Google has been producing increasingly excellent phones, but it continues to struggle in gaining significant market share in the smartphone industry. Recent data indicates that Google Pixel phones might be losing popularity.
A Stocklytics report (via Phone Arena) revealed that 57% of surveyed Google Pixel owners are very likely to switch to another brand for their next upgrade, while only 25% are very unlikely to switch. This survey included almost 10,000 smartphone users in the US. In comparison, 34% of Samsung phone owners and 34% of iPhone owners are very likely to switch, with 44% of Samsung users and 50% of iPhone users very unlikely to switch.
Furthermore, earlier this month, Counterpoint Research (also via Phone Arena) reported that Google’s share of the US market had dropped from an already low 2% in the first quarter of 2023 to an even lower, unspecified percentage in the first quarter of 2024.
These findings suggest a challenging outlook for the Google Pixel 9 line, despite rumors of a new design, a potential third model (possibly the Pixel 9 Pro XL), and more AI features. This is surprising, considering Google makes high-quality phones; both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro received 4-star reviews from us.
The decline in popularity might be due to the history of bugs and issues with Pixel phones, including overheating and connectivity problems. Although the latest models seem more stable and most issues have been resolved, past problems might have hurt the brand’s reputation.
However, the situation might not be as dire as these reports suggest. The Statista survey, despite having almost 10,000 respondents, may not be highly significant. With Google’s US market share likely under 2%, only around 200 of those surveyed would be Pixel owners. Considering the US has around 310 million smartphone users (according to Statista), this is a very small sample size.
Moreover, the US is just one market. While it’s one of Google’s largest, the Pixel line had a 12% market share in Japan in Q2 2023, up from just 2% in Q2 2021, according to Counterpoint Research (via Bloomberg).
So, Google’s phones are gaining traction and growing market share in other regions. Hopefully, the situation for the Pixel line isn’t as bad as some data suggests. With continued improvements in reliability, Google may yet increase customer loyalty in the future.
