Google’s much talked-about Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are all set to go up for pre-orders at midnight via Flipkart. Prices for the Pixel smartphones start from Rs 57,000, and Flipkart is offering a bunch of offers for those who pre-order any one of the smartphones. Deliveries for both smartphones are expected on October 26.
The Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones will be available in 32GB and 128GB storage options. The Pixel is priced at Rs 57,000 and Rs 66,000 respectively, while the Pixel XL will be available for Rs 67,000 and Rs 76,000 respectively. Both smartphones are offered in Quite Black and Very Silver color options. Pixel is available in only Quite Black color. Also, at the time of filing this story, only the 128GB storage variant of Pixel XL (Quite Black) was listed on Flipkart. Google had also unveiled a third color variant — Really Blue — which is expected to be available at a later date. Let’s check out some of the pre-order deals for the Google Pixel smartphones on Flipkart.
Flipkart has tied up with major banks such as Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank among others to offer ‘No Cost EMIs’ up to tenure of 18 months, and EMI as low Rs 3,167 per month. There is also exchange offer where you can give your old, working smartphone and get up to Rs 27,000, thus bringing the cost of Pixel (32GB) variant to just Rs 30,050. The exchange value will differ from one smartphone brand and model to other. The age and condition of your old smartphone will also play a crucial role in determining the exchange value. When we checked, the iPhone 6s Plus is the only smartphone offering the maximum exchange value of Rs 27,000.
Apart from Flipkart, Google’s Pixel smartphones will soon be going on sale via offline channels as well. According to reports, the company has roped in Redington to be the official distributor for Pixel smartphones in India. During the launch event, Google had revealed that its smartphones would be available via retail chains like Croma, Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales, and Jumbo among others.
Google Pixel, Pixel XL specifications and features
The Google Pixel sports a 5-inch full HD (1080p) AMOLED display, while the Google Pixel XL sports a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display. Both displays have a 2.5D curved glass on top and are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The Pixel sports a 2,770mAh battery that is said to be good enough for 26 hours of talktime, and up to 19 days on standby mode, while the Pixel XL sports a 3,450mAh battery that is said to be good enough for 32 hours of talktime and up to 23 days on standby mode. Apart from the difference in size and battery, both devices come with the same set of specifications and features.
Under the hood is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor paired with 4GB of RAM. On the photography front, the smartphones are equipped with a 12.3-megapixel rear snapper with f/2.0 aperture, 1.55μm pixels, PDAF and laser auto-focus. The rear camera also supports 4K video recording. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel fixed-focus selfie camera with f/2.4 aperture and 1.4µm pixels.
The smartphones also feature a fingerprint scanner placed at the back, and IP53 certification that makes them resistant to water and dust to an extent. Connectivity options include 4G LTE support, USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and NFC.
On the software front, both smartphones run on Android Nougat 7.1 out-of-the-box wrapped under the Pixel UI. One of the highlights of the new smartphones is the built-in Google Assistant, which is the company’s take on Siri and Alexa. It is more capable than Google Now, and is more contextually aware about what’s happening on your smartphone. One can simply converse with the AI and ask questions like weather, distance from one place to the other, or route from source to destination, and more.
With Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 unlikely to launch in India, Google’s Pixel smartphones will be up against the likes of Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Both iPhones went on sale in India last week. With the upcoming festive season and the shopping frenzy it brings along, both companies will be looking at making the most of this opportunity.
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