Google has announced the rollout of its locally produced Pixel 8 devices in India, nearly 10 months after revealing its domestic manufacturing plans for the devices, and immediately ahead of the expected Pixel 9 unveiling later this week.
The Android maker confirmed to TechCrunch that the local manufacturing is currently limited to the Pixel 8 and does not include the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8a.
In October, Google announced plans to assemble the Pixel smartphone lineup in India to expand its presence in the Indian smartphone market, the world’s second-biggest after China, and to bet on India’s growing manufacturing footprint.
On Monday, Google announced its follow-up and said the first batch of the Made-in-India Pixel 8 devices had started rolling off the production lines.
Google has not yet disclosed its local manufacturing partners. However, sources confirmed to TechCrunch that Google’s global manufacturing partner, Compal, has initially partnered with India’s Dixon Technologies to assemble the Pixel 8 models locally in the country. Dixon MD Atul B Lall also confirmed its partnership with Compal during July’s earnings call, without disclosing further details.
New Delhi has been pushing global electronics brands to produce devices locally in India to compete with China and other manufacturing hubs worldwide. The Indian government has allocated billions of dollars in incentives to offer cashbacks and subsidies to companies taking the local production route.
As much as 99.2% of the domestic mobile phone demand has already been met by locally manufactured devices, according to industry shared by the minister of state for electronics and information technology, Jitin Prasad, in the Indian parliament last week. The country has seen a whopping 8,138% increase in local production of mobile phones to $50 billion worth in the financial year 2023-24, up from from $2.25 billion in 2014–15. Similarly, locally made mobile phone exports have grown to $15.37 billion in 2023–24 from $186.54 million in 2014–15.
Alongside Google, Apple and Samsung produce their devices in India, which they sell locally and export to various emerging markets. Chinese companies, including Xiaomi and Oppo, also have domestic production in the country to fulfill local demand. However, the export share of these companies has not been significant so far.
Google is hosting its hardware event on Tuesday, at which it is expected to unveil the Pixel 9 series, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and Pixel Watch 3. The company will also likely talk about its Gemini AI upgrades specifically for mobile devices.