Apple Sees Huge Opportunity in India Amid Middle-Class Boom

Apple Sees Double-Digit Growth in India Amid Modest Share

Apple's iPhone, iPad, and Mac businesses in India are posting double-digit growth with significant headroom for expansion, according to the company's outgoing chief executive, Tim Cook. Despite this momentum, Apple continues to hold only a modest share in what is the world's second-largest smartphone market and third-largest PC market.

India's rising middle class is driving demand, with the majority of Apple customers in the country being new to the company's products. This is evident in the growing traction in enterprise adoption, with Apple recently opening its sixth retail store in India. Cook highlighted a deal with Freshworks, which deployed over 5,000 MacBooks, underscoring Apple's push into corporate India.

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Apple's double-digit growth in India is consistent across all product categories, with the company retaining its position as the leading OEM by value for the third consecutive quarter. According to Tarun Pathak, research director of Counterpoint, Apple's growth in India is the result of a multi-focused approach across its products, channels, and operations.

As Tim Cook transitions to the role of executive chairman from September 1, 2026, John Ternus, currently senior vice president of hardware engineering, will take over as chief executive. Cook described Ternus as a "brilliant engineer, a deep thinker, a person of remarkable character, and a born leader." Ternus plans to "continue the deep thoughtfulness, deliberateness, and discipline in financial decision-making" that has defined Cook's tenure.

On operations, Cook said Apple faced supply shortages in the March quarter, particularly for iPhones and Macs, due to constraints in advanced manufacturing nodes used for its in-house system-on-chip processors. These shortages are expected to intensify in the June quarter, especially for Mac products such as the Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and the new MacBook Neo, where demand has outpaced supply.

Beyond the current quarter, the executive cautioned that higher memory prices will increasingly impact Apple's business, with the company evaluating options to mitigate the cost pressures. Despite industry-wide concerns around rising component costs, Apple delivered a resilient performance, reporting a gross margin of 49.3%, up from 47.1% a year earlier. Analysts attributed this to a favourable product mix, higher average selling prices, and record growth in services revenue, which helped offset cost pressures.

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