India

Apple pledges to run its Indian operations completely from renewable energy by 2018

Tim Cook recently disclosed that Apple expects its Indian operations to be run completely from renewable energy within the next six months. Cook said that during a Sunday meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at a business summit in Washington, according to a person familiar with the discussion who spoke with Reuters.

The move is part of Apple's mission to leave the world better than we found it.

He also highlighted the economic impact Apple is having on India:

We have a ton of energy going into the country on a number of fronts. We believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and it's continuing to be expanded, there is a huge opportunity for Apple there.

Apple has generated 740,000 jobs in India thus far and Indian developers have created nearly 100,000 apps for its App Store, said another person familiar with the talks.

Cook said Apple's sales in India grew by “strong double digits” in the most recent quarter, but didn't disclosed how much revenue the company generated from Indian operations.

As a limited run of ”Assembled in India” iPhone SE units went on sale in many Indian cities, Apple is seeking additional concessions from the Indian government as it looks to expand its presence in the world's third-largest smartphone market behind the United States and China.

Among other things, the Cupertino tech giant is seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India where it currently sells iPhones through resellers.

First “Assembled in India” iPhone SE units go in sale, but don’t carry lower price tag

First iPhone SE units assembled in India have gone on sale in many cities in the country, including the city of Bangalore near which the handset is being assembled in a facility operated by Apple's contract manufacturer Wistron.

The Indian Express reported today that the iPhone SE units manufactured in India don't carry a lower price tag because they are made locally due to Apple's policy of keeping the pricing more or less the same across the globe. In fact, these phones are “priced the same as other models manufactured in China,” according to The Indian Express.

Currently, a small trial run of limited iPhone SE units has been produced. Although the handset is now selling in many Indian cities, customers interested in the handset may not be able to get their hands on one until Wistron ramps up production.

These phones have “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in India” printed on their back.

Apple allows Indian retailers to discount older iPhone models to boost sales

Apple's smartphone market share of the Indian market barely hovers above three percent because its aspirational handset is too expensive for many average consumer in the 1.32 billion people market.

But the Cupertino giant is taking steps to rectify the situation and has now permitted local retailers to slash prices of older-generation models such as iPhone 5s, which make up more than half of Apple’s shipments to the subcontinent.

Bloomberg reported Monday that Apple is now letting stores and online retailers such as Amazon.com and Flipkart slash iPhone prices.

iPlanet, a local reseller, prices iPhone 5s at 20,400 rupees, which works out to about $300. Apple no longer sells iPhone 5s in the US, but the most similar model, iPhone SE, starts at $400 in the US, without taxes or fees.

The device was listed at 15,999 rupees during an Amazon sale in May, or about $250. Retailer Flipkart lists iPhone 6 for 24,990 rupees, or approximately $390.

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Besides discounts, retailers have been pitching iPhones with cash-back offers, product exchanges, and monthly payment plans, all aimed at making it easier for young Indians to spend a month’s earnings or more on an iPhone 5s.

Apple is hiring an undisclosed number of 'affordability managers' in the country to negotiate with banks and other lenders on behalf of potential buyers.

Older devices accounted for a Counterpoint Research-estimatd 55 percent of the 2.6 million handsets Apple shipped to India in 2016. “As the premium segment grows in India, Apple wants a larger slice of it,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at market researcher Gartner.

“The bigger the iOS base, the brighter Apple’s future in India,” he added.

India is the smartphone industry’s fastest-­growing market and an increasingly important market for Apple. The company has now started assembling iPhone SE devices in India via its contract manufacturer Wistron and is seeking additional concessions from the local government in an effort to boost local iPhone production.

The Wistron manufacturing facility is currently assembling “a couple thousand” iPhone SE units as a trial run, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tim Cook & Co. are predicted to officially bring Apple Online Store to India and enable Apple Pay transactions in the country.

In March, the iPhone maker opened the iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in the Yelahanka area of Bengaluru, which is the home of India’s startup scene. The populous country has some of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world.

Patent applications suggest Apple may be preparing to bring Apple Pay to India

Despite low buying power, India with its population of 1.32 billion people represents a massive marketing opportunity for the increasingly popular smartphone payment services. Small wonder that the Cupertino company now appears to be preparing to bring its own mobile payments service to its customers in India, said a new report.

Apple Pay currently works in sixteen major markets.

According to a BusinessStandard article, the iPhone maker has submitted at least five applications with the Indian Patent office over the past year, all related to its digital payments system. The patent applications range from using biometrics to authenticate payments to securely transferring payment to a device such as a point of sale device.

While Indian law clearly states that software is intrinsically not patentable, exceptions exist for devices with software. If Apple's patents are granted, Apple Pay could hurt homegrown digital payments firms such as Paytm, Mobikwik, Freecharge and several others.

Samsung Pay launched in India in March 2017, while Google plans to bring Android Pay there later this year by anchoring the service to the government-backed Unified Payments Interface.

Last week, Facebook made a patent application of its own with the Indian Patent office. It outlines a digital wallet service that would presumably be integrated into its popular Messenger and WhatsApp messaging services.

Apple has been doubling down on the Services category as a way to boost sales of iPhones in India and elsewhere. Recently, the firm began assembling iPhone SE in Bangalore, in a facility run by its supplier Wistron, marking the first time the cupertino company has assembled any iPhone model in the country.

Indian government offers Apple tax incentives to boost local iPhone production

India has offered tax concessions to Apple to expand iPhone production in the country just days after it was announced that the Cupertino giant kicked off local iPhone SE production.

This is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to boost local manufacturing.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, the central minister for Electronics and IT, told Reuters this morning that Apple has already approached the Indian government regarding potential expansion of its manufacturing facility in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru, operated by its Taiwanese supplier Wistron which as of recently has been assembling iPhone SE there.

According to the news gathering organization, the Indian government has offered to permit Apple to import handset components intended for use in local manufacturing tax free.

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Among a set of tax concessions, Apple had initially sought a 15-years tax holiday for all components that it would import for setting up a manufacturing facility in India.

A panel of ministries rejected that demand and has offered a phased program to increase the share of local production in the manufacturing, Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and IT said.

“We have offered them tax exemptions on those components which could not be manufactured in India,” Sundararajan told Reuters.

Local manufacturing component would have to be increased gradually, he added.

The tax concessions will be subject to the condition of increasing local value addition over a period of time, to which Apple has reportedly agreed to.

“It will be a little early to say that India and Apple have agreed on the common ground,“ cautioned a government official.

It's been speculated that Apple and Wistron began making iPhone SE in India as a way to lower the handset's price point in order to make it more affordable to Indian consumers.

Apple kicks off iPhone SE production in India

Apple has officially kicked off the initial production run of an unspecified “small number” of iPhone SE handsets in its Bangalore plant in India, marking the first time the company has assembled any iPhone model in the vast 1.33 billion people market.

As previously suspected, the manufacturing of the cheapest iPhone model was handled earlier this month by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron via its assembling unit located in Karnataka, a state in the south western region of India.

Apple confirmed in a statement that it has begun the initial production of a small number of iPhone SE handsets in Bangalore. The Cupertino company will begin shipping the devices to domestic customers later this month, with the first shipments potentially hitting retail stores as early as this week or next, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A state official with direct knowledge of the matter told the publication that the Cupertino giant “could seek more production” within the country in the future.

It's unclear if Apple will reduce iPhone SE pricing in India to better compete with inexpensive smartphones from rivals. In India, according to Deutsche Bank’s annual “Mapping the World’s Prices” survey, the 128-gigabyte 4.7-inch iPhone 7 model costs about $900 versus an average selling price of $815 in the US.

iPhone SE costs $399 in the United States. By comparison, the current average going rate for iPhone SE in India is about $320. Some analysts think Apple should price the phone really aggressively were it to move a good number of these devices in the country.

“In three to five years, these users will be able to graduate to a standard-priced iPhone,” said Faisal Kawoosa, principal analyst at research firm CMR.

According to IDC, the average smartphone price in India is about $250.

Local government officials reportedly believe Apple could sell iPhone SE in India for as low as the equivalent of $220 in Indian currency. Apple's manufacturing partners assemble most of the iPhones the company sells in massive factories in China, with a smaller number of older iPhone models being manufactured in Foxconn's facilities in Brazil.

Apple may kick off online sales of iPhone SE in India by October

Before making its long-expected offline retail presence in India, Apple may start selling the locally produced iPhone SE through its online store in the world's second most-populous country. According to a report Monday by the Economic Times, Apple may also sell locally sourced accessories via its online store.

However, the report states that the iPhone maker won't compete on price with online marketplaces for the items carried via its Indian online store. About half the iPhone models the Cupertino firm sells in the country are purchased online.

Apple officially opens iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in India

Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and the guy in charge of all App Stores at Apple, announced on Twitter this morning that the company's iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in the Yelahanka area of Bengaluru in India is officially opening. Bengaluru is the home of India’s startup scene. The populous country has some of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world.

Apple also published useful resources at developer.apple.com/accelerator, including information pertaining to local iOS development scene.

Reuters: Apple to start building iPhone SE in India in coming months

Apple is set to start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE in India in the coming months, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

All iPhone SE units will be made in a facility that Apple's contract manufacturer will set up at Peenya on the outskirts of Bengaluru. All devices will be targeted at the domestic market.

India: no decision yet on concessions to Apple regarding iPhone manufacturing plant

A game of cat and mouse between Apple and the Indian government continues with news Monday that the government has yet to make a final decision regarding concessions being sought by Apple to set up an iPhone manufacturing plant in the country. Tribune India is reporting that Ramesh Abhishek, a secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), told the media this morning that while Apple did submit certain demands for the government's consideration, a final decision has yet to be announced.

Apple supplier Wistron to build iPhones in India

It's official: Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron will be assembling iPhones in a facility set up at Peenya on the outskirts of Bengaluru, The Times of India reported Friday. No timeline has been provided, but production is expected to begin in June. The Karnataka government issued a release yesterday in which regional IT minister Priyank Kharge welcomed Apple's proposal “to commence initial manufacturing operations” in the state.

Apple reaches Apple Music deal with Indian ride-hailing firm Ola

Apple is teaming up with Indian ride-hailing firm Ola to push Apple Music, reports the L.A. Times. The outlet says that the deal will result in the company's streaming music service being available as part of Ola's in-car experience.

The platform is called Ola Play, and it already has several high-profile partners including Sony, Qualcomm and Audio Compass. It gives passengers the ability to control their vehicle's climate and entertainment via an in-car tablet.