Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has quietly enabled 5G support for Pixel phones in seven new countries.
- Pixel handsets aren’t currently sold in these new markets, though.
One of the strangest things about Google Pixel phones like the Pixel 8 series is that they don’t support 5G, VoLTE, or Wi-Fi calling in unsupported countries. Now, it looks like Google is enabling 5G support in more markets.
9to5Google spotted an updated Google Pixel 5G page, confirming that Pixels now support 5G connectivity in seven new countries. These markets are Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lichtenstein, and Slovakia. This brings the total list of supported markets to 38.
It’s also interesting to note that Google doesn’t sell its recent Pixel phones (Pixel 8 series, Pixel 7a) in any of these new markets. We’re guessing this could be a sign of what to expect from Google in terms of new Pixel markets. Then again, countries like New Zealand and Romania have been on this list for a while and don’t seem to be official Pixel markets.
It’s also possible that Google is expanding support in these locales for travelers or because its own data indicates that there are loads of people buying Pixels via unofficial means in these countries.
Either way, Google’s 5G availability map (seen above) is still looking extremely barebones, with South America and Africa excluded entirely. So if Google is bringing 5G support to new countries in anticipation of official Pixel sales, they’re not coming to these continents.
In any event, we hope Google works hard to bring 5G support, VoLTE capabilities, and Wi-Fi calling to more markets, even if they’re not officially supported. This is one of the biggest issues with importing a Pixel phone compared to other brands, although it is possible to activate VoLTE and 5G with workarounds.
