Google sets up a major manufacturing plant in Vietnam.

Sources indicate that Google plans to develop and manufacture high-end smartphones in Vietnam, reducing its reliance on China.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold foldable smartphone. Photo: Ars Technica .

According to Nikkei , Google plans to develop and manufacture high-end smartphones in Vietnam this year. Similar to Apple's move in India, this is an initiative to help American companies build a complete supply chain outside of China.

Specifically, the New Product Introduction (NPI) phase for the Google Pixel, Pixel Pro, and Pixel Fold lines will take place in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the budget-friendly Pixel A model will continue to be developed in China.

New responsibilities

NPI, encompassing process development, testing, and refinement, is the most critical phase when launching a new device. This process involves hundreds of engineers from suppliers and requires significant investment in testing equipment and machinery to ensure the product can be manufactured according to specifications.

According to Nikkei , participation in the NPI is an honor for the supplier, demonstrating their ability to meet customer demand for new equipment production throughout the year.

Despite diversifying their supply chains over the years, Apple and Google still have to perform NPI (Net Product Inspection) for smartphones in China. This is due to the complexity and difficulty of manufacturing new devices overseas from the outset, where there is no equally developed supply chain.

The budget-friendly Pixel A series is still being developed in China. Photo: The Verge .

Google's latest move comes amid uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff policy, first announced in April 2025, which is impacting the tech industry. In response, Apple is also increasing production in India and Vietnam.

"The goal of NPI is to ensure functionality, compatibility, and reliability for mass production. An NPI failure means no new product for the year. Fortunately, that has never happened before," a source close to Apple's supply chain shared.

Given the risks, Apple is implementing NPI simultaneously in India and China, meaning double the resources are needed to ensure no mistakes occur. "For example, with Apple, the NPI process at one location requires deploying around 200-300 engineers at the supplier facility. The investment is enormous," a source told Nikkei .

There are still obstacles.

If Apple and Google succeed in developing smartphones outside of China, it would be a new milestone in their efforts to shift manufacturing away from the country of over a billion people, demonstrating the robust development of their supply chain networks and capabilities outside of China.

In fact, Google has already manufactured high-end smartphones and conducted some testing procedures in Vietnam. Therefore, two sources indicate that producing entirely new phones domestically is feasible.

However, shifting key development stages away from China only solves part of the problem. Expanding capabilities overseas remains challenging due to Beijing's difficulties in exporting equipment and relocating Chinese personnel.

A portion of Apple's iPhone 17 production is manufactured in India. Photo: The Verge .

Apple's suppliers are facing stricter scrutiny from Chinese customs when exporting devices, significantly slowing down plans to expand manufacturing capacity in India. The same is happening with Google's plans to expand smartphone production capacity in Vietnam.

"There are many manufacturing and testing machines made in China. However, it's not easy to export them to other countries because Beijing doesn't want its domestic manufacturing industry to weaken... We just need to be patient," a source working with Apple and Google's suppliers shared.

Lori Chang, an analyst at research firm Isaiah Research , said that the initial phase of supply chain diversification (such as with Apple) focuses on replicating manufacturing processes or only partially assembling components.

Only when local technical capabilities and component supply meet requirements will companies gradually implement NPI outside of China.

"The key purpose of NPI is to define products, testing standards, and the ability to mass produce consistently, which is a crucial measure of the supply chain's operational independence," Chang said. Geopolitical factors and tariffs are also driving companies to relocate their supply chains, reducing long-term costs.

Source: https://znews.vn/google-dat-dai-cong-xuong-o-viet-nam-post1619507.html