At Google’s mid-season announcement, we finally got to see the hotly anticipated Pixel 4a make its debut after what was feeling like a never-ending wait. But it looks like the wait is going to be even longer for Indians as the 4a’s launch in the South Asian market is still a couple of months away. On top of that, Google has said that the higher-end Pixel 5 won’t see an Indian launch at all.

India’s premium smartphone segment is minuscule as compared to overall shipments, and Google’s share, even within that, is practically non-existent. That’s the bigger reason why the flagship Pixel 4’s launch was scrapped last year, and also why the upcoming Pixel 5 is set to meet a similar fate. In its official blog, Google, too, notes that both the Pixel 5 and the 4a 5G aren’t coming to India and Singapore due to “local market trends” and “product features.”

But at least the cheaper Pixel 4a is coming to India, thanks in large part to the Pixel 3a, which managed to sell in good numbers, indicating that there is still some hope for Google. However, the company has decided to hold off on the Pixel 4a’s availability in India until October, possibly to capitalize on the Diwali festive season, which is falling around mid-November this year.

As for the local pricing, Google will reveal the figure only around the actual launch date in October. The Pixel 4a costs $349 in the US without taxes, which is about ₹26,300, but that amount will snowball pretty quickly when import and retail taxes are factored in. In that range, the 4a will compete against the OnePlus Nord, which is not only aggressively priced starting ₹25,000 (~$330, including all taxes) but also enjoys better brand recognition. Hopefully, Google will price the 4a as competitively in India as it did in the US.

In the meantime, the Pixel 4a’s listings on the Indian Google Store and online retail partner Flipkart are already live with a coming-soon tag.

Source: Google