Similar to Apple, Samsung, Oppo, and other major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Google has unveiled plans to manufacture Pixel smartphones in India. This announcement was made during the Google for India 2023 event in New Delhi. Google will commence the production of Pixel 8 series phones as part of its “Make in India” initiative. These locally manufactured Pixels are expected to be available for purchase in early 2024. The company will collaborate with both international and domestic manufacturers for production. Rick Osterloh, Google’s Senior Vice President for Devices and Services, emphasized India’s significance as one of the most critical markets for Pixel smartphones.
In the presence of India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vishnaw, Google also revealed its partnership with HP in India to introduce affordable Chromebooks aimed at the country’s student population.
Another significant announcement was Google’s collaboration with ONDC, which will enable Indian users to directly book metro tickets through the Google Maps app. This partnership will also offer users the ability to check metro routes, transfers, and book tickets online through integrated buyer apps on the ONDC platform.
Moreover, Google shared improvements to the Search Generative Experience (SGE), enhancing it with images, videos, user reviews, and AI-powered overviews of over 100 government schemes. Google Search now displays visually-rich results and is accessible to all Indian users.
In addition, Google introduced Business Messages in shopping within search, enabling users to directly communicate with merchants for product inquiries or purchases, with conversations archived for future reference.
Google also implemented various safety features in Google Pay and the Play Store. The company reported that it saved INR 12,000 crore from financial scams in 2022. Google also removed 3,500 loan apps from the Google Play Store that violated its policies. Google Play’s Play Protect now features real-time code scanning on and off the Play Store.
Google Pay introduced “Sachet Loans,” allowing users to borrow sums starting at INR 15,000 and repay them in low installments as low as INR 111.
On the YouTube front, the platform removed over 2 billion videos between April and June 2023 for policy violations. YouTube unveiled a Watch Page for News in India, similar to Google News, recommending news videos based on users’ search queries.
