Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly finalised a long-term sourcing deal with Reliance Industries, under which the world's second largest smartphone maker will supply VoLTE-capable iPhones directly to Reliance Jio, the telecom venture of RIL, the Economic Times reported.
Cook, who is currently on his maiden trip to India, has also worked out an enterprise solutions deal with RIL. The ET report said that Reliance wants to deploy enterprise software developed jointly by Apple and IBM for Reliance Retail, which has about 120,000 outlets in India.
The report, however, said that Cook has given the nod to the strategic relationship, while no agreement has been signed so far. Jio, which is currently offering services to people through and employee-drive invite system, is also looking at bundling its data services with the iPhone to expand penetration of the device in India.
The Apple CEO also reportedly pushed for Apple Pay to be used in Reliance Retail stores. During his trip to Mumbai, Cook met a number of executives from different companies, including Vodafone's Sunil Sood, Tata Group's Cyrus Mistry, and ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochar.
Cook also inaugurated development center for Maps in Hyderabad, which will hire around 4,000 employees over a period of time. He will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the week.
