Apple has opened its first retail outlet in India, aiming to cash in on the rapidly growing market in a country with around a billion smartphone users. It's also a key step toward the company making India a manufacturing center.

The store opened in Mumbai with great fanfare on Tuesday. Apple CEO Tim Cook flew in and greeted customers, hundreds of whom gathered from across the country.

Analysts say Apple has about a 60% share of India's smartphone market. But they say Indian customers are price-sensitive, and the iPhone faces fierce competition from Android-based devices.

Apple is trying to reduce its manufacturing dependency on China amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. The company recently said India will be a production base for its iPhone14 models.