© Reuters FILE PHOTO: Google Pixel phones are displayed at a Google retail store in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, U.S., June 17, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
(Reuters) – Alphabet (NASDAQ: ) Inc is considering moving some Pixel phones to India following China’s easing of COVID-19 lockdowns and Beijing’s tensions with the United States, data showed on Monday.
Alphabet, which did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, has solicited bids from manufacturers in India to buy between 500,000 and 1 million Pixel smartphones, representing 10% to 20% of the device’s estimated annual output. Report it. (https://
Company CEO Sundar Pichai previewed plans to manufacture in India earlier this year, but no final decision has been made yet, the report added. If approved, Indian manufacturing operations will still need to import components from China.
Alphabet is considering Vietnam as another manufacturing base, he said. (https://reut.rs/3qulqYH)
The company’s main smartphone rival, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: ), has made at least four models in India up to the iPhone 13 through its contract manufacturing partners Foxconn and Wistron. It is said to be planning to launch the latest iPhone 14 model in India as well, which was announced on September 7.
Global supply chains have been disrupted as China shuts down key technology hub Shanghai, among other cities, due to a surge in Covid cases. Recently, the US has banned the export of some high-end chips to China, exacerbating tensions with the Asian nation.
The company is set to release new Pixel phone models and its first smartwatch on October 6 in the US.