Why Google won’t launch Pixel 4 in India

If you were waiting to buy the Pixel 4 in India, then you would be disappointed. Google has announced that it will not launch Pixel 4XL and Pixel 4 smartphones in India, but did not give any reason for its decision.

Sources, however, told BusinessLine that the decision may have hinged on Google’s ‘Project Soli’, a sensing technology that uses a miniature radar to detect touchless gestures from motion tracking of the user’s hand, for example. Soli is one of the key features deployed in the new Pixel phones.

“The technology uses a specific radio-frequency that has not been allowed for use by private players. Google would have had to take permission or take a licence to use this frequency in India,” said an industry expert.