Google’s Pixel phones are selling better than ever

A new report from Counterpoint Research finds that within the global high-end smartphone market, Google’s Pixel brand is on the upswing. According to the report, which was published September 8, a year-over-year (YoY) change of 105% has afforded Pixel the new distinction of fastest growing premium smartphone brand in the entire world (via 9to5Google).

Google broke into the top five premium smartphone brands after five years. Its sales doubled YoY, driven by strong performance of the Pixel 9 series, expansion into newer markets and more aggressive marketing efforts. Google has been focusing on differentiating its Pixel series by positioning it as AI-first devices with a clean software experience, rather than merely emphasizing hardware specifications. Consumer confidence in Pixel devices is growing,” writes Counterpoint.

Previous reports have suggested that Google’s Pixel 9 series was a relative hit last year, and that the Pixel brand has overtaken TCL in US market share as of the second quarter of this year. At the time of writing, Pixel is positioned at fourth place overall in the US market, according to Canalys / Omdia findings.

Most recently, Google launched its next-generation Pixel 10 series of smartphones at a hardware event on August 20. These Pixel 10 models build upon the foundations of the Pixel 9, while improving on processor performance, adding in Qi2 wireless charging magnets, and ushering in the company’s Material 3 Expressive software era.

The Pixel brand is on the upswing

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

Google has been trying to crack into the high-end smartphone market for the better part of two decades. Going as far back as the HTC / T-Mobile G1 in 2008, Google has been pushing to make Android phones a viable alternative to the iPhone in the public imagination.

After several years of partnering with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) via its Nexus program, Google launched its first in-house Pixel smartphone in 2016. 2021 marked yet another milestone for the company, with its Pixel 6 series shipping with a custom Tensor processor and a new, far more opinionated external design language.

A heavy-handed approach of massive advertising and generous software perks like free cloud storage and Gemini Pro have no doubt played a role in taking the Pixel’s sales numbers in an upward direction. However, these factors alone weren’t enough to popularize early Pixel models; in my estimation, it was Google’s dedication to the Pixel smartphone project as a whole that ensured longer-term success and viability.

The Pixel line is a net-positive for Android at large

I’d love to see Google double down on Pixel-branded tablets and PCs

It’s great to see Pixel smartphones continue to grow in industry prominence, particularly within the North America market. The Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy duopoly has been utterly exhausted, and, frankly, I welcome any and all competition in the domestic mobile space.

Google could have just as well given up on its Pixel phone ambitions after just a couple of hardware generations, which would’ve secured its fate within the infamous Google Graveyard. Thankfully, the company didn’t lose faith. Rather than pulling a Microsoft and knocking the wind out of its product before giving it a chance to mature, Google has been steadily iterating on Pixel, and ten generations later, the work is paying off.

Next, I’d love to see Google bring some of this same energy to full-sized computers. The company has a rocky past when it comes to Pixel tablets and Chromebooks, but if it can commit to a longer-term vision (perhaps one which includes a full-blown Android-based PC), I think it’d be able to give other PC makers a genuine run for their money.