Google’s got big plans for India this year, formalizing an India-focused strategy for its products to take on rivals like Apple, Amazon, and Samsung. That’s according to a new Economic Times report which claims that the company’s going to release a mid-range Pixel phone in the country at some point between July and August.
4 senior industry executives claim that Google is going to launch the Pixelbook, its smart Home speakers, Nest home automation products, and the aforementioned budget Pixel. The brand’s already confirmed the arrival of the Home and Home Mini for April 10, so there’s a chance the article might be right about the other goods as well.
The mid-range Pixel is apparently being made especially for price-sensitive markets like India where such handsets rule the roost. Sadly, an exact figure hasn’t been mentioned. There were rumors of a cheaper Pixel phone last year, so perhaps the new device is finally ready to go out into the world.
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As for the Google Home and Home Mini, the first might be sold at Rs 9999 and the second at Rs 4499. This puts the pair at-par with Amazon’s Echo series. The smart speakers are also expected to talk in Hindi and 10 other regional languages at launch.
Other products which might eventually arrive in India include the Google WiFi router and Nest’s smart doorbell, alarm system, smoke detector, and camera. The brand is supposedly eager to expand into neighborhood mobile phone stores after it found out that they account for 36% of Pixel sales in India, as opposed to 26% for large retail chains.
Online sales came out on top with 38% of sales. Most of the new products require consumer experience though, so a strong offline presence is important for Google.