On his first trip to India as CEO of Apple, Tim Cook was faced with the question about the iPhone's price abroad.
During an interview with Cook, NDTV's Vikram Chandra in India asked the Apple CEO several tough questions about the price of the iPhone. After Cook talked about how valuable a pre-owned iPhone program could be in the country, Chandra asked if the price of the handset is truly worth the price tag.
"You've got an iPhone here, which is more expensive than it is in the U.S., with less functionality than it would have in the U.S., and in a country where purchasing power is a fraction of what it is in the U.S.," said Chandra.
Cook pointed out that Apple's profits in India are "materially less," but he acknowledged that he recognizes "the prices are high." The $600 iPhone's price rises to $850 in India as a result of compounded taxes and duties, but Cook said he wants to find ways to shrink that disparity.
Chandra also asked Cook if Apple would ever come into India and compete with Android phones that are around the $175 to $225 price point. And Cook responded, asserting that Apple has "never been about being the most."
"We're about making the best, and that means that we're not going to play in some of these other price points," Cook said. "We would never make a product that we're not proud of. So I don't want to be in those markets. I don't have a desire to be in them. But what I want is the consumer in India to be able to buy at a price that looks like the U.S. price."
Cook's visit to India comes on the heels of Apple announcing that it is launching an iOS Design and Development Accelerator program in Bengaluru, the country's current capital for startup companies. The trip also comes at a time when market saturation has significantly slowed the growth of the iPhone and has caused Apple investors to sweat a little.
