Ahead of the ‘Made in India’ Pixel8 smartphone launch, Google highlighted India as a critical growth market for premium smartphones.
On Tuesday, a senior Google official stated that India is seen as a prospective market with significant growth potential in the premium smartphone sector.
At the ‘Made by Google’ event, Google Mobile Business VP Nanda Ramachandran described India as an exceptional ‘growing market’ reported by PTI and predicted that its premium smartphone segment will surpass many of Google’s other major markets.
He added that the company’s focus on India relies on effectively tailoring its product portfolio to address local needs. These remarks are notable because Google announced the launch of Made-in-India Pixel 8 smartphones on Monday.
In a post on X, Google stated that the first Made-in-India Google Pixel8 devices have begun production, conveying gratitude to Ashwini Vaishnow, the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.
Maggie Wei, Senior Director of Product Operations at Google, mentioned that while the company is exploring the possibility of exporting devices manufactured in India, there are no definitive plans, and the company is concentrating on local usage. Wei revealed that Google is producing devices at its Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh facilities.
Nearly eight years after introducing its first Pixel smartphone, Google launched the Pixel 9 series on Tuesday, marking its debut in the foldable market. The company also introduced the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2.
To enhance accessibility for Indian users and broaden its local retail footprint, Google is expanding its retail presence. Pixel smartphones will now be available at over 150 Croma and Reliance Retail stores across 15 cities in India.
Google also unveiled plans to open three company-operated walk-in centres in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai in collaboration with Flipkart’s service division, F1 Info Solutions and Services Private Limited. Additionally, the company announced a price reduction for its previous-generation Pixel smartphones.
