Google pulled the wraps from the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL at an event last month. Both the devices offer an incremental upgrade over their predecessor and promise Pixel exclusive software features. As expected, the Google Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL have been listed on Flipkart in India. The Google Pixel 2 comes with a starting price tag of Rs 61,000 while the larger Pixel 2 XL costs Rs 73,000 for the 64GB variant. The pre-orders are scheduled to start from October 26 and the shipping will start from November 1.

The new Pixel 2 XL flaunts an all-aluminum frame and a massive 6-inch Quad HD (2880 x 1440 pixels) OLED panel up front. Since the bezels on the sides have been waived off dramatically here, the LG-made handset isn’t as gigantic as other 6-inch phones. It also features an aspect ratio of 16:9 like a few recent phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and LG’s G6.

Furthermore, the screen is protected by a layer of Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass 5. Being an OLED screen, the display supports an always-on feature that shows you essential details like the time without having to press the power key. Interestingly, this new feature also continuously listens for music and automatically shows the song and artist name on the lock screen.

As far as the internals are concerned, the Pixel 2 phones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset. There’s 4GB of RAM, 64/128GB internal storage which is not expandable, Adreno 540 GPU, and a generous 3520 mAh non-removable battery (on the bigger Pixel 2 XL).

Google has also mended one of the most criticised deficiencies of last year’s Pixel phones – waterproofing. Hence, the new Pixel 2 XL is IP67 certified. In addition to that, there’s a fingerprint reader on the back like last year and a USB Type-C port on the bottom. Unfortunately, it lacks a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

Pre-order Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL in India

As always, Flipkart has tossed in a few introductory offers for the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL.

• The offers include a free pair of Sennheiser Bluetooth earphones worth Rs 11,990
• a cashback of Rs 8,000 on HDFC Credit Cards.
• There’s also a no-cost EMI starting at Rs 3,389 per month on all pre-orders.
• Also offered are a 50% buyback guarantee and an exchange offer of up to Rs 5,000 on select smartphones.
• Airtel will be offering 120GB of additional data for 6 months to its subscribers purchasing the Pixel 2.
• Reliance Jio users can get benefits up to Rs 14,999. This includes 1 year of unlimited calls, 750GB of data, free SMS and Jio apps at no cost. Reliance Digital will also be offering Rs 5,000 extra on exchange of old phones for Pixel 2.

The buyback offer refers to Flipkart’s promise to buy back the Pixel 2 devices next year for at least 50% of the invoice so that you get to buy the Pixel 3 at a discount. For example, if you are buying the 128GB variant of Pixel 2 at Rs 70,000, Flipkart promises to buy it back next year and provide you with a discount coupon worth Rs 35,000 to buy the Pixel 3.
Both the Pixel 2 devices will be available Just Black, Kinda Blue and Block & White color variants. Although, Pixel 2 is exclusive to Flipkart online, it will also be sold offline at Reliance Digital, Croma and other stores.

Pre-order Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL on Flipkart

Unfortunately, over the past few days, there have been reports of the bigger Pixel 2 XL coming with a range of concerns including screen burn-in and audio issues. The issue is more prevalent in the XL variant. It’s not clear if any particular batch of phones has these issues, so it’s probably better to wait it out or go for the smaller Pixel 2 which also comes with the same stunning camera as the XL.