Tim Cook

Cook was particularly open in defending his company with regard to the allegations of manipulating several of its older iPhones without any consent from users by slowing down their processors

Cook, speaking at the Fortune Forum in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, also stressed that he believes strongly in freedoms, a comment seen by many as a response to a U.S. democratic senator's remarks on Tuesday that Apple had a moral obligation to promote free expression.

Cook shared the data on Sunday during a speech at China's top public cyber policy forum, organised by the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), which oversees internet regulation including censorship.

Positive reviews for the new device and expectations that many users are on the verge of upgrading from older iPhones have sent Apple's stock to record highs, pushing it closer to becoming the first publicly listed company with a stock market value above $1 trillion.

The Apple chief executive paid a surprise visit to Eldim, a Normandy-based firm that has tested optical technology used in the facial recognition system inside new top-of-the-range iPhone X smartphones due out next month.

"We got a new keyboard for India and we now support 11 local languages. The iPhone now takes dictation in Hindi," he said in a video message.

Cook also told Apple employees in the memo that he strongly disagrees with President Donald Trump's attempts to draw comparisons between the actions of the white nationalists and protesters opposing them.

In response to a question on the company's thoughts about India, Cook said Apple has begun to produce the iPhone SE in India during the quarter and "we're really happy with how that's going".

Profit climbed 12 per cent to USD 8.7 billion, and revenue rose per cent to USD 45.4 billion, with the California-based company selling 41 million iPhones in the fiscal third quarter to July 1.

Government officials say meeting this request would require a new policy that applies fairly to other device makers, too.

Executives from tech-giants like Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter denounced the decision in one voice terming it discriminatory

Local brand Xiaomi snagged the fourth-place spot that was held by Apple, leaving Apple at No. 5, according to Canalys, an independent analyst company. Samsung is also in the top 10 smartphone brands in China, although only the top four brands were ranked by Canalys' statement.

Apple has asked Indian government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly work in India.

The White House wants to update government information technology systems, cut costs, eliminate waste and improve service. Trump on Monday cited estimates that the government could save up to $1 trillion over 10 years through such measures.

This changed recently when the Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook elaborated on the company’s plan towards the self-driving technology for the very first time.

With Google and Apple out of the race, the focus will be on the tussle between Elon Musk's Tesla which is the frontrunner in the driverless car segment and traditional auto giants such as Ford, BMW, Volkswagen—all working on their versions of autonomous cars.

Cook was asked that the California-based company is underpenetrated in India and whether the company will need to work with the country's government to have Apple-owned stores or production given the great opportunity in the country.

State officials in Karnataka have told the Economic Times that Taiwanese design manufacturer Wistron, a company with which Apple has a contract, will begin assembling iPhones from Bengaluru.

Cook, in first quarter fiscal year 2017 earnings release conference call, said despite the demonetisation exercise, US-based iPhone maker performed well in the Indian market.

iPhone maker Apple has cut its CEO Tim Cook's salary by a whopping 15 percent for 2016 as annual sales declined for the year, missing targets that also led to the tech giant's first annual revenue decline in 15 years.