Alphabet-owned Internet giant Google has reportedly held meetings in key countries to discuss the release of a budget-friendly Pixel smartphone to emerging markets.
According to the Economic Times in India, Google is developing a new Pixel smartphone that will be more affordable and aimed specifically at emerging markets. The publication sourced the information from Indian retailers that took part in meetings held by Google in Malaysia, the UK and the US last month.
The company first released the Google-branded Pixel smartphone in 2016. The device runs an optimised version of Google's Android operating system and at the time of release was known for having the best smartphone camera, according to industry tests.
The current Pixel 2 model starts at $649 (around R8 000) and is popular in the markets it is available: the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico and the UK.
Google has limited the launch of its hardware products. The reason cited for SA not being among its target markets is because Google Assistant is not active here yet and all new products rely heavily on the virtual personal assistant.
There are ways to import the products into the country, but the device will not have full operational capabilities here and there is no after sale support.
The Economic Times report says Google also wants to launch the Google Home speaker, the Pixelbook laptop and premium Pixel smartphone in India within the year. This means the company could possibly be planning to extend its hardware product offerings to more countries.
The mid-range smartphone market is currently dominated by Samsung, Huawei and smaller Chinese brands like Vivo, Xiaomi and OPPO. These cheaper smartphones sell better in emerging markets, where there are millions of people who cannot afford the sub-R10 000 price tags. Google wants a piece of this segment.
It is starting in India, but may move to other markets if the initial response is successful.
There is large opportunity here. In SA, smartphone sales climbed 28% year-on-year to three million units in the third quarter of 2017, according to market research firm GfK South Africa, and smartphone revenue was up 27% compared to the same quarter in 2016.
The research firm attributed this growth to people transitioning from basic feature phones to entry-level and mid-range smartphones.
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