Any experience buying Google Pixel from Malaysia?

[srikbs8095]

I'm traveling to Malaysia and I was wondering if it's a good idea to buy Google Pixel from there. Should I be careful of any language localization feature in the phone? Any issues while departing from Kuala Lumpur or upon arrival to India? Any other issues in general to keep in mind?

 

[dexter_greycells]

It is 2024, not the early 2000s any more. Nowadays it rarely makes sense to buy phones from abroad. The only phones that have a major price difference between India and abroad are all those Ultra / Pro / Max ones that cost over a lakh. For phones cheaper than that you can often snag even better prices in India sometimes if you look out for offers and use credit cards/vouchers.

As far as I know, only iPhones have international warranties (I am by no means advocating an iPhone). Google and Samsung do not. Also, phones are customized both in hardware (4G/5G bands support) and software (firmware, payment options) as per the market they are sold in. I had bought a couple of Samsung S7 Edge's from Dubai and it was a bad decision since Jio 4G wouldn't work on them and Samsung Pay would not work either.

TL;DR - It is a bad idea to buy a Pixel from Malaysia unless the discount is worth the risk of an out-of-warranty phone in your eyes.

 

[srikbs8095]

It is 2024, not the early 2000s any more. Nowadays it rarely makes sense to buy phones from abroad. The only phones that have a major price difference between India and abroad are all those Ultra / Pro / Max ones that cost over a lakh. For phones cheaper than that you can often snag even better prices in India sometimes if you look out for offers and use credit cards/vouchers.

As far as I know, only iPhones have international warranties (I am by no means advocating an iPhone). Google and Samsung do not. Also, phones are customized both in hardware (4G/5G bands support) and software (firmware, payment options) as per the market they are sold in. I had bought a couple of Samsung S7 Edge's from Dubai and it was a bad decision since Jio 4G wouldn't work on them and Samsung Pay would not work either.

TL;DR - It is a bad idea to buy a Pixel from Malaysia unless the discount is worth the risk of an out-of-warranty phone in your eyes.

I lived in the US for 6 years and returned last year to India. Trust me, there is still a 10-20% differential in price, sometimes even 30%. New releases mostly do not have the offers that you mention. Regarding compatibility however, you make a good point.