Even as Apple Inc is celebrating 25 years in India by ramping up its manufacturing and retail presence in India, the iPhone maker is also scaling up its engagement with Indian developers as part of its strategy to drive innovation for its global user base. Apple’s developer ecosystem in India now employs a million people, the App Store payouts to developers in the country have more than tripled since 2018, and the iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru has hosted sessions for more than 15,000 developers.
“India has such a beautiful culture and an incredible energy, and we’re excited to build on our long-standing history — supporting our customers, investing in local communities, and working together to build a better future with innovations that serve humanity,” Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc said.
Also read: India is a hugely exciting market for us: Apple’s Tim Cook
As part of the silver jubilee celebrations, the company is marking a major expansion with the opening of its first Apple Store locations in Mumbai and Delhi. The company is also strengthening its manufacturing infrastructure in India. Apple began manufacturing iPhone in India in 2017, and since then, the company has worked with suppliers to assemble iPhone models and produce a growing number of components. Launched in 2022, Apple’s $50 million Supplier Employee Development Fund educates supplier employees on new skill development, rights awareness, and other learning opportunities.
Experts said that while Apple has done well to increase engagement with Indian app developers, more can be done. Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst and CEO, Greyhound Research, told businessline, “Apple’s work with the Indian developer ecosystem has provided Indian developers with a global customer base for their apps, which has brought great dividends for these entrepreneurs. Collaboration with app stores like Apple reduces efforts that these developers need to put into putting billing systems, cybersecurity protocols, marketing, etc- on the flip side, Apple’s 30 per cent levy is still a sore point for many developers. Big applications like Twitter are pursuing the dual payment mechanism, which is not accessible to most small developers. Therefore, Apple can do more to facilitate growth for developers.”
Also read: Apple Online store launches support for SMEs in India
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Published on April 17, 2023
