Google Plans to End Pixel Production in China by 2027

Google is reportedly planning to stop manufacturing its Pixel products in China by 2027. The plan would cover Pixel smartphones, smartwatches and earbuds. Google has already increased production in Vietnam and India in recent years, although a large portion of its Pixel products are still made in China.

The company’s plan follows progress in moving Pixel smartphone production to Vietnam this year. Smartphones are more complicated to manufacture than smartwatches and earbuds, so the progress has reportedly increased Google’s confidence in completing the shift.

If the plan goes ahead, Google would become the second major global smartphone company to move production away from China. Samsung previously took a similar step after its share of the Chinese smartphone market fell to very low levels.

The move could be easier for Google because Pixel smartphones are not officially sold in China. This means the company has less need to keep smartphone production inside the country.

Pixel Shipments Expected to Grow

Google is also expecting Pixel smartphone shipments to increase this year.

The company reportedly plans to ship 8% to 10% more smartphones than the 12 million units it shipped last year.

At the same time, Google is looking for ways to reduce the impact of rising memory chip prices. The company has reportedly discussed combining memory orders for its cloud business and smartphones with Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron.

An unnamed executive at a component supplier that works with Google and Xiaomi also sees strong growth potential for Pixel smartphones.

The executive reportedly believes Google could gain some market share from Apple in the US, Japan and Europe.

This could become more important if Apple increases iPhone prices as expected. Reducing its dependence on China for manufacturing could give Google greater flexibility as it expands the Pixel product range in global markets.