After months of teasing, leaks, and rumors, Google finally launched the all-new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL flagship smartphones at a press event in New York. However, the smartphones won’t get launched in India — one of the leading smartphone markets in the world.
The major reason behind Google not launching the newly announced Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL in India is a new feature on the device named Project Soli. It is a radar-based motion-sensing chip integrated into the smartphones that uses 60GHz mmWave frequency band.
While Google has managed to get required permission to use the above mentioned frequency bands in several countries, India is not in the list. As per the report, the company failed to secure permission from the local authority in India to use this frequency band, which the nation has yet to open for commercial usage.
In a statement, a Google spokesperson said, “Google has a wide range of products that we make available in different regions around the world. We determine availability based on a variety of factors, including local trends, and product features. We decided not to make Pixel 4 available in India. We remain committed to our current Pixel phones and look forward to bringing future Pixel devices to India.”
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The radar sensors on the new Pixel smartphones enable support for a number of human interactions. Sabrina Ellis, VP of Product Management at Google, claimed that Pixel 4 has the fastest secure face unlock on a smartphone, “because the process starts before you have even picked up the smartphone.” She further added that Motion sense prepares the camera when user reaches for the Pixel 4, thus there’s no need to tap the screen. It also enables hands-free gesture controls on the smartphone.
It’s noteworthy that this is the first time Google is skipping the launch of Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL smartphones in India. Prior to this, all the Nexus series phones and Pixel series phones had made their way to to the Indian market, days after their global launch.
The Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are available in Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange (Limited Edition) color options. While the Pixel 4 is priced at $799 for the 64GB version and $899 for the 128GB version, the XL variant is priced at $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB variant. The phones are now up for pre-order and will start shipping from 21st October.
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