Google intends to commence the production of its Pixel smartphone  range in India, as per a statement made by a company representative. This move reflects the increasing trend of prominent technology companies investing in the South Asian market for manufacturing their devices.

At the annual India event on Thursday, Rick Osterloh, Google's senior VP of Devices and Services, announced their plans to commence local production in India. The company aims to manufacture the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro models in the country and anticipates shipping the India-made batch from next year onwards.

Google considers India to be a crucial international market and recognizes it as the largest for various services such as Android, Google Search , and YouTube, based on user numbers. Google has recently announced its plan to invest a substantial amount of money in India over the upcoming years, following its collaboration with HP to produce Chromebook laptops within the country.

We have formed collaborations with both global and local partners to manufacture Pixel smartphones domestically. This marks an initial move to increase our manufacturing capabilities in response to the growing need for Pixel devices locally. Furthermore, it demonstrates Google's significant dedication to India, although the specific partners involved were not revealed.

Google's decision to produce its smartphones within India is further evidence of the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's  administration in persuading numerous global companies to grow their operations within the country.

According to India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the mobile manufacturing industry had a minimal presence in India nine years ago. The implementation of our Prime Minister's ambitious agendas of Make-in-India and Digital India has resulted in tangible progress. Presently, we have witnessed a substantial growth in mobile manufacturing and exports, with a market value of approximately $44 billion and mobile phone exports totaling $11 billion. It is creating significant job opportunities. In my opinion, Google's recent announcement bodes well for both Google and India.

Google is the most recent addition to the technology sector aiming to transform India into a prominent manufacturing center. Apple, which had its manufacturing partners start assembling iPhones  locally a couple of years ago, now produces the latest models within the nation's borders.

Smartly, New Delhi is enticing global corporations with significant financial incentives worth billions of dollars in order to encourage them to set up manufacturing facilities in India. At this moment, numerous companies, including Apple, are seeking to reduce their dependency on China for manufacturing their devices. This trend is known as the "China + 1" strategy according to analysts.

According to analysts at Macquarie, India's EMS industry, which includes both finished product manufacturing and electronics manufacturing, is on the verge of strong medium-term growth. This is attributed to the country's increasing domestic demand, government initiatives to support local manufacturing, and export opportunities driven by the global players' focus on India as an alternative to China.

Google has emphasized that India is a significant market for Pixel smartphones and the company is actively enhancing the customer service experience for its devices in the country. According to Osterloh, Google has expanded its reach in India by collaborating with F1 Info Solutions, resulting in the establishment of 28 service centers spread across 27 cities.

"Since the beginning of our entry into the hardware industry, we made a dedication to constructing and making long-term investments." This marks a preliminary stage in a lengthy endeavor to enhance our manufacturing capabilities for devices and cater to the increasing needs of consumers in our nation for Pixel smartphones.

Pros

• The cameras possess the ability to capture incredible images, while their AI editing tools are unparalleled in their uniqueness.
• The design of the product is small and features curved edges, which makes it ideal for easy operation with one hand.
• The smartphone has an adequately satisfactory battery life.
• The smartphone is set to receive an impressive total of 7 major OS upgrades, surpassing the previous record for any smartphone.

Cons

• The charging speeds tend to be slower than average.
• In terms of performance, the smartphone appears to be more of a mid-range device.
• The pricing of the handset could have been made more competitive.

Final verdict

The Google Pixel 8 is an alluring device, primarily due to its advanced AI capabilities that enhance and potentially increase the appeal of various images. The phones' cameras, display, battery life, and performance all seem decent, but they fall short of being impressive considering its high cost of Rs 75,999.

I desire a more competitive pricing for the Pixel 8. Currently, it is experiencing tough competition from the Samsung Galaxy S23 5G, which seems to be a stronger rival. In benchmark tests, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC in the Samsung handset outperforms the Pixel's Tensor G3 chipset. The S23 stands out with its enhanced battery capacity, a specific telephoto lens that allows for exceptional 30x zoom capability, and an energy-saving LTPO display.

Pixel 8 surpasses the S23 in the software realm, boasting an unprecedented 7-year support that even outshines iPhones. If you prioritize software above all else when it comes to phones, then investing in the Pixel 8 would be a wise choice. It provides nearly all the functions of the Pixel 8 Pro at a cost below Rs 1 Lakh.