Apple’s online store in India opens September 23, company confirms

Apple opens up in India

Apple has confirmed plans to open its first online Apple Store in India on September 23, setting the scene for new iPhones and the traditional Diwali shopping season.

Get ready India

The company published news of the opening to its website in India, urging: “Get ready India. The Apple Store online. Coming soon.”

The Apple Store online will open in India on September 23, the page informs. It will offer specialist advice from Apple’s teams, free no contact delivery, multiple ways to buy and trade ins. It will also offer a configure to order service, personal sessions, Apple care and Apple support.

When it comes to payment systems, you can pay with credit and debit card, credit card EMI, RuPay, UPI, net banking and credit card on delivery. The company will also offer educational discounts to some university students, the page states.

This is just the latest in an extensive range of Apple-related initiatives in India as the company prepares to open the market up for its products.

What Apple said

“We’re proud to be expanding in India and want to do all we can to support our customers and their communities,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People. “We know our users are relying on technology to stay connected, engage in learning, and tap into their creativity, and by bringing the Apple Store online to India, we are offering our customers the very best of Apple at this important time.”

A thousand years

Apple has been deeply engaged in a project to get into India’s growing market for years. CEO Tim Cook has referred to this as a “thousand year” commitment, and it has seen the company get involved in deep negotiations with local government.

Apple and its supply chain have made equally deep investments in India, while the government there seems interested in providing support packages to convince tech firms to build business there.

Most recent news from India on the matter has included:

• India wants Apple’s iPhone supply chain
• Apple to open online store in India for Diwali – report
• Apple CEO Tim Cook plans India summer trip as business grows
• Apple ramps up manufacturing in India for global markets – report
• Apple’s supply chain makes billion-dollar investment in India – report
• Apple hopes to open first retail stores in India ‘next year’

The stage is now set for Apple’s introduction of its first 5G iPhones. These devices will make a huge difference in India as deployment rolls out as they enable a nation unequally connected by fixed line networks to get more people online.

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