Google might launch a budget Pixel 3 smartphone this summer

Google is developing a new Pixel phone, but it isn't a premium device.

According to The Economic Times, the new model will be a mid-range smartphone. The paper cited "four senior industry executives" and said that Google’s "top brass shared details of its consumer products expansion plans in trade meetings held in Malaysia, the UK, and the US last month". Apparently, we can expect this affordable device to launch this summer, sometime between July and August.

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However, it might be limited to "price-sensitive markets such as India." The Indian paper did not specify if the budget phone would launch in other countries, but it did mention a premium Pixel 3 flagship is also expected to arrive around October. In the past, The Economic Times has been a decent source when it comes to Google-related leaks, especially with news involving technology in India.

Keep in mind Google has a reason to be focused on India: the country has 1.3 billion people, though only 30 percent have access, and it's the birthplace of CEO Sundar Pichai. India clearly has a lot of growth potential, and Google would be wise to capitalise on it now.