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Apple is planning to open four new retail stores in India and has begun manufacturing the iPhone 16 Pro models domestically, the company said as it deepens its presence in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
The U.S. tech giant aims to launch stores in Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, building on its first two Indian outlets opened in Mumbai and New Delhi last year.
“We are thrilled to build our teams as we plan to open more stores in India, because we are inspired by the creativity and passion of our customers across this country,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail, in a statement. “We can’t wait for them to have even more opportunities to discover and shop for our amazing products and services, and connect with our extraordinary, knowledgeable team members.”
She did not provide specific timelines for the new store openings.
Apple also confirmed that it has started producing its entire iPhone 16 lineup, including Pro models, in India. The company began manufacturing iPhones in the country in 2017, starting with the SE model.
The moves come as Apple seeks to diversify its production away from China and tap into India’s growing smartphone market.
Apple’s push to shift iPhone production to India is progressing slower than previously forecast, J.P. Morgan analysts said in a report last month. The bank expects 20-25% of iPhones to be made in India by 2027. Previous 2022 forecast projected reaching this level by 2025
Current iPhone production in India estimated at 10-15% of total output, the bank said.
Manish Singh is a senior reporter at TechCrunch, covering India’s startup scene and venture capital investments. He also reports on global tech firms’ India play. Before joining TechCrunch in 2019, Singh wrote for about a dozen publications, including CNBC and VentureBeat. He graduated in Computer Science and Engineering in 2015. He is reachable on manish(at)techcrunch(dot)com.
