The year 2021 saw several big smartphone launches across brands. While most of them launched in India, some didn’t. Oppo and Xiaomi’s first-ever folding phones, Oppo Find N and Mi Mix Fold, are cases in point. There are some other smartphones too that buyers in India missed. Here are some popular phones that launched globally but did not make it to the Indian market.
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​Google’s top-end Pixel phones: Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6 Pro
Google’s much-awaited Pixel 6 series did not launch in India. Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro are the first smartphones to run on Google’s own chipset Tensor. The smartphones also boasts of several camera first features. In a statement, Google said that it won’t be able to make its latest Pixel phones available in India “due to a variety of factors including global demand supply issues.”
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​Xiaomi’s folding phone: MI Mix Fold
Xiaomi’s first foldable smartphone Mi Mix Fold too did not make it to the Indian market. Xiaomi launched the smartphone in March 2021. The smartphones debuted Xiaomi’s own Image Signal Processor (ISP), Surge C1. It also introduced the first Liquid Lens seen in a smartphone.
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​OnePlus’ affordable top-end phone: OnePlus 9RT
Like past many years, OnePlus did not launch a top-end flagship phone in the second half of the year in India. OnePlus fans were looking forward to the launch of OnePlus RT which launched in China in October. Among other features, OnePlus RT is the company’s first 9R series phone to run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. There were rumours of the phone launching on December 16 in India. It remains to be seen if the wait ends in 2022.
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​Oppo’s first folding phone: Oppo Find N
Oppo Find N is the company’s first-ever folding phone. The phone that unfolds new chapter in folding smartphone series launched in China recently. The smartphone is somewhat similar to Samsung Galaxy Z Fold in design. It has a squarish OLED panel inside and small one outside. However, there are no details available yet about the phone’s India launch. It seems to be going the way of some concept phones that Oppo showcased in India but didn’t launch.
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​Microsoft’s dual-screen Android phone: Surface Duo 2
Like the initial Surface laptops, Microsoft didnt launch its Surface Duo 2 smartphone in India. The dual-screen Android phone runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor and comes with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams integrated.
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​Oppo’s most-premium phone: Oppo Find X3 Pro
This year Oppo didn’t launch its most premium flagship phone, Oppo Find X3 Pro, in India. Oppo Find X series is known for its camera and powerful specs. Oppo Find X 3 Pro features microscope camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC and wireless charging (30W).
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​Google’s most-affordable phone of 2021: Google Pixel 5a
Google Pixel 5a is successor of Google Pixel 4a. While Google launched Pixel 4a in India, its successor Google Pixel 5a never made it to the country. The Google Pixel 5a smartphone boasts of better screen, camera and battery vs Google Pixel 4a. It has been widely termed as one of the best Android phones in the price bracket.
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​Huawei’s first major phone series to launch with HarmonyOS: Huawei P50 series
Another series that we missed in 2021 is Huawei P50 series. Announced for the Chinese market, the P50 and P50 Pro are Huawei’s first major phones to run on its own HarmonyOS. The phones boast of powerful cameras and are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor in some models.
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​Asus’ 18GB RAM phone: Asus ROG Phone 5s
Asus didnt bring its ROG Phone 5S and 5S Pro to India. The phones are functionally minor updates to the ROG Phone 5 that Asus launched earlier this year. While the core specs are same, Asus ROG Phone 5s series phones have a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus processor and screens have a more responsive 360Hz touch-sampling rate.