Apple chief Tim Cook sees India at 'tipping point'

Apple Inc. chief executive Tim Cook singled out India on Thursday as pivotal for the iPhone maker, underscoring how the country is on the cusp of becoming both a major market and production base.

- Shouvik Das

Cook, who presided over the opening of Apple's first two Indian retail outlets last month, joined his lieutenants in mentioning India roughly 20 times on a conference call after unveiling earnings. The company posted record sales for the March quarter in India, reflecting its increasing reliance on the market to galvanize overall growth.

"There are a lot of people coming into the middle class, and I really feel that India is at a tipping point," Cook told analysts on the call. "And the dynamism in the market. The vibrancy is unbelievable."

Apple seeks to accelerate growth in a country of 1.4 billion where rising incomes are boosting consumer spending at a time smartphone sales are plateauing elsewhere in the world. The company doesn't break out India revenue in its earnings statements, but Bloomberg News reported Apple posted almost $6 billion of sales there in the year through March.