Google is preparing to leave China. The company plans to move production of every Pixel device outside the country starting in 2027, shifting the work primarily to Vietnam and India.
The plan covers Pixel phones, watches, and earbuds, not just the smartphone line. Google has told its suppliers about the move, which means the company is now asking its manufacturing network to prepare for a full production change rather than a limited adjustment.
On August 18, 2026, Google’s plan was reported as a move that would end all Pixel manufacturing in China starting next year. Most of Google’s manufacturing still takes place in China, so the change will affect the company’s current production structure even as its Pixel userbase remains small.
Vietnam Becomes the Main Test
Google has expanded its production capacity in Vietnam and India in recent years, giving the company a base for the next stage of Pixel manufacturing. Vietnam already has a major advantage: Google can tap into the smartphone supply chain ecosystem that Samsung established there.
Google developed and manufactured its Pixel 11 devices in Vietnam. To make that possible, the company invested in testing equipment and tooling machines, building the production process for its latest Pixel phones from scratch. That investment gave Google confidence to build the production processes for its other devices in the country.
The Pixel 11 effort matters because moving final assembly is only one part of relocating device production. Testing equipment, tooling machines, and supplier capacity all need to work together before a phone can leave a factory as a finished product. Apparently, even hardware companies must first persuade the machines to cooperate.
A Bigger Pixel Plan With Modest Volume
Google has reportedly told suppliers that it plans to raise Pixel phone shipments by 8 to 10 percent in 2026 compared with 2025. The company shipped 12 million Pixel phones in 2025, putting the planned increase at roughly 13 million to 13.2 million units if the target is reached.
That shipment plan gives Google more devices to produce as it shifts manufacturing between countries, but it does not turn Pixel into a mass-market giant overnight. The company’s Pixel userbase is still small, which may make the production transition easier to manage than a similar move by a company with a larger installed base.
Google also believes it will have an easier time moving out of China than Apple because Google does not officially sell Pixel devices in China. That difference reduces the direct connection between Google’s manufacturing footprint and the Chinese market, at least for Pixel devices.
Still, removing every Pixel device from China is a larger task than moving one phone model or adding one extra factory line. Phones, watches, and earbuds each rely on production steps and supplier relationships that must be organized across Vietnam and India. Google’s recent work in Vietnam suggests it has already started building the foundation.
The result will be a Pixel manufacturing network centered outside China by 2027, with Vietnam carrying a key role and India serving as another major destination. Google is making that shift while expanding Pixel shipments from a 12-million-unit base—ambitious enough to matter, but still small enough that the company has room to rebuild its production system without Apple-sized complications.
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