Google will launch production of its Pixel 8 smartphones in India next year.
The relevant information was officially released during the annual Google for India technical event. The American company will work with local and global suppliers to create its first smartphones produced on assembly lines located in the South Asian country. This was announced during the mentioned event by the head of the hardware department Rick Osterloh.
According to experts, this decision of the American technology giant is another victory for India as part of efforts to attract global manufacturers of technical devices to carry out production activities in the South Asian country. For New Delhi, in the context of its desire to develop the manufacturing sector, the current geopolitical situation is largely a favorable factor. Against the background of tensions in relations between Beijing and Washington, which have already caused mutual restrictions that have caused Chinese companies to be deprived of access to advanced chips, and as a countermeasure the export of minerals needed for the semiconductor industry was introduced, India is an excellent alternative to the role of the new main production base in Asia.
The media, citing insiders, report that Dixon Technologies India and the local unit Foxconn Technology Group are the main contenders for the phone assemblers of the American technology giant. Currently, discussions on this issue are held in strict confidentiality.
India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Google event said that nine years ago in this country the production of mobile devices was insignificant, noting that currently the volume of relevant manufacturing activities is approaching $44 billion, and the export of products in this category is $11 billion.
The administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed to raise increased investment volumes from Apple. This year Tim Cook’s company opened its first two stores in the South Asian country. The tech giant is also stepping up efforts to move iPhone production from China to India. The last 15th generation of this smartphone has become an example of the diversification of the manufacturing process of Tim Cook’s company. For the first time in the history of the technology giant, iPhones assembled in India went on sale simultaneously with mobile phones manufactured by Chinese factories.
Samsung Electronics also paid active attention to the South Asian country. This South Korean company has established the production of smartphones of the Galaxy model line at plants located in India.
Also, Chinese Android manufacturers have established partnerships with Indian assemblers.
In early October, it became known that HP would launch the production of Chromebooks in India. The assembly process will be set up at the Flex Facility, located near Chennai, the administrative center of Tamil Nadu. Chromebook is a laptop developed by Google specialists and running on the Chrome OS operating system. This device is positioned as a school education tool. The laptop has built-in accessibility and security features.
