Google officially unveiled the Pixel 6 series consisting of the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro last night at its Fall event 2021. The tech giant confirmed to release the latest Pixel devices in select markets including – the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and the UK. As expected, the list doesn’t include India. Also Read - Android 12 is now rolling out for Pixel devices: Here's the list of eligible smartphones
The last Pixel flagship devices that hit the Indian market were the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3XL. Starting with the Pixel 4 series, Google decided not to bring its flagship phones to India. For the unaware, the primary reason why the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL were not launched in the country is the Soli radar technology. The radar used 60GHz mmWave frequency which wasn’t allowed for un-licenced civilian use in India back then, even now. Also Read - Personal data of thousands of smartphone users at risk via stalkerware leak
Since the Pixel 6 series doesn’t include the Soli radar in it, consumers hoped to see the new flagships coming to India. Unfortunately, they are all disappointed, yet again. The tech giant has confirmed to Gadgets360 that Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro will not launch in India and there are “many factors” behind it. One of the key reasons is global demand-supply issues. Also Read - Google doubles production for Pixel 6 series, orders over 5 million units of Pixel 5A: Report
A Google spokesperson reportedly said, “due to a variety of factors including global demand-supply issues, we are not able to make our products available in all markets. We remain committed to our current Pixel phones and look forward to bringing future Pixel devices to more countries in the future.”
Why Pixel 6 series should hit the Indian market
As per reports from Counterpoint Research, Pixel phones occupy less than one percent market share in India and that makes it a crucial aspect to not bring the Pixel 6 series to the market. And most of these interested consumers are camera enthusiasts, of course, because the camera has always been the key highlight in Pixel phones. Similar is the case with the latest Pixel models.
Ever since Google started making smartphones, Pixel devices never gained as much demand as iPhones or even Samsung or OnePlus flagship phones in India. The primary reason behind this has been lower specifications. Indian consumers always take the specifications of phones very seriously, and Pixel phones never really lived up to their expectations. Pixel 6 series surely is an exception.
Pixel 6 Pro comes packed with some premium, flagship-level features and specifications including a 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO OLED display, Google Tensor sensor, 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 50-megapixel triple rear camera system, up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage, 5,003mAh battery and more. These features make the Pixel 6 Pro a tempting and spec-heavy device and apt for Indian consumers.
What is even more tempting is the pricing. The Pixel 6 starts at a price of $599 in the US, which roughly translates to Rs 45,000. The Pro model aka the Pixel 6 Pro starts at $899, which translates to Rs 67,500, which is much cheaper than the iPhone 13 Pro pricing. In fact, the Pixel 6 series are priced much cheaper than the OnePlus 9 series.
The combination of high-end specifications and an aggressive price point makes the Pixel 6 series an eligible contender for the Indian market. Secondly, since brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Samsung, Vivo and even Apple are exploring the premium smartphone market in India, it makes even more sense for Google to bring its Pixel 6 series phones to the country right now.
