Apple

The iPhone 18 Pro queues reveal less about technological necessity and more about human psychology about status, FOMO and the desire to be seen spending big on a smartphone.

The Cupertino-based Apple Inc. appears to be effectively subsidising its American customers through a discriminatory pricing strategy for the new iPhone 18 Pro series and iPhone Duo, charging Indian consumers substantially more than their counterparts in the US for the same devices.

Under the India-US trade agreement, the Indian government has reduced import duty on US apples from 50% to 25%, coupled with a Minimum Import Price (MIP) of Rs 75 to 80 per kg. This move effectively prevents very cheap and apples from flooding Indian markets and harming the business of local growers, as the landed cost would be around Rs 100 per kg or more after duty.

Reports say the talks between Indian semiconductor companies and Apple center on outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OAST) processes, particularly, the backend steps of assembling dies into finished chips and packaging them, rather than full chip fabrication.

Approximately 35 companies in India are active in the iPhone manufacturing ecosystem, with around 17 making equipment and tools for the last 2 years

Adani Agri-Fresh has launched the country's first digital apple market platform in Bithal near Rampur, about 120 km from Shimla.