Just hours after the company CEO, Tim Cook's landmark visit to India, the American technology behemoth has announced it will build a startup accelerator in the country's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru.
Apple has said the Bengaluru unit will act as the iOS app design and development centre to cater to domestic and global consumers.
"India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
"With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we're giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world," he added.
Apple's in-house experts in the Bengaluru facility will offer guidance to developers on the company's proprietary programming language Swift. They will also conduct weekly briefing and review progress of app development, the company said.
With Bengaluru facility in place, many believe Apple might focus on attracting local population by providing multilingual support and dedicated features in their apps.
"Development of apps in multiple dialects means Apple serving very locally to the market which hasn't been its DNA so far. It is known for global geographic agnostic products. I don't expect that to happen, even if it happens anytime soon. That would be say iPhone made for India. For now, it could be to reaffirm its commitment towards India and also trying to economize as revenues shrink," Lead Analyst Telecoms at CMR Faisal Kawoosa, told International Business Times India.
Besides Bengaluru's iOS app design and development facility, Apple will also open a technology centre in Hyderabad. As per numerous reports, the plant will be dedicated to development of digital Maps, for which the company has already pumped in around $100 million.
"More than a billion smartphones will be sold in India over the next five years. In such a scenario Apple is looking forward to tap the developer ecosystem in India through its design and development center and tap the vast potential in coming times," Tarun Pathak, senior analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, told IBT India.
"This is a step in the right direction as the demand for not only global apps but also vernacular apps will increase in coming years. People would like to consume content and interact in their native language going forward as more users from that group will enter Apple ecosystem in coming years," Pathak added.
Cook, who landed in Mumbai on Tuesday night, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week and discuss the central government-sponsored Make in India and Skill India initiatives.
