Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro to be 15 - 20% costlier in India

New Delhi: Google's premium smartphone series Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will be around 15-21 per cent costlier in India compared to other countries, according to the prices revealed by the company. The company has started pre-booking the Pixel 7 at Rs 59,999 (USD 729.36) and Pixel 7 Pro at Rs 84,999 (USD 1033.27) on the e-commerce portal Flipkart. The devices would be available from October 13.

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"Powered by Google's next-generation Tensor G2 processor and shipping with Android 13, the Pixel 7 is priced at anP of Rs 59,999 and the Pixel 7 Pro is priced at anP of Rs 84,999. Both devices will be available for purchase starting October 13," Google said in a statement.

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The company has launched Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro at a global price of USD 599 and USD 899 respectively. When asked about the Pixel series being sold at a higher price compared to other countries, a Google spokesperson said, "We determine local pricing based on a number of factors, including local taxes and customs duties. We believe the pricing reflects the value of our premium phones, the high-end hardware specs, and the best-in-class AI-powered software experience."

Google has not disclosed its mobile phone manufacturing location. Google claims Pixel comes with all-day battery life which is based on a test done using a median Pixel user battery usage profile across a mix of talk, data, standby and use of other features. The Pixel 7 series will come with speech recognition technology that will enable the phone to transcribe audio messages on Google's Messages app which will help users read them as soon as they receive them.

According to market research firm IDC, the premium segment of over USD 500 was the highest-growing segment with 83 per cent growth on year-over-year basis in India, contributing 6 per cent of the market in the second quarter of 2022. TechArc chief Analyst, Faisal Kawoosa said that irrespective of phones being made in India or not, the brands have to make them for India and pricing is one key aspect that will amplify it.

"Google Pixel should have priced it appropriately for India market to make an impact which could also give them volumes later to make phones in India. The key to 5G success is going to be affordability across all segments," Kawoosa said.

He said Google also needs to go aggressive about Pixel and work hard on its awareness and visibility. "If Google does this rightly, we can expect Pixel to be a strong contender in the premium space only next to Samsung and OnePlus in the Android segment," Kawoosa said. The premium smartphone segment has shown huge growth during the recent festive season.

E-commerce firm Flipkart has recorded 70 per cent growth in sales of premium mobile phones during the eight-day long festive season sale which ended on September 30. Premium mobile phones costing Rs 20,000 and upwards comprised almost 50 per cent of the total mobile sales and more than 44 per cent of the buyers of premium mobile phones came from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.