Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, says India is almost a decade behind China

On Tuesday, Apple reported that iPhone sales across the globe were down for the very first time, as per the company's guidance for the quarter. However, about its performance in India, CEO Tim Cook had some good things to mention.

"If you take a look at India, we grew by 56 percent, and we're placing increasing emphasis in these areas [emerging markets], where it's clear there will be disproportionate growth versus the more developed areas," CEO Tim Cook said.

He also talked about the challenges that Apple faces in India, along with the big opportunities that it represents. However, he said that to catch up with a country like China, there is a long road that India is yet to travel.

"It is already the third largest smartphone market in the world," Cook was reported saying, even as some reports call it the second largest smartphone market after China. "But because the smartphones that are working there are low end, primarily because of the network and the economics, the market potential has not been as great there. But I view India as where China was maybe seven to ten years ago from that point of view, and I think there's a really great opportunity there," he added.

Data and reports suggest why Cook is right in believing so. Even though it saw a 25% drop in revenue, Apple registered nearly 12.5 billion USD in sales in the China region in the first quarter alone, a figure much larger when compared to its revenue in India, which is said to be just 1 billion USD for the entire year of 2015.

He also explained the reasons why India is lagging behind China. "If you look at India, and each country has a different story a bit, but the things that have held not only us back perhaps but some others as well is that the LTE rollout with India just really began this year, and so we'll begin to see some really good networks coming on in India," Cook said. "That will unleash the power and capability of the iPhone in a way that an older network, a 2.5G or even some 3G networks, would not do. And so the infrastructure is one key."

Looking hopeful about its future in the country, Cook added, "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, and believe there's a lot, lot more there."

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