updated software will become available sometime in December.
The manufacturing of iPhone 14 in India within weeks of the global launch demonstrates the maturity of Apple's manufacturing capabilities in the country, according to Moody's Investors Service. Increasing volumes of locally-manufactured iPhones will also accelerate Apple's expansion strategy in India, Raj Joshi, Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance Group, Moody's said. The Indian smartphone market's large size and strong growth prospects as the country unveils its 5G network "make it an attractive long-term market for Apple", according to a note by Moody's.
The government has asked industry to provide a list of Chinese suppliers that would like to shift some capacity to India provided they are willing to set up JVs with Indian companies.
Allowing 12-hour shifts for all and night-time work for women was meant to benefit software firms, but is said to have clinched Foxconn's Rs 80 billion investment.
Apple's three vendors in the country have hit the milestone of creating 30,000 new direct jobs since the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices kicked off in April 2021. Based on the government's estimate that one direct job in the electronics industry helps to generate three indirect ones, Apple's vendors, Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron, are close to creating 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. The direct jobs that the vendors have created account for a fourth of Apple's commitment to generate 60 per cent of the new direct jobs out of the 200,000 jobs targeted by the government under the PLI scheme within five years.
Apple's newest phone iPhone 14 will be made in India as the global tech titan bets big on the manufacturing prowess of the world's second-biggest smartphone market after China.
Apple's decision to launch the eSIM-only iPhone 14 series in the US has American buyers puzzled. Surprisingly, it stumped some Indian folks, too, despite the availability of a physical SIM slot in the India-centric iPhone 14 series. This is because a large number of Apple consumers in India get their iPhones at considerably cheaper rates from the US through visiting relatives, friends, family, et al. Their apprehensions are mostly about compatibility with Indian networks and eSIM availability in India.
Technology giant Apple, which recorded $83 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 2022, has reported a "near doubling" of revenue in India. Announcing financial results for its fiscal 2022 quarter ended June 25, Apple on Thursday said it has achieved a revenue record of $83 billion, up 2 per cent year-over-year. Apple CEO Tim Cook, during an earnings call, said the 83 billion dollar revenue was "better than we expected despite supply constraints, strong foreign exchange headwinds and the impact of our business in Russia."
Foxconn means serious business in India. Its delegation to India was led by its Chairman Young Liu who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The finance ministry is looking at a reworked proposal from mobile device makers on how to fight the rampant and growing smuggling of very high end phones. The proposal suggests reducing the basic customs duty (BCD) on phones which have a CIF (cost, insurance and freight or price at landing in the port) value of over Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000. The retail value of these phones is upwards of Rs 70,000.
India must integrate more with East Asia by getting into regional trade arrangements, lower its tariff walls, and improve the quality of its workforce, suggests T N Ninan.
In a major push towards 'Make in India', Apple Inc is manufacturing 70 per cent of the mobile phones, in value terms, that it sells in the domestic market, in India, according to sources aware of the development. This is a sharp rise from the figure of 30 per cent just two years ago and marks a major shift in Apple's strategy following the government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that kicked off in FY'21. One of Apple's three vendors here, Foxconn, is currently manufacturing the best-selling model, the Apple 11, along with the Apple 10 and the Apple 12. Another contract manufacturer, Wistron, makes the Apple SE 2020. (The third, Pegatron, has yet to start production). The only models that are imported (they have limited volumes but high value) are the Apple 12 Pro and Pro Max.
Comedian Kathy Griffin's became the first casualty of the move as her account got suspended.
The new iMac, two iPads and iPhone 12 and 12 Mini will be open for ordering starting April 30, just like in the US, the UK, China and Japan.
Bharti Airtel on Thursday said its 5G services have gone live in eight cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. The customer availing 5G services will have to pay as per their existing 4G plan, it said. "Airtel has been at the forefront of India's telecom revolution for the last 27 years.
The company is planning to invest Rs 1,100 crore in the new mobile phone manufacturing facility.
The Tata group is planning to invest $90 billion in new industries such as mobile components plant, semiconductor, electric vehicles, batteries, renewables energy and e-commerce by 2027. The Tata group's investment in India is far higher than the $75-billion investments planned by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries and $55-billion investment planned by the Adani group in the next five years in the country, the Economist reported recently. The investment by the Tata group is a shift in its strategy to focus more in the home markets instead of international markets where the group lost money.
Apple Inc is commencing assembly of its iPhone 12 model in the country, a move that is expected to help the US tech giant further consolidate its position in the burgeoning smartphone market in India. Apple has partnered with third-party manufacturers like Foxconn and Wistron to make some of its phones in India. These include iPhone SE, iPhone 10R and iPhone 11.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday ordered a detailed probe against technology major Apple for alleged unfair business practices with respect to its App Store. In a 20-page order, the watchdog said that Apple's App Store is the only channel for app developers to distribute their apps to iOS consumers which is pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad.
They are both electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies, also known as contract manufacturers. One is Taiwan's Foxconn group, the undisputed global number one in this business with revenues of $223 billion. The other is Dixon Technologies, the biggest domestic player with revenues of over Rs 10,500 crore.
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