Google on Wednesday unveiled two new smartphones with 5G wireless capability under its Pixel brand. The new Pixel 5 will start at $699 for US customers. Pixel 4a 5G will be available at $499.

The smartphones will be available from October 15 in the US and other 5G markets including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan and the UK. Both the phones will not be available in India as the California tech giant revealed in August.

The new handsets are “packing more helpful Google features into phones backed by the power and speeds of 5G,” said Google vice president Brian Rakowski at the streamed event.

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The announcement puts Google ahead of Apple in the 5G smartphone race, with a 5G iPhone widely expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

The company announced offers for its 5G smartphone customers, including 3 months of Google Stadia Pro and YouTube Premium, apart from 100GB of Google One cloud storage, as well as Play Pass and Play Points.

Google Pixels have won positive reviews in the past for their powerful cameras and integrated artificial intelligence, however, they have failed to defeat South Korea’s Samsung, Apple and China’s Huawei in the top charts.

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“Google has pivoted its Pixel line from competing at the highest price points to offering more value, but the competition has intensified in the mid-tier market as well,” said Avi Greengart of the consultancy Techsponential.

“That leaves the Pixel 5 again trying to differentiate itself on its camera and software,” he said.

The launch comes in the middle of the struggling global smartphone market, due to the pandemic-induced economic crisis and with many consumers waiting for 5G devices.

Nonetheless, the Portrait Light feature, Titan M security chip, Android 11, 128 GB onboard storage, Extreme Battery Saver mode and video recording of up to 4K resolution in both the phones are enough to compete in a 5G market as consumers begin looking for upgrades.