Google to shift its Pixel phones production partly to India

Alphabet Inc is considering moving some Pixel phone production to India following disruptions in China over COVID-19 lockdowns and Beijing's rising tensions with the US, Information reported on Monday, citing a source. The company did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters and has solicited bids from manufacturers in India to manufacture between 500,000 and 1 million Pixel smartphones, equivalent to 10% to 20% of estimated annual production for the device, according to the report.

The report further added that the company's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, anticipated a plan to manufacture in India earlier this year, but a final decision has not been made yet. If approved, production operations in India will still require importing components from China. Alphabet is also looking at Vietnam as another manufacturing base, according to Nikkei.

Apple Inc, the company's main smartphone rival, already makes four models up to the iPhone 13 in India through contract manufacturing partners Foxconn and Wistron. Reportedly it is considering making the iPhone 14; the latest model was unveiled on September 7, also in India. Global supply chains were disrupted earlier this year when China closed key tech hub Shanghai, among other cities, due to a spike in COVID cases. More recently, the US banned exports of some high-end chips to China, heightening tensions with the Asian nation. The company is set to launch new Pixel phone models, and its first smartwatch, at an event in the US on October 6.