Apple Once Again Delays First Apple Store in India Until Next Year

Apple has once again delayed the opening of its first physical retail store in India, The Economic Times reports.

apple india
The store was originally planned to open in 2021, but the global health crisis and economic uncertainty forced Apple to delay the opening. Now, Apple has decided to delay the launch until early 2023, with today's report saying the company is aiming for a launch between the January and March timeframe. The store in Mumbai is set to be 22,000 square feet and will be a "landmark" store known for its iconic design.

Apple is also planning a second, smaller store in New Delhi that will measure 10,000-12,000 square feet. Beyond those two stores, Apple is also looking at other possible locations in malls and high-end shopping districts across India with the intent of making retail a large part of its presence in the country.

In 2020 Apple opened its online store in India, offering Indian customers a direct way to purchase products directly from Apple without having to go through an authorized premium reseller. Apple executives have repeatedly stressed the importance of the Indian market. Most notably, Apple began production of the iPhone 13 in the country earlier this year.

Popular Stories

apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
macbook air march 2020

Apple Says Final Intel MacBook Air and Apple Watch Series 5 Now 'Vintage'

Wednesday December 31, 2025 8:39 am PST by
Apple today added the final 13-inch MacBook Air powered by Intel processors, the Apple Watch Series 5, and additional products to its vintage products list. The iPhone 11 Pro was also added to the list after the iPhone 11 Pro Max was added back in September. The full list of products added to Apple's vintage and obsolete list today: MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) iPhone 8 Plus 128GB ...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...

Top Rated Comments

Justin Cymbal Avatar
45 months ago
Very exciting to see Apple opening up their first store in India next year

Apple now has over 500 stores worldwide and I’m glad that they continue to expand and build amazing stores in new countries all over the world
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nkapple Avatar
45 months ago

The average Indian will have to work 724 hours—around 90 days—to afford the iPhone 13, compared to 50 hours for the average US worker. Let’s see how it goes.
The world economy does not work that way. I mean based in average. If the market is huge enough , even a top 5 percent means huge amount of revenue pool. Why should apple miss the fastest or second fastest large economy in the world.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AbhiAchShan Avatar
45 months ago
Almost waiting since 2 Years for their Store, I was quite happy when they opened their Online Store in India, now only thing remaining is offline store, which is repeatedly being delayed, I almost planned to visit this Aug, according to some rumours, but :(. Still Excited to look the first Apple Store in India
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kshitijshah Avatar
45 months ago
Physical store launch is critical to bringing up service standards in India.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
45 months ago
I'm sure both current and mid term growth in India allows for say the top 20-30% of the population to afford Apple products, specially those working in tech and living in big cities. That 20-30% would make for a larger market than the whole of the US. Sure, there might be 70-80% of consumers left out ATM but the numbers are just on a different scale, especially if you count all the tiny markets in Europe where Apple has presence since forever.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kshitijshah Avatar
45 months ago

India has a law that requires manufacturing in country for certain products. Apple was forced to negotiate and open a manufacturing center to be able to sell them in country. I think that has proven to be far more difficult than they thought it should be. I'm sure there are people in Apple management working on an ulcer over dealing with India.
I am sure executives at Apple are paid well enough o navigate these issues. Every major brand has a thriving business in India. Apple doesn't have to navigate any special rules.


I'm concerned that the leader of India is going to push Pakistan too far and once the nukes start flying, it's over.
How is this relevant to the discussion?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)