New Google Pixel 4 Phones Won’t be Coming to India & Nepal- Here's Why

Finally, the long wait for the Google’s Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL is over. The rumors have been up for more than 2 months. And since then we’ve been waiting patiently for the final product. And guess what? The phones are finally out.

They were officially launched yesterday at Google’s launch event and now are available for pre-order in international markets. Google Pixel 4 is priced at $799, while the bigger Pixel 4 XL will retail at $899.

Ok, now I’m sure some of you are already aware of the entire specifications of the device. The leaks on the device have disclosed pretty much everything. The Snapdragon 855 processor, 90Hz display, dual camera setup, 6GB RAM, 3D Face Unlock was exactly on point.

But there are some other interesting aspects on the device that you ought to know about. So, let’s get down to the 4 major aspects of the Pixel 4 series.

Industrial Design

The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL feature a completely new design. You can either choose a matte like finish or glossy finish for the rear side of the phone. Around the sides, you will find black matte like finish which makes the device even more appealing.

The front features a huge forehead which encloses a front camera and a bunch of sensors. The rear features an aesthetic square camera bump- just like the Apple iPhone 11. The rear is quite clean and comes with two different finish. The fingerprint sensor is gone. It’s nowhere to be found on the phone.

Besides that, the phone will be available in 3 color variants. The Clearly white and O so orange consists of matte finish while the just black features a glossy finish. Oh, and one more thing, the squeeze to launch google assistant is also present.

Built-In Radar

The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL will be featuring a built-in radar system on the devices. Apparently, the built-in radar is for face recognition and gimmicky gestures. What’s interesting about the radar is that Google claims it makes up for the fastest face unlock ever. The motion sensor detects hand movements around the phone and gets the phone unlocked by the time it reaches the face.

The same hand movements can be used for controlling the device itself. Swipe to skip a song, silence a call and also wave hello to the Pikachu in the wallpaper. Though the accuracy is still to be tested, most international reviews show that it’s not that great.

Flagship Specifications

Google is finally implementing the 90Hz screen display on the devices. The Pixel 4 features a 5.7” FHD+ OLED Display while the Pixel 4XL features a 6.3” Quad HD+ OLED display.

Under the hood, both the devices have a Snapdragon 855 processor. The processor is then coupled with 6GB RAM and 64/128GB internal storage. I really feel that the Snapdragon 855+ processor would’ve been the better choice at this price. Don’t you think so too?

Other than that, the device comes with Android 10 right out of the box with improved google assistant. The battery on the phones are a little disappointing though. The Pixel 4XL comes with 3700mAh battery while the Pixel 4 comes with 2800mAh battery. Considering the 90Hz display, I don’t know how well these batteries will last.

No Ultra-Wide Camera

Alright, going back to the square bump, it encloses dual cameras with a flash and an auto focus laser. The dual camera setup is made up of 12.2MP primary sensor accompanied by 16MP telephoto lens. Pixel devices have always been at the top when it comes to cameras. And it’d be interesting to see how great these cameras will perform.

There’s no sign of the ultrawide sensor. It’s a bit disappointing actually because I was sort of hoping to see how good the ultrawide sensor would be with Google’s image processing software.

The nightscape on the devices also seem to be improved quite a lot. In the launch event, they showed an example of astrophotography with the pixel 4 devices and it was mind-blowing. The level of details captured gets me excited for all the fun experiments that can be conducted with these devices.

And… The Catch

Okay, so there’s a major catch that will definitely get all the Pixel fans here in Nepal and India disappointed. Unfortunately, Google won’t be launching the pixel devices in India and Nepal.

For India, because of the previous mentioned radar system. The radar is part of something called the “Project Soli”. For India, Google failed to acquire the permission to use the 60GHz mm Wave frequency band — which is essential for Project Soli. Thus, the project is not supported in India. In the US, the FCC approved Project Soli earlier this year, and the 60GHz frequency is unlicensed and usable, so Pixel 4 is already up for pre-order.

For Nepal, being that there are simply no official distributors in the country. However, the phones will be available in the Nepali market but only via grey channels which we don’t recommend to buy.

Until and unless these issues are tackled, the chances of phones arriving in Nepal or India are slim to none.

Well, that’s all about the devices for now. So, what do you think about the devices? Do share your thoughts with us in the comments below.