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Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL Won’t Launch In India: Here’s Why


Google on Tuesday announced the availability of Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL at an event held in New York. However, the brand lately confirmed that the next-gen Pixels wouldn’t launch in India due to unforeseen circumstances.

In an official statement, a Google spokesperson cited- “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,” he added further.

Whereas Google, in reply to a user on Twitter, mentioned- “We remain committed to our current Pixel 3a phones and look forward to bringing future Pixel and other hardware products to India.”

What’s the reason?

Now, it’s clear that the Pixel 4-series is not coming to India. But, what’s the actual problem behind Google skipping the phone for Indian markets? Well, as you might’ve already seen through the leaks, teasers, and official announcements, the Pixel 4 comes with Solli Radar chip housed in the top bezel. The same allows you to silence calls, timers, interact with live wallpapers, and more using simple hand waves.

Now here comes the interesting part. For starters, the Solli chip uses 57 to 64GHz frequency band for operation, approved by USA’s FCC. Unfortunately, it’s not allowed yet for commercial use in India as per territorial regulations. And due to the same, Google has not been able to attain permissions for the use of radar.

Despite not being confirmed by the company, it turns out to be the primary reason for Google not launching the product in India.

But why didn’t Google disable the chip altogether?

Well, the Solli chip isn’t just a simple feature. It backs a lot of things on the new Pixel, including the facial biometric authentication, the attention bubble, motion sense gestures, and more, which are an integral part of the Pixel-experience.

Disabling the chip would also hamper the facial recognition feature. And the phone doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner either. So, even if the company launches the phone without Solli and all the perks it brings in, it’d have a sure chance of being a flop in the market. Well, nobody would want to pay upwards of INR 60,000 for an incomplete phone, right?

In all, Motion Sense and Face Unlock are one of the biggest highlights for the device. And if disabled, it’ll leave Google with just the cameras as its only selling point. This simply doesn’t make sense from a business viewpoint as Pixels already sell very less in India.

Anyways, the statement by Google does show its intentions bringing of Pixel 3a successors to the market. So yeah, there’s at least something which Indian Pixel fans can wait for in the coming time.

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Ritik Singh

Ritik is the Managing Editor at GadgetsToUse. He manages the website and oversees the content to ensure it's as informative as possible. He also heads the sub-sites in the network. Putting work aside, he has a great interest in personal finance and is also a keen motorcycle enthusiast.