Google announces Made in India Pixel 8 devices have begun rolling off production lines

Google has officially announced that the first batch of locally produced Pixel 8 smartphones has begun rolling off production lines in India. The news was shared via Google India’s official X account, finally turning the rumors to reality.

This development comes less than a year after Google’s global launch of the Pixel 8 series in October 2023. At the Google for India event held that same month, Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Google, had promised that assembly of the Pixel 8 in India would commence by 2024. 

According to reports, Google’s global manufacturing arm Compal has partnered with Dixon Technologies, a local electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company, for the production of these devices. The initial capacity of the plant is said to be around 100,000 units per month, with approximately 25-30 percent of the production slated for export.

It’s worth noting that while the Pixel 8 series includes three models – Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and the recently introduced Pixel 8a – current reports suggest that only the base Pixel 8 model is being manufactured locally at this time.

This announcement comes at an interesting juncture, hours before Google is set to unveil its latest flagship smartphones, the Pixel 9 series, at a global event. An India-specific launch event for the new series is scheduled for August 14.

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