After Apple, Google is set to manufacture Pixel smartphones in Bharat, with plans to export the devices to Europe and the US, media reports have said.

According to reports, the tech giant will soon begin commercial production through partnerships with Foxconn and Dixon Technologies’ subsidiary Padget Electronics.

The company has already started trial production in Tamil Nadu with Foxconn, a major maker of Apple devices.

When contacted, Google Bharat did not immediately comment.

As per reports, Google might make the formal announcement of this development in H2. The base variant of the Pixel phone would be made by Dixon Technologies, while Foxconn would manufacture Pro variants.

The commercial production will likely commence in September and the export might start once the production stabilises.

This move is in line with the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) programme, which aims to boost domestic manufacturing, the reports mentioned.

Meanwhile, Apple exported iPhones worth over Rs 16,500 crore in the first two months of the current financial year — accounting for more than 80 per cent of the country’s total production/assembly of iPhones.

Foxconn led total exports at about 65 per cent.

For FY 24, Apple saw a total iPhone production of around $14 billion.

The company has increased iPhone production and one out of seven iPhones in the world is now being manufactured in India, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) data, mobile phone production surged from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4.10 lakh crore in FY24, registering an increase of a massive 2,000 per cent, driven by the PLI scheme.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)