New Delhi– Google plans to shift production of its Pixel smartphones, smartwatches and wireless earbuds out of China by 2027 as the U.S. technology giant continues to diversify its supply chain, according to a report.
Nikkei Asia, citing sources, reported that Google has been expanding manufacturing capacity in Vietnam and India in recent years and is confident it can move all Pixel production out of China by 2027.
Google still relies on China for a significant share of its manufacturing, but the company has already successfully developed and produced high-end Pixel smartphones in Vietnam this year, the report said. Smartphone manufacturing is considered more complex than producing smartwatches and wireless earbuds.
If completed, the move would make Google the second major global smartphone brand after Samsung to fully shift smartphone production away from China.
The report also noted that Google does not sell Pixel smartphones in the Chinese market, reducing its dependence on maintaining production there.
At the same time, Google is reportedly planning to increase Pixel shipments despite rising memory chip prices. The company has told suppliers to expect shipments to grow by 8 to 10 percent this year from about 12 million units last year.
Google reportedly sees its smartphones as an important way to bring more users into its Gemini artificial intelligence ecosystem and is seeking to maintain shipment growth despite higher component costs.
Higher shipment volumes could also strengthen the company’s position in negotiations with memory chip suppliers. Google has reportedly combined orders for chips used in its cloud-computing operations with smartphone orders in talks with Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix.
A component supplier executive cited by Nikkei Asia said Google was among the few smartphone makers that had not reduced its shipment target for the year.
The executive added that Google could gain additional market share in the United States, Japan and Europe if Apple raises iPhone prices. (Source: IANS)
