Is Google planning a smartphone in the Rs 40 - 50k range to take on OnePlus?

NEW DELHI: Internet giant Google is believed to be taking a two-pronged approach to push its Pixel smartphones in India, the world's second largest market.

It plans to launch a “mid-tier” smartphone in the Rs 40,000-Rs 50000 range, which will pit it against OnePlus which could do with some competition. Additionally, Google will continue to take on premium market players Apple and Samsung through its high-end Pixel smartphones, Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in the Rs70,000-Rs85,000 range, two persons familiar with the matter say.

“Yes, Google is working on a mid-range Pixel smartphone,” one of the people told ET.


The so-called “mid-tier” Pixel smartphone, aimed mainly at India and the emerging markets, is expected to hit the stores early next year after the global launch of Google's flagship devices, Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, in October this year, the person added.



The Google Pixel hardware team recently visited India to understand the market, said another person in the know. “They have global plans, but they explored the possibility in the Indian market for such a device, especially when OnePlus has done really well.”

The second person added that the motive behind launching a mid-tier Pixel smartphone is to make the smartphone accessible to people who want to upgrade their phones from the likes of Oppo and Vivo and who play mainly in the Rs20,000-Rs30,000 market in India.

Queries sent to Google India did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.

A Counterpoint Research analysis said Google’s Pixel smartphones had just 1% smartphone market share in the premium segment (Rs 30,000 and above) in the April-July quarter, while OnePlus, Samsung and Apple were the top three.



Google sold only 80,000 Pixel 2 smartphones since its launch in India, according to the person quoted earlier.

The second person said Google is not looking to make huge money in the first year of the launch of the mid-tier iteration of the Pixel smartphone and will test waters. “It thinks it can command a little bit of premium of being Google and stock Android over OnePlus, which itself is able to give near-pure Android experience.”

OnePlus has captured the price segment of $400-$600.

Navkendar Singh, an associate director with International Data Corp, said the $500-$700 price category has been no man’s land except for OnePlus in India. “Nobody is able to capture the share but OnePlus. It would be a good opportunity for Google to have a mid-range phone for people who are planning to upgrade to a superior Android experience,” he said.

Singh added that Google, through its Pixel smartphones, has now established that it can make a good phone, and it’s important that they start to aim for some volume and get traction in the market along with the visibility.

Counterpoint analyst Anshika Jain said that with a mid-tier Pixel smartphone, Google could bring its camera and software capacities like Artificial Intelligence in that mid-segment. “It's a sweet spot, and they can play upon these features while keeping top-notch hardware for its flagship smartphones”.