Tech giant Google on Monday unveiled its latest smartphone Pixel 4a which will be available in the Indian market in October. The firm also announced two new 5G Pixel phones; however, these would not be introduced in India.
Nanda Ramachandran, senior director, Google, said at a virtual briefing that the delay in the launch of the smartphone in India was mainly due to COVID-19, and that the company was aiming to make the product available before Diwali.
“Last year, we introduced the 'a’ line with Pixel 3a, which has been one of our most popular products... It was built with one idea in mind, to bring the best of Google hardware, software and AI to more consumers at an accessible price point. Our goal for pixel 4a is very similar,” he said.
The Pixel 4a will come in a ‘Just Black’ colour with a 5.8-inch OLED display. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Mobile Platform, Titan M security module for on-device security, 6 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage with a battery that lasts ‘all day,’ Brian Rakowski, VP of Product Management, said in a blog.
In addition, users will get three-month free trials of YouTube Premium and Google One. “The price of Pixel 4a in India will be revealed closer to its launch in October 2020, when it will be available for purchase on Flipkart. Regarding the two new 5G Pixel phones that were announced globally today, these will not be available in India or Singapore, based on a variety of factors including local market trends and product features,” Mr. Rakowski said.
Asked about the timing of the launch given the low consumer sentiment amid the pandemic, Mr. Ramachandran said, "Globally, the one thing we have felt is that at least smartphone trend lines have been pretty stable. Of course, the focus has been shifting to online purchases versus offline in a majority of the market. From a consumer standpoint...the value proposition that the Pixel 4a brings in is much stronger and in fact much more ideal and close to work they probably need during this time.”