Google plans to assemble pixel phones, drones in India
- Posted on May 24, 2024
- News
- By Arijit Dutta
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Google plans to manufacture Pixel smartphones and drones in India, utilizing an existing Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu state. The move aims to diversify Google's supply chain and tap into the growing Indian market.
Google plans to start assembling its Pixel devices in India by the end of this year at the Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu, sources conversant with the information informed the BBC.
Pixel devices are currently manufactured by HTC, but the Taiwan-based company lost its smartphone license in January 2017, forcing it to outsource production to Google, which had already been sourcing some HTC hardware for its Pixel devices. In the last year, Google reportedly plans to manufacture Pixel devices in India for the first time in Pixel 8.
Google said in a blog post in 2022 that India is an important market for Pixel smartphones, and the firm is determined to provide the hardware and the underlying built-in software capabilities to the people of the country.
Other than Pixel smartphones, the tech firm is also planning to build drones on its own in Tamil Nadu, the sources added.
The decision comes at a time when India has gained prominence as a preferred investment destination for international firms seeking to shift their manufacturing operations from China due to geopolitical tensions. Foxconn presently has two plants in Tamil Nadu, one of which is in Chennai where the company specifically manufactures iPhones for Apple.
A recent press release by the Tamil Nadu government said that state authorities have recently had a meeting with Google representatives, and the latter’s representatives are expected to discuss the matter with Chief Minister M. K. Stalin in Chennai shortly.
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The decision to manufacture in India also enables Google to minimize its dependency on China for its production while at the same time serving a large market of Indians eager to buy smartphones and other technological gadgets.
