How Tim Cook is schmoozing India: from a temple meet to Apple Maps

Photo credit: Wikimedia.

Tim Cook’s maiden visit to India has the entire country’s media in a tizzy. There are frenzied speculations on what the Apple CEO may or may not do, and whom he may or may not meet. It was made all the more mysterious by Apple’s trademark silence on the Silicon Valley giant’s itinerary.

It is, however, no secret why Cook would want to woo India at this time. After years of doing nothing, India has finally, slowly, started to love the pricey gadgets Apple makes.

Smartphone shipments are stumbling in major markets like the United States, Europe and China, but India opens up the prospect of selling a billion new smartphone devices in the country over the next five years.

Apple’s Tim Cook with Didi’s Jean Liu, pictured in Beijing shortly after Apple’s investment was announced. Photo credit: Tim Cook on Twitter.

In the last quarter, while iPhone sales dropped for the first time ever – even in China, where people often go to extremes to get hold of the latest models – India bucked the trend with a 56 percent rise in iPhone sales.

“We’ve been working in India now for a couple of years or more, but we’ve been working with great energy over the last 18 months or so, and I’m encouraged by the results that we’re beginning to see there,” Tim Cook said on the company’s latest conference call with analysts.

See: iPhone sales up 56% in India as Apple’s ‘increasing emphasis’ pays off

Cook is in India after a visit to China, where Apple announced a US$1 billion investment in local ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing.

Here’s a rundown on what the man did, and what more is on the cards in India. Apple did not answer questions about Cook’s trip, but directed us to an announcement about its accelerator program.

Temple run

The temple in Mumbai that Tim Cook visited. Photo credit: Wikimedia.

Cook landed in India in the late hours of Tuesday, The Indian Express said, and kicked off his tour with a visit to one of India’s most popular temples in Mumbai. But was he there seeking spiritual guidance only? Not a chance. At the temple, Cook met with Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.

Apple accelerator

Tech center for Apple Maps

Apple stores in India, finally?