Google on August 12 announced the rollout of its first Made-in-India Pixel 8 smartphones, giving a big boost to the country's ambitions of becoming a global manufacturing hub.
This announcement comes a day ahead of the tech giant's Made by Google event, scheduled to be held at California, United States, on August 13, where the next-generation of Pixel smartphones- Pixel 9 Series - are expected to be launched.
"Excited to announce that the first of our Made in India Google #Pixel8 devices have started rolling off the production lines," Google India said in a post on X (previously Twitter).
"Grateful for the partnership with Hon'ble Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw as we look forward to bringing the #TeamPixel experience to people across India" it said.
Following this development, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on his X profile on August 13 that production of the Pixel 8 smartphones have started in India.
Google did not share any further information on this development. Moneycontrol had earlier reported that the company partnered with contract manufacturers Foxconn and Dixon subsidiary Padget Electronics for the commercial production of Pixel smartphones in India.
This decision followed a trial production in Tamil Nadu with Foxconn, a major manufacturer of Apple devices, sources had earlier told Moneycontrol.
The Pixel phones are currently being made by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Foxconn, called Wow Tech, sources said.
Dixon subsidiary Padget Electronics has tied up with Taiwan's Compal Electronics for the production of Pixel smartphones, which is expected to start in September.
Scaling up Pixel business in India
Google had first announced its intentions to locally manufacture Pixel smartphones in India, starting with Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, in October 2023.
The move comes as the firm looks to scale up its Pixel smartphone business in India to capitalise on the rising demand for premium smartphones among consumers in the world's second-largest smartphone market. Google had said this initiative will help make Pixel smartphones more widely available across the country.
Pixel had just 0.04 percent share of the Indian smartphone market in the March 2024 quarter, as per the data by market research firm Counterpoint Research.
In the premium segment, Pixel's share was below a percent. With local manufacturing, it can aim for 1.5 percent share, Counterpoint estimates.
Read: Google to scale up its Pixel smartphone business in India amid a booming premium market
In July, Moneycontrol reported that Google is looking to establish India as a key export hub for its Pixel smartphones for markets in Europe and the United States.
Google parent Alphabet will also start making drones through its subsidiary Wing LLC in the state, sources told Moneycontrol.
Last year, Google partnered with personal computer (PC) maker HP to manufacture Chromebooks at a Flex facility in Chennai. This enables the company to cater to the demand for affordable PCs in India primarily from the education sector.
These developments come as Google rival Apple has been aggressively ramping up local production of its flagship iPhone devices in India through Foxconn and Tata Electronics. As of the end of FY24, about $14 billion worth of iPhones were made in India, accounting for 14 percent of the global total.
Apple aims to expand its production base in the country, targeting to manufacture a quarter of all its iPhones in India over the next 3–4 years, a government official previously told Moneycontrol. The Cupertino tech giant is also mulling plans to manufacture AirPods wireless earphones and iPad tablets in the country.
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