Google Pixel for Rs 34,999 is deal of the year and it available now

Even after a year of its launch, the Pixel continues to be the phone with best camera.

he new Google Pixel, on other words, the Pixel 2 is coming. What does that mean for the original Pixel released towards the end of the last year? It means massive price cut for it. The Pixel, which was originally launched in India at a price of Rs 56,000, is now selling at Rs 34,999 on Flipkart which is a whopping discount of over Rs 20,000. Yes, it is an old phone. But at the price of Rs 34,999 it is also arguably the deal of the year! The original Pixel is so good that that will satisfy even the most demanding users.

Now, before I talk about why the Pixel still makes sense -- and makes great sense at the price of Rs 34,999 -- let me quickly get something out of the way. At this price your other options are OnePlus 5, Nokia 8, iPhone 7, and Galaxy S7. All of these are also very good phones. In particular the OnePlus 5 and the Nokia 8 with their clean -- Pure android in case of Nokia -- software and dual-camera system are particularly fantastic phones. But they are not Pixel. This Google phone is in a class of its own. As for why, let quickly break it down in some points:

1- Even after a year of its launch, the Pixel continues to be the phone with best camera. Now we are hearing that the Pixel 2 camera is overall better, but I will believe it when I see it. For now, I feel that there is still no camera better than the one in the Pixel. And the reason for this is the great dynamic light, details and colours that the Pixel phone captures due to its extremely large IMX378 image sensor (even in the Pixel 2 the image sensor is smaller). Whether you are using the Pixel to click images in low light or in good daylight, it just gets the images right. In fact, in low light it can beat most of the proper compact cameras. See the images clicked with the Pixel, for example.

2- It is a fast phone. The Pixel is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and has 4GB RAM. This is no longer as cutting-edge as the Snapdragon 835 but given the fact that Pixel runs a very clean version of Android directly coming from Google means that the performance is top notch.

3- Pixel is just one of the four or five odd phones that have Android Oreo available for it. This is the latest version of Android and only Pixel and Nexus phones have got it so far. Other phones will get in a few months, most will never get it. More importantly, Pixel will also get Android P next year when it arrives. Most of the phones that you see in the market right now will not get Android P. But the Pixel released in late 2016 will get it.

4- The Pixel is a well-rounded phone. It has decent amount of storage (32GB) and even comes with the headphone jack, which by the way is not going to be there in the Pixel 2. Although it does some features that other phones have like the dual-SIM support.

5- The Pixel has a fantastic build quality with metal and glass design. It is definitely as good looking as the OnePlus 5 or the iPhone 7, although Nokia 8 or the Galaxy S7 do look sexier. But overall, you won't find the design of the Pixel lacking in any significant way compared to other phones. Do remember that it is a premium phone.

6- Did I say that Pixel is a fast phone. I did. The reason is simple. It's fast phone, smooth animations, and ability to handle many open apps properly because it runs clean, well-optimised software.

7- Finally, there is the screen. The Pixel has a 5-inch screen that gets very bright, shows nice punchy colours and is overall one of the better screens you will find in a phone.

But irrespective of everything that is great in the Pixel, the main reasons to buy this remain three: One, that camera is really something magical. Two, the software is fuss-free and clean and hence the whole Android experience is totally great. Third, it's a phone that is going to get the Android P next year and hence has a kind of longevity that even the phones released this month won't have.

In case, you find the 5-inch too small, you can move to the Pixel XL, which too has been given a price cut. That phone now sells for Rs 39,999. Although that also makes the Pixel XL slightly poorer value compared to the Pixel. But relative to other phones, even Pixel XL makes so much sense. The camera and updated Android Oreo alone makes these phones worth their new prices, despite the fact that they were released last year.