Apple at 50: A loyalist on the brand’s evolution in India

My first ever Apple product, was an iPod Mini, bought in the year 2004, at London’s Heathrow Airport. Coming home to India, this innocuous digital audio player became the talk of the town among my 20 something friends – the ultimate expression of being cool. If Californian pop stars on MTV were widely seen toting their iPods on their evening run or daily commute, we, in Mumbai, were aspiring to be part of that ‘lifestyle’. My iPod Mini, as it were, became a cultural expression. What I didn’t know is I’d be ‘Apple hooked’ for life, and that I was joining a larger cultural force that would come to India a few years later. 

Though Macbooks were available in India, often for a hefty price from the third party distributer, in the late 1990s, the iPhone 3G was the first product officially launched in India, in August 2008, through Airtel and Vodafone. Despite being priced at between ₹31,000–₹36,000, depending on carrier plans, (which, at the time, was expensive for a phone) it drew loyalists, and moved from a niche presence to a mainstream, aspirational brand.