By the following quarter, Google intends to begin manufacturing its Pixel smartphones in India, per a report published on Thursday by Nikkei Asia.

In the midst of tensions between the United States and China, the American tech giant has been working to diversify its supply chain away from China in an effort to take advantage of the expanding smartphone market in India, the report continued.

According to the story, which cited a person with firsthand knowledge of the situation, the change will help Google meet its ambitious goal of releasing more than 10 million Pixel phones this year.

According to the report, Google plans to start producing Pixel 8 Pro phones in the April-June quarter and the Pixel 8 in the middle of 2024.

In India, Google will face off against the leading smartphone manufacturers, Apple and Samsung.

In India, Google will face off against smartphone giants Samsung and Apple as well as Chinese companies Vivo and Xiaomi.

India is a crucial market for Apple, according to a research released on Wednesday by Counterpoint Research. In 2023, it became the fifth smartphone market to sell more than 10 million iPhone units in a single year.

Research firm Canalys stated this month that “for 2023, India’s smartphone market maintained stability with 148.6 million shipments overall, a minor drop of 2%.”

In Q42023, Samsung held the top spot with a 20% market share and 7.6 million units shipped. Xiaomi maintained its strong performance, shipping 7.2 million devices to take second position. With shipments of 7.0 million units, Vivo took third place, according to Canalys.

Because U.S.-China relations are still tight, Apple has also been moving production from China to locations like India.

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, stated to CNBC last year that India offers a “huge opportunity” following a White House meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India has been providing financial incentives to businesses that locate their manufacturing operations there. November saw the permission of 27 companies, including Dell, HP, and Lenovo, to begin producing computer devices in India as part of a production-linked incentive programme.