Google to manufacture smartphones in India, first Pixel 8 expected in 2024

Google’s Pixel series will soon be manufactured in India, and the first India-made model of the Google Pixel 8 will come to the market in 2024. The announcement was made at the Google for India 2023 event on Thursday, October 19, by Google Senior Vice President for Devices and Services Rick Osterloh.

“India is a priority market for Pixel smartphones, and we’re committed to bringing the best of our hardware and underlying built-in software capabilities to people across the country,” Osterloh said at the ninth edition of the Google for India event in Delhi.

In its press release, the company said it is partnership with international and domestic manufacturers in India to produce the Pixel smartphones locally.

Tweeting about the announcement, Google and Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is committed to being a trusted partner in India’s digital growth.

The event also saw the presence of Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who highlighted the remarkable progress in electronic manufacturing within India over the past decade. India’s mobile phone manufacturing sector has surged to a substantial $44 billion, further emphasizing the significance of Google’s decision to manufacture Pixel devices in the country.

“Digitally-powered democratisation of credit and commerce will especially boost the growth of small businesses which are the backbone of the economy. It’s great to see Google join the Make in India initiative and further strengthen India’s growth story with their plans to locally manufacture Pixel smartphones in the country,” he said.

India is aiming to become a manufacturing powerhouse, amid a greater push for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative.

Vaishnaw added that manufacturing of the first semiconductor plant in India has also begun, only a year after the policy came out. He underscored India’s substantial advancements in the 5G network rollout and the nation’s role as a key contributor to the development of 6G technology.

During the Google for India 2023 event, Alphabet Inc. made several additional noteworthy announcements. The company disclosed that between April and June 2023, it had removed over two million YouTube videos in India due to policy violations, with the majority of these videos having fewer than 10 views. In response to the need for verified news, YouTube will introduce a dedicated page for news consumption in 11 Indian languages.

Additionally, Google announced its partnership with HP to create affordable Google Chromebooks tailored for students in India. The company also reported that it had successfully prevented scams amounting to Rs 12,000 crore through Google Pay in the previous year, taking action against nearly 3,500 fraudulent lenders.

Addressing some statistics, Google revealed that Indians download 28 billion mobile apps annually. In the first half of 2023, India stood at #3 in the list of premium smartphone buyers in the world.

Apple, which has been touting India as its next big growth driver, is projected to account for 7% of all smartphone sales in the country from July to December, up from 5% in the first half of 2023, according to data from market researcher Counterpoint.

Google, in its press release about the Pixel 8 manufacturing in India acknowledged that the country is a priority for the smartphone series, noting its significant momentum over the past several years.