Google Plans on Producing Less Than a Million Pixel 5 Smartphones This Year: Report

Google plans to produce less than 1 million Google Pixel 5 smartphones this year, as per a report. This is a modest goal for the tech giant to set for the flagship Google Pixel 5 that has just been launched. Google Pixel 4A (5G) was also launched alongside Pixel 5, and the Pixel 4A a few months back. Initial production for all three models is set at just 3 million units, the report added, as Google's total handset sales last year fell below the company's target, and market demand had further been hit by the pandemic.

Citing sources, the report by Nikkei Asia claims that production for the flagship Google Pixel 5 could be as low as around 800,000 units. Google has reportedly given a relatively conservative forecast for the flagship phone this year as Google Pixel 4 did not sell well last year, and the market demand this year has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the production volume is subject to adjustment depending on how the market reacts after the phones are released, Nikkei Asia added.

Alphabet's Google shipped 7.2 million Pixel smartphones last year as per research company IDC, falling short of the company's target of 8 to 10 million units, stated the report. For the first six months of 2020, Google shipped just 1.5 million smartphones, a sharp drop from the same period last year, when Google sold 4.1 million units, showed the data.

The sources also told the publication that Google's plan further suffered as COVID-19 caused a delay in production of the Pixel 4a. Although lower-priced models like the Pixel 4a have smaller margins, they help boost shipment volumes.

The coronavirus pandemic further disrupted Google's diversification plan to produce all handsets, including the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A series, in Vietnam this year. People familiar with the matter told the publication that so far only the Pixel 4a series had entered production there; Pixel 5 was still being manufactured in Shenzhen, China.

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