Google's Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones to go on pre-order in India on Oct. 13, prices start at $855

You won’t have to wait long to get your hands on the first "Made by Google" smartphones -- the Pixel and Pixel XL -- in India.

On the sidelines of the unveiling of the new Pixel smartphones, Google said it will begin taking pre-orders for both the phones in India on Oct. 13. Consumers in India will be able to pre-order them from Flipkart and it will also be available in over 1,000 retail stores including electronics retail chains like Reliance Digital, Croma and Vijay Sales. Google said it will begin shipping the smartphones by the end of the month.

The starting price of the Pixel smartphone is Rs 57,000 ($855), whereas the base Pixel XL model will cost Rs 67,000 ($1,005). The top-of-the-line, 128GB variant of the Pixel will cost Rs 66,000 ($990), whereas 128GB of the Pixel XL is priced at Rs 76,000 ($1,140). The company says both Pixel smartphones will be offered with interest free EMI programs and “attractive upgrade offers”. Google is also making a toll free phone support number for Pixel users, and 54 walk-in service centres across 30 cities in India.

With the $855 starting price tag, India has already become one of the most expensive places to purchase the Pixel smartphones. The base Pixel model -- with 32GB internal storage -- will retail at $649 in the United States, for instance. The main reason for the price difference is the heavy import duties that the Indian government imposes on smartphones in a bid to increase local manufacturing.

The Pixel and Pixel XL are the first-ever phones “made by Google”. Both are also the first smartphones to have built-in Google Assistant, the company’s new AI-driven digital helper. The Pixel sports a 5-inch full-HD display, whereas the Pixel XL comes with a 5.5-inch QHD screen.

Both the Pixel smartphones are powered by Snapdragon 821 processor, and come in two storage variant options - 32GB and 128GB. In India the Pixel smartphones will be available in Quite Black and Very Silver color options only. On the software side, both Pixel and Pixel XL run Android 7.1 out of the box.