Nothing To Make Smartphones In India, Aims To Make The Country An Export Hub

Smartphone maker Nothing on Saturday (March 2) said that it is looking to make India its export hub in the long term.

The company underlined its plans while announcing that it will manufacture its newest range of smartphones, Nothing Phone (2a), in India. 

The development comes weeks after Nothing founder Carl Pei, in a post on X, said that the new smartphone would be manufactured in India. The new phone is slated to be launched on March 5 at an event in Delhi. 

In its statement today, Nothing said, “With the upcoming Phone (2a), the brand has brought its latest technology and innovative design to India. Nothing’s unique transparent design… requires adherence to the highest global quality standards. Nothing has brought these processes to India and in the long term aims to build India as an export hub.” 

The company also said that Nothing Phone (2a) will feature a Dimensity 7,200 Pro processor, co-engineered in partnership with MediaTek. Other media reports claim that the new phone could be priced in the sub-INR 30,000 range and may have a 6.7-inch display and a 32-megapixel front camera. 

The development comes two months after the smartphone maker’s top India executive, Manu Sharma, quit as the company’s general manager and vice president. 

Launched by former OnePlus cofounder Pei, Nothing is a London-based company that manufactures smartphones and competes with the likes of global titans such as Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus. It first entered India in 2021 and has since scaled its footprint across the country on the back of its partnerships with ecommerce platforms.

With the latest announcement, Nothing has joined a growing list of smartphone makers that have begun manufacturing in India. Many of them are shifting a part of their production to India from China amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Washington DC and Beijing and a slew of incentives being offered by the Indian government. 

The Centre has announced a production-linked scheme (PLI) to woo these original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), while local governments have rolled out a red carpet (including offering sops such as fast-tracked land acquisition and approvals) to attract them to their respective states. 

This has led to a growing list of companies making a beeline for India. Just weeks ago, Chinese phone maker BBK Group announced a partnership with Indian manufacturers Dixon Technologies and Karbonn Group for the production of its Oppo, Vivo, and Realme smartphones.

Late last year, Google also announced that it will manufacture its Pixel smartphones in the country. Meanwhile, Apple has been rapidly ramping up manufacturing in India, with the country now accounting for nearly 7% of total iPhones produced globally. Overall, Apple manufactured iPhones worth INR 1 Lakh Cr in India in 2023.

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