Despite Google's ambitious manufacturing diversification plans, India's contribution to global Pixel production remains minimal at just 3% in 2025, according to Counterpoint Research data. This represents a significant gap compared to other major manufacturing hubs, with Vietnam accounting for a staggering 63% of Pixel production and China handling 34% of global manufacturing. In contrast, India accounts for 25% of Apple's global iPhone production and Vietnam represents over 50% of Samsung's global phone production. The US tech giant, which sells roughly 12 million smartphones globally, continues to bet heavily on Vietnam while India's manufacturing share remains limited. In India, Google uses two main partners to make its phones: Dixon Technologies working with Taiwanese giant Compal, and Foxconn, both of which also run operations in Vietnam. As reported by Business Standard, India assembles about 400,000 phones each year, most of which stay in the domestic market.
Google is reportedly planning to end production of its Pixel devices in China from 2027, shifting manufacturing of smartphones, smartwatches and wireless earbuds entirely to other countries, according to a Nikkei Asia report. The move covers the company's entire Pixel product line, including phones, watches and earbuds, representing a comprehensive supply chain restructuring initiative. As reported by Nikkei Asia, the company has informed suppliers that Pixel production should be carried out outside China from 2027, with Vietnam and India emerging as its key manufacturing hubs. Sources cited in the report said the company's successful production of high-end Pixel smartphone models in Vietnam gave its leadership greater confidence to establish the 2027 relocation timeline. The move comes amid continuing tensions between Washington and Beijing and growing efforts by global technology companies to diversify their supply chains. If the plan goes ahead, Google would become the second major global smartphone brand after Samsung to completely shift smartphone production away from China, according to the report.
Despite manufacturing challenges, Google Pixel has emerged as the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India's ultra-premium segment, posting a remarkable 68% year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2026 and doubling its market share to 4% for the quarter. According to Counterpoint Research, the brand has benefited from strong offline channel expansion and the absence of any price hike compared to other competing players in the market. However, Pixel remains a minor player in India's domestic market, holding just a 2% share of the super-premium segment (above ₹45,000) in 2025. The company is also reportedly seeking to manage rising memory costs by combining purchases for its cloud-computing operations and smartphone business, which could strengthen its bargaining position with major memory suppliers including Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix. Google sees its smartphones as an important way to bring more users to its Gemini artificial intelligence services, which is one reason the company is pushing to maintain growth in Pixel shipments despite higher component costs.
With a new five-year mobile manufacturing scheme providing ₹62,500 crore in incentives right after the previous production-linked incentive (PLI) programme ended in financial year 2025-26 (FY26), global companies increasingly view India as an attractive hub for smartphone assembly, serving both domestic buyers and export markets. "With both mobile phone assembly and component incentive schemes in place, global players like Google find India an attractive and trusted destination to assemble smartphones and make it a hub for exports," said Prachir Singh, analyst at Counterpoint Research. Apart from Apple and Samsung, even Lenovo has used India as a base to make phones for the world market, and Google could join this growing trend. The numbers for Google could flip if the reported move by the company to shift its production completely from China starting next year becomes a reality, as reported by Nikkei Asia.
