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Apple is in India for next thousand years: Tim Cook
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SME Times News Bureau | 21 May, 2016
"I am looking at India holistically and we are here for the next
thousand years," Apple CEO Tim Cook asserted on Friday as the
55-year-old chief of Cupertino-based tech giant entered the final leg of
his highly "encrypted" four-day India tour and was slated to meet Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
In an interview given to the
news channel NDTV, Cook said: "India is much more strategic. We are
thinking about a really long innings in the country. We are here for
next thousand years. We are not making the most but the best. We will
never make a product that we are not proud of."
"Apple has a
bright future for retail in India. We will sell pre-owned phones with
new warranty. We want India to have best Apple products," he stressed,
adding that he instantly feels like he belongs here in India.
Asked
about China, Cook said: "India is different than China," adding that
the announcements about Apps development facility in Bengaluru and Maps
Development Centre in Hyderabad were just the beginning.
At an
event in the capital, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said:
"I complement Apple chief executive for a public commitment of one
thousand years in India. We are ready to work together."
Cook
later met Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, one of India's
leading telecommunication companies which was the first to launch 4G in
India and is set to offer it countrywide.
It is learnt from
sources that almost their meeting at Airtel's office lasted an hour and
top officials of Airtel including Gopal Vittal, managing director and
CEO (India & South Asia) were also present.
Kavin Mittal, founder and CEO of hike messenger, also made a presentation to Cook.
"You will see a reliable signal quality after 4G which is critical for India's progress," Cook had earlier told NDTV.
According
to a recent report by global investment advisory CLSA, India's 3G and
4G subscribers have tripled to 120 million in 24 months but as
affordability increases, the market will expand to 300 million by March
2018.
These 300 million subscribers will account for 60 percent
of sector revenues. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, the only operators
with pan-India 4G spectrum in 2,300 MHz, will lead this opportunity.
"We
are also planning to bring Apple Pay to India," Cook also told NDTV.
Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service that lets users
make payments through Apple devices.
"There is nothing like
having customers telling neighbours you should buy Apple products. Word
of mouth is the best marketing," he observed.
Cook arrived in New
Delhi after watching an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Kanpur on
Thursday and fell in love with the game. "Found cricket unbelievably
exciting. I'm totally hooked on it," he said.
Cook began the Delhi leg of his visit with a call at his corporate office where he was greeted by Apple India employees.
Defying
the scorching heat, Cook visited an Apple store situated at DLF
Galleria, Gurgaon. "I went to one store in the morning and I was very
happy what I had seen there," he told the TV channel.
On the
second day of his India visit, he inaugurated the tech giant's map
development centre in Hyderabad and visited a women's college.
For
the map development centre, Apple has partnered with Noida-based RMSI, a
leading IT services player that offers GIS, analytics and software
services.
Cook also revealed plans for an iOS app design and development facility in Bengaluru a day earlier.
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