As Tim Cook steps down, India stands at the heart of Apple’s next chapter
Tim Cook, once Steve Jobs’ operations man who made Apple’s ‘trains run on time’, turned India from a market of promise into a key centre for sales and production. His successor must now take that two-sided bet deeper.
Tim Cook, Apple's longtime CEO, announced his resignation on August 31, marking a new chapter for the tech giant. Throughout his 15-year tenure, Cook focused on India as a crucial market for Apple's operations. In May 2016, Cook visited Hyderabad to inaugurate an iPhone assembly facility and an iOS app design accelerator in Bengaluru, signaling Apple's commitment to the country.
By March 2026, Apple's annual sales in India had reached $10 billion for the first time, with its retail network expanding beyond the initial stores in Mumbai and Delhi. India produced approximately 25% of Apple's global iPhone output, with 55 million iPhones assembled there in 2025. This shift to India as a production hub allowed Apple to reduce its dependence on China, which had become a significant risk factor following the pandemic, factory disruptions, and trade tensions.
While India's market remains price-sensitive and less efficient than China's electronics supply chain, Cook's vision of India as both a growing consumer market and a strategic production base has paid off. Apple now sees India as a vital part of its sales strategy and manufacturing operations, solidifying its position in the global tech landscape.
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