Google increased its sales target for the Pixel 5a in India ahead of its rumors of launching on June 11, according to a report from the ET Telecom.
The search giant had underestimated the demand for the Pixel 4a in the country, which explains why it wants to have more inventory this year.
A company executive said:
Google doubled the Pixel stock for India last year, and this year the intention is to further increase the focus and gain greater share of the global stock for the Indian market.
The Pixel 4a was priced 25% less than the 3a in India, a strategy that clearly worked. The company is eyeing rivals Apple and OnePlus to maintain an aggressive pricing strategy in the mid-range category and also wants to expand into more price segments, now that Pixel is a recognized brand.
Google is also planning to move a portion of its smartphone manufacturing to India for “domestic and export needs”.
The Pixel 5 and 4a 5G were not launched in India because the country did not have 5G services at that time. The country has not yet launched 5G networks, which does not bode well for the launch of the Pixel 6.
According to Counterpoint Research, sales of Pixel smartphones increased 36 percent year on year in 2020, and there is potential for further growth. It is unclear whether Google’s sales target for India also reflects its international strategy. Last year, supposedly has set a modest goal of manufacturing 3 million units of the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5.
The next The Pixel 5a is rumored to follow design tips from the Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5. The leaks point to a 6.2-inch OLED panel with Full-HD + resolution, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader and the familiar square camera collision for two camera sensors, an LED flash and a phase detection autofocus system.