After Apple's locally-made iPhone, Google now wants to make Pixel phones in India
India Today
It is unclear which Pixel phone Google is planning to produce in India. Currently, Google sells only its mid-range devices like Pixel 4a and 6a in the country.
Google is reportedly planning to move some of its Pixel phone production units to India. According to The Information (via TechCrunch), the Android maker has solicited bids from manufacturers to assemble between 500,000 and 1 million units of the Pixel smartphone, which translates into 10-20 per cent of annual production. If the report is accurate, it indicates that the company is planning to expand its hardware footprint in India and globally, since India is the second largest smartphone maker. Google's biggest competitor Apple is also moving away from China and slowly shifting production units elsewhere, including India.
A locally assembled Pixel smartphone may become more affordable in the country. Through this method, Google could avoid the heavy import duty the Indian government levies on smartphones. Additionally, the government also offers a range of incentives to firms for locally manufacturing hardware in India under schemes like 'Make in India'.
The report does not specify which Pixel phone Google is planning to produce in India. Currently, Google sells only its mid-range devices like Pixel 4a and 6a in the country. Its flagship devices such as Pixel 5 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro remain unavailable in India. Moreover, Google will soon launch its Pixel 7 series and Google Wear OS-powered Pixel Watch in October, but their India-specific details remain unclear.
If the report is accurate, Google would also join a bunch of Android smartphones that are already manufacturing their smartphones in the country. For instance, Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo and Vivo have all started producing phones locally under the Make in India banner. Apple has also moved some of its production units to India in partnership with manufacturers like Wistron. It currently assembles iPhone models, like iPhone SE, iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 in the country. A report recently suggested that Apple is considering assembling the latest iPhone 14 at Foxconn's Tamil Nadu factory.
