The Pixel phones are here and they are here with a bang. Unveiled at the ‘Made by Google’ event in New York, the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are Google’s flagship phones. However, that’s not all; the search giant also launched two other products: the Google Home Hub and the Pixel Slate.

With all the rumours, renders, and unboxing videos that have been leaked over the past few months, there was very little left to the imagination. Yet, Google managed to surprise everyone with the upgraded Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

The new devices come with various upgrades over their respective predecessors in terms of camera, design, and processor. However, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL share quite a few elements apart from the display, battery and design.

There’s something very unique though that Google has pulled off this time. Bucking the trend of dual rear cameras, Google has put just a single camera at the rear; however, it reserves a dual camera setup for the front.

On camera capabilities, Google claims that the Group Selfie feature in the smartphones captures 184% more area of the scene than that of iPhone XS. Google has also introduced a Night Sight feature for clicking images in low lighting. And a Photobooth feature will take shots of smiling subjects.

Both smartphones come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC and 4GB of RAM. However, the most interesting feature of the new Pixel handsets is the Pixel Stand for a fast wireless charging, because they enable the smartphones to be used while being charged. The new generation also gets a brand new colour variant, called ‘Not Pink’.

For enhanced security, the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL come with a custom-made Titan M Security module built-in security chip that protects sensitive on-device data by securing the lock screen and strengthened disc encryption. And, Google is providing Pixel USB Type-C earbuds so they don’t have the standard 3.5mm earphone jack.

Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL price in India

Coming to pricing, Google Pixel 3 price in India starts at Rs. 71,000 for the 64GB variant, and goes up to Rs. 80,000 for the 128GB variant. The Google Pixel 3 XL, on the other hand, will retail starting at Rs. 83,000 for the 64GB variant, and will go up to Rs. 92,000 for the 128GB variant.

Pre-orders for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL start from tomorrow, October 11th, and the phones will go on sale on November 1st, both online and at retail stores. The Pixel Stand will also be available in India, and will be priced at Rs. 6,900.

The company has listed Flipkart, Reliance Digital, Croma, Poorvika, Bajaj Electronics, and Vijay Sales as its retail partners. The company notes that the Pixel 2 XL (64GB) will continue to be sold at Rs. 45,499.

Google has given a humourous twist to the names of the three colours on offer: Clearly White, Just Black, and Not Pink.

Google Pixel 3 specifications

Apart from the above-mentioned specs, the Google Pixel 3 is a single SIM phone that will run on latest Android 9.0 Pie. The company is also touting the presence of eSIM support in select markets.

The smartphone sports a 5.5-inch full-HD+ flexible OLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and features Always-on Display technology. The 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 is paired with an Adreno 630 GPU, and the Pixel 3 comes with a Pixel Visual Core chip for the cameras.

In terms of optics, the Google Pixel 3 houses a 12.2-megapixel dual-pixel camera. The rear camera is capable of shooting 4K videos at 30fps. At the front, it bears a fixed focus 8-megapixel wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 97-degree field of view, and an 8-megapixel normal lens with f/1.8 aperture and a 75-degree field-of-view.

Under the hood, the Google Pixel 3 packs a 2,915mAh battery, which is claimed to provide up to 7 hours’ of battery life with 15 minutes of charge. It comes with a USB Type-C 18W (USB PD 2.0) power adapter, 18W fast charging support and Qi wireless charging support. Fast wireless charging is available with the Pixel Stand.

Google Pixel 3 XL specifications

The Google Pixel 3 XL, on the other hand, sports a 6.3-inch QHD+ flexible OLED display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and features Always-on Display technology. However, as mentioned earlier, the Google Pixel 3 XL shares the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM seen on the Pixel 3.

Even the camera setup on the Google Pixel 3 XL is the same as the Pixel 3. It too comes with 64GB and 128GB in-built storage options, with Google promising the same unlimited online storage for photos and videos, with original quality storage until January 31, 2022.

Under the hood, the Google Pixel 3 XL packs a 3,430mAh battery that is claimed to provide up to 7 hours’ of battery life with 15 minutes of charge. In terms of charging, the Pixel 3 XL comes with a USB Type-C 18W power adapter, 18W fast charging support and the Pixel stand are the same as those bundled with the Pixel 3.