Tim Cook is on his first visit to India. During the visit, Apple announced that it will set up an app design and development center in the city of Bangalore. That venture is expected to be in place by early 2017, but the expected opening date of the Hyderabad office wasn’t disclosed.
Making another big anouncement on Thursday, the company said that it will set up an office in southern India to develop the Maps feature for its products. A company statement said the venture will be located in the technology hub of Hyderabad and will create about 4,000 jobs.
In a statement, Cook said “Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development. The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations.”
India, being one of the world's fastest growing smartphone market, has about 6 million new internet users every month. Also, since India is a price conscious market, Apple has only 2% market share in India. Tim Cook's visit thus, might be a crucial step by Apple to increase its Indian market share.