Apple opened the first store in India. After waiting years for an iPhone store to be built in India, hundreds of customers finally got to visit the Mumbai retail location on Tuesday.
The store’s design is quite eye-catching, as you can see in the pictures below. The store has a glass facade and a triangular timber ceiling that extends past the walls of the building to create a canopy. Apple claims that each tile is comprised of 408 pieces and there are 1,000 tiles total.
Apple claims that the store is “100%” powered by renewable energy and has no dependence on fossil fuels.
Apple began quietly preparing for the grand opening of its store earlier this year, when it started hiring staff for physical store locations in India. Apple only officially announced its opening this month. It is also planning to open another store in Delhi on April 20th.
Apple is also shifting iPhone production from China to India. This will help to reduce its dependence on China, and make the iPhones more affordable for Indian customers. It began assembly of its flagship iPhone 14 shortly after it was announced. This marked the fastest shift in production from China to India.
The black-and yellow taxis which are so common in Mumbai have inspired the design of this store, located in a prestigious neighbourhood.
Apple products were available in India until now either through an extensive network of resellers or online.
Apple has opened the new stores at a moment when it is trying to increase its retail presence in India, which is the second-largest smartphone market in terms of sales. In India, where the market is price sensitive, and more than 95% smartphones are powered by Google’s Android operating system.
India is also a base of production for the iPhone, as Apple diversifies away from China. India accounts for 5% total iPhone production.
Experts say the stores will not have an immediate effect on Apple’s Indian sales, even though they are a branding strategy. has indicated it is a good moment for Apple to invest into India’s “premium smartphones” market. This refers to mobiles costing 40,000 rupees or more (PS451; 558).
