> This is being done to satisfy India's government so Apple can sell phones in India.
Nah, they were already doing that, and they seem to have acknowledged that they don't stand a chance against their competitors in a highly price-sensitive market as India. They've barely managed to capture a 2% share in smartphones after all these years and have only recently started to properly localize their offerings in the country. No one in India considers iPhones to be mainstream; they are almost always looked at as luxury smartphones.
I recall Apple India's CEO saying a few years ago that they more intended for India being an exporting hub for iPhones than a target market.
Nah, they were already doing that, and they seem to have acknowledged that they don't stand a chance against their competitors in a highly price-sensitive market as India. They've barely managed to capture a 2% share in smartphones after all these years and have only recently started to properly localize their offerings in the country. No one in India considers iPhones to be mainstream; they are almost always looked at as luxury smartphones.
I recall Apple India's CEO saying a few years ago that they more intended for India being an exporting hub for iPhones than a target market.