Apple Opens App Accelerator in Bengaluru as Phil Schiller Visits India

Apple today announced the opening its first App Accelerator, a center providing specialized support for developers to build tools for the iOS platform, in Bengaluru, India.

According to a new report from Mashable, the center will support Indian app developers to design, test and optimize their apps to better run on Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The move is aimed at replicating the iPhone‘s success a decade ago in developed markets, where users flocked to it due to the availability of higher quality apps.

“We are impressed by the great entrepreneurial spirit in India, and are excited to provide a platform for these developers to share their innovations with customers around the world,” said Philip Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Marketing, in a statement.

“In just the first few weeks, we’ve already seen some incredible developers here at the App Accelerator Bengaluru, including Practo and Reliance Games, create innovative apps that can meet the needs of customers in India and around the world,” he added.

Practo and Reliance Games are the first few startups that have attended the program. “We are thrilled to be one of the first developers to collaborate with team at the App Accelerator,” said Shashank ND, Founder & CEO of Practo. “The Accelerator has really helped us make the best use of iOS technologies to rapidly digitize and improve the healthcare experience for millions of consumers in India.”

The App Accelerator is open for all iOS developers in India through a sign-up process. According to the company, each week experts from Apple will brief close to 500 developers as well as provide one-on-one app reviews and proper analysis. The accelerator will provide resources and guidance around Apple’s programming language ‘Swift’ which is used to create apps for iOS, Apple TV and the Apple Watch.

Phil Schillers told Gadgets 360, “We want to, as the name says, accelerate the quality and the innovation of the apps that are being created here, by bringing some of our unique Apple expertise close to developers who are making their great software,” adding “What unique Apple expertise? Well, things like user interface design, ease of use – those are in our DNA and things we spend a lot of time on. We think that all developers in the world we can help with that, and we know here in India we can be of great assistance [to] developers with that.”

This move will help Apple’s team to work, teach and inspire developers of this startup breeding city and others to hone their skills in a way that will help them work around or build innovative products around iOS, Mac and other Apple software.