Beyond the iPhone: How Tim Cook made India the backbone of Apple's next decade of growth

When Tim Cook first visited India in 2016, Apple's presence in the country was largely symbolic, modest sales, no retail stores and manufacturing that barely registered on a global scale. Today, when Tim Cook announced that he will be stepping down as the CEO, India has become one of Apple's most consequential growth stories, a market generating record revenues, accounting for a quarter of global iPhone output and home to six Apple Stores.

Cook, 65, will step down as chief executive on September 1 after nearly 15 years in the role, handing over the baton to John Ternus, Apple's head of hardware engineering. However, Cook will stay on as executive chairman. In a farewell note to staff and customers, Cook described the job he is leaving as "the best job in the world."

His departure marks the end of a chapter that reshaped Apple. When he took charge in 2011, the company was worth about $350 billion, today, it is close to $4 trillion. Revenue grew from $108 billion in FY2011 to over $416 billion in FY2025, and its services business now brings in more than $100 billion a year. In India, the change has been even more striking, as Apple started from almost nothing.

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How India became Apple's next big growth story

Cook’s India pivot has been years in the making. He returned to the country in 2023 to inaugurate Apple’s first two retail stores, Apple BKC in Mumbai and Apple Saket in Delhi.  

On the demand side, Cook has consistently highlighted India in earnings calls. Earlier this year, responding to an analyst question on iPhone momentum, he said Apple had set a December quarter revenue record in India, driven by record sales across iPhone, Mac and iPad, along with an all-time high in services. The country also reached 28% value share in the smartphone market by the first quarter of 2026, according to a report by Counterpoint Research.

Cook called India a “huge opportunity” for growth as the company posted record revenue across iPhone, Mac, iPad and services.

“We did set a quarterly revenue record during the December quarter. To go a little deeper, we set quarterly revenue records for iPhone, Mac and iPad, and an all-time revenue record for services. So it was a terrific quarter in India,” Cook said, responding to questions on the company’s performance in the Indian market.

Apple today has six stores in the country, with outlets in Bengaluru, Pune, Noida, and Mumbai’s Borivali joining the original two.

The manufacturing push has run in parallel. Apple now assembles roughly 25% of its global iPhones in India, with about 55 million units produced in 2025, a 53% jump year-on-year. Partners including Foxconn, Tata Electronics and Pegatron operate under the government’s Production Linked Incentive scheme and the entire iPhone 17 lineup was manufactured in India ahead of its 2025 launch. Exports from India crossed $12.8 billion in 2024, with more than half of iPhones sold in the United States now assembled in India.

Cook's hand-on India play

Analysts who track Apple's India business say Cook's engagement with the market went beyond operational metrics.

"India is one of Apple's most vital markets. Tim Cook has done an excellent job of uncovering the country's potential and structurally signalling its global importance through multiple lenses, including the manufacturing push, retail expansion, and the developer and user communities," Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, told Business Today. 

"Throughout this process, Cook developed a deep personal connection with the Indian audience; John Ternus must now build upon that foundation, especially considering the market's future potential. Ternus's strong engineering and hardware background, combined with his charismatic personality, is likely to resonate well with India's young and aspirational user base."

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Operational legacy, geopolitical foresight

Prabhu Ram, Vice President of the Industry Research Group at CyberMedia Research, frames Cook's broader legacy in terms of the decisions that are only now paying off fully.

"Tim Cook's legacy is defined by disciplined execution and operational excellence during one of Apple's most transformative periods. Under his leadership, Apple's market capitalisation expanded more than tenfold to nearly $4 trillion. The Services business emerged as a high-margin, recurring revenue engine, sustaining consistent double-digit growth even as the core hardware segment matured," Ram told Business Today.

"Cook's tenure was also marked by strategic agility in navigating black-swan events, geopolitical tensions, and associated supply-chain disruptions. He accelerated supply chain diversification beyond China, particularly across Vietnam and India. Today, India is emerging as a key long-term growth and manufacturing hub for Apple, mirroring the role China played over the past two decades," Ram added.

Ram sees Cook's India work as foundational rather than finished. "One of Tim Cook's enduring legacies will be the rise of India as a vital cog in Apple's long-term playbook, from manufacturing and supply chain to R&D and domestic market growth. Apple remains in its early innings in India, with significant headroom across iPhones as well as its broader hardware and services portfolio," he said.

According to data from CyberMedia Research, Apple now commands close to 10% smartphone market share in India by volume and more than 60% share in the super-premium segment (devices priced above Rs 50,000). 

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"This growth is fueled by manufacturing expansion and an enduring aspirational appeal," Ram told Business Today. "As production scales from iPhones to AirPods and supplier integration deepens, Apple now accounts for over 65% of India's smartphone exports," he added.

Under incoming CEO John Ternus and Chief Hardware Officer Johny Srouji, Apple is pivoting toward a foldable and AI-driven future. Ram believes India will be central to that shift. "India's strong R&D and AI ecosystem will be increasingly central to this strategy," he said.