The Pixel 3 was the last flagship phone that Google released in India; neither the Pixel 4 nor Pixel 5 ever made it to one of the world’s largest smartphone markets. While it still does not sound like Pixel flagships will get there anytime soon, Google may be planning a surprise launch for India for its next midline phone.
According to a senior manager at Google, as reported Economic times, the company plans to allocate a larger share of Pixel 5a devices from the global stock to the Indian market. Due to Google’s lack of foresight and strategy (and probably in part due to the pandemic affecting supply chains), the Pixel 4a ended up going out more frequently than not, despite the fact that Google apparently doubled its inventory above the 3a.
Although the Pixel 5a may be available in groups, the driver still doubts 5G Pixel phones made available in the country as there is no 5G network to take advantage of. While it does not offer us much to work with, it may mean that the Pixel 6 will never make it to Indian shore.
Google is reportedly also investigating the possibility of relocating part of its device manufacturing process to India. By doing so, the company will help save import duties and leverage economic incentives in the country to better price its phones. Even if it does eventually happen, do not expect to see changes overnight.
