Google to move all Pixel production out of China by 2027

Google plans to have all of its Pixel smartphones, smartwatches and wireless earbuds manufactured outside China starting next year, as the US-China trade and technology tensions continue to reshape global supply chains, Nikkei Asia reports.

The company has been expanding production capacity in Vietnam and India in recent years to reduce its reliance on China. Sources familiar with the plans said Google’s successful development and production of high-end Pixel smartphones in Vietnam this year gave the company confidence to complete the shift by 2027.

“Compared with Apple, Google has no burden [to leave China] as it does not sell Pixel phones in the Chinese market,” one source said. “The progress in Vietnam is smooth, as Samsung has built a smartphone supply chain ecosystem there that Google could also access.”

If implemented, the move would make Google the second major global smartphone brand after Samsung to fully relocate smartphone production from China.

Google has also told suppliers that it plans to increase Pixel shipments by 8% to 10% this year from around 12 million units in 2025, despite surging memory chip prices, according to multiple sources. The company is betting that Pixel smartphones will become an important gateway for consumers to its Gemini artificial intelligence applications.

To strengthen its negotiating position amid the memory chip shortage, Google has reportedly combined orders for smartphone components with those for its cloud-computing operations in negotiations with Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix.

“The strategy for the Pixel phone this year is: Attack. We are told Pixel phones need to keep their shipment growth momentum at all costs,” one source said.

An executive at a component supplier serving Google and Xiaomi said Google was among the few smartphone makers that had not cut its shipment forecast this year.

“Google's Pixel phone base is rather small, which gives it significant room to grow, and considering its massive cloud-computing business, even surging memory chips costs would not be too much of a burden,” the executive said. “It could grab some share from Apple in the US, Japan and Europe when Apple raises prices for iPhones.”

Google recently launched its Pixel 11 lineup, with prices starting at $899. Counterpoint Research analyst Gerrit Schneemann said Google had been relatively cautious about raising prices, helping its devices remain competitive.

“In the US, Google has been successful in translating promotional activity into sales,” Schneemann said.

By Vafa Guliyeva