Google finally unveiled the Pixel 8 series and the Pixel Watch 2 yesterday. While the smartphones come with a fair share of upgrades, especially AI-driven camera features, the pricing has increased both in India and the US. However, in the US, Google is bundling a free Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Buds Pro with the Pixel 8 Pro to perhaps justify and create an incentive to buy the Pixel 8 Pro. In India—despite a significant price increase—the same deal is not being offered.
Here’s how the deal works in the US: Google notes that it will offer a free Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Buds Pro with your new Pixel 8 Pro until stocks last. This offer is valid even for the base model of the Pixel 8 Pro, which retails at $999. This means that for $999, you get the Pixel 8 Pro and the Pixel Watch 2, which by itself costs $349. This is a great deal for someone buying the phone at launch and more or less justifies the price hike.
However, in India, the price of the Pixel 8 Pro now starts at Rs 1,06,999, a price hike of Rs 22,000. While you can bring this down to Rs 93,999 with card offers and exchange bonuses, it must be noted that not everyone buying this phone would have access to supported cards, and of course, not everyone wants to exchange their smartphone.
Had Google offered the same deal in India as it is offering in the US and included a Pixel Watch 2 along with the Pixel 8 Pro, the price hike could have made sense. But currently, Google will happily sell you the Pixel Watch 2 for Rs 19,999 or the Pixel Buds Pro for Rs 8,999 if you are buying a Pixel 8 series smartphone. Notably, standalone, the Pixel Watch 2 costs Rs 39,900, and the Pixel Buds Pro retail at Rs 19,990.
With that said, the Pixel 8 devices launched yesterday are already available for pre-order on Flipkart. The Google Pixel 8 is priced at Rs 75,999 in India, and customers can get a bank discount of Rs 8,000 along with an exchange bonus of Rs 3,000 when purchasing this new Pixel device. On the other hand, the Google Pixel 8 Pro—as mentioned earlier—comes at a price of Rs 1,06,999. Buyers can get a bank discount of Rs 9,000 and an exchange bonus of Rs 4,000 on the MRP.
Comments
0 comment