Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL launch event: India timing, likely availability and more

Google will soon be taking the wraps off its Google Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL smartphones. The search giant has already revealed the launch date and time of the devices and has also been teasing the two smartphones since last month.
The launch live stream video on YouTube says the event will begin at 9AM PDT. This means that in India you will be able to see the event on October 4 starting 9.30PM.
It is worth adding that Google launched its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones last year on the same date. The handsets were made available to pre-order in India from October 13 and started shipping on October 25. India was the first six countries along with US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany to get the Pixel smartphones first.
Although the Pixel and the Pixel XL were launched in three colours, Quite Black, Very Silver and Really Blue, only the former two colour variants made their way to the country. The smartphones were made available from Flipkart, Reliance Digital, and Croma. This year too the company may adopt the same strategy.
One of the highlights of the Pixel and the Pixel XL last year was the Google Assistant and some new app such as Google Allo, Duo along with the Android 7.0 Nougat. This year we expect the smartphone’s highlight to be Android 8.0 Oreo, when we talk about the software. The OS version will brings host of new features.
A recently leaked render of the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL by smartphone tipster Evan Blass also showed a new home screen where the Google Search bar is at the bottom for easy access. On top users could see some alerts and reminders.
Besides the two smartphones we are also likely to see the unveiling of the Google Home Mini, Home Max, new Daydream VR headset and the Google PixelBook.