Google Pixels are great phones – why aren’t more people buying them?
If you were to make a list of the best phones to come out in the past year, Google’s Pixel phones would rank very high. But type in a list of the best-selling phones, and Google phones will be hard to find.
It’s a dilemma Google has faced since the original Pixel debuted in 2016, but the question has become more specific as each subsequent phone has brought more improvements to the stack: Google makes great phones with the Pixel — why don’t more people use them?
“Google has invested heavily to build the Pixel brand, but compared to Apple and Samsung, it still has a mountain to climb,” agreed Ben Wood, senior analyst and chief marketing officer at CCS Insight. “The brand has resonated well with tech enthusiasts, but gaining wider adoption is a challenge.”
This year’s Pixel releases have highlighted the gap between what Google’s phones offer and how it translates (or fails) in smartphone sales. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro received very positive reviews, with their cameras earning the usual praise. For me, though, the phone of the year was the Google Pixel 6a, a mid-range offering that delivered one of the best camera phones for the money while also using a Tensor chipset to power experiences unique to Google phones.
These particular models sell better than previous Pixels, but Google’s smartphone market share is still just a ripple when compared to the likes of Apple and Samsung. Market research firm Canalys has placed Google in fifth place in US phone market share, with just 1.7% of the market for the third quarter of 2022.
“The Pixel continues to be a rough patch in the overall market,” said Avi Greengart, senior analyst at Techsponential.
Here’s a closer look at why the Pixel is making a bigger splash in the smartphone world than it is and whether that trend could change for Google in a market dominated by the iPhone and several Galaxy flagships.
What Google got right with the Pixel in 2022
In its six years of Pixel releases, Google has built a reputation for providing its phones with a superior camera experience, while ramping up computational photography and improving what phone lenses capture.
After upgrading the main camera on its flagship phones to a 50MP shooter with the 2021 versions of the Pixel 6, Google made only modest changes to the camera setup with the Pixel 7. The front camera on its latest phones saw an upgrade to a 10.8MP sensor with a wider field of view. Even with minimal hardware improvements, both Pixel 7 models can still go toe-to-toe with any top-of-the-range camera phone — see the iPhone 14 Pro Max vs. Google Pixel 7 Pro camera shoot for a look at how well these two devices match An equal measure when it comes to mobile photography.
Hardware is only a small part of the story when it comes to the Pixel’s camera prowess. Google phones also benefit from the company’s computational photography expertise, as we’ve seen with a number of image manipulation and editing features that have been thrown into the Pixels.
We’re considering the Magic Eraser tool introduced with the Pixel 6 and optimized for the Pixel 6a to not only remove unwanted objects and people from photos but also make them less noticeable. Pixel 7’s Photo Unblur tool can sharpen faces in photos — even those taken with completely different phones. And I was blown away by how the upgraded SuperRes Zoom feature on the Pixel 7 lets me zoom in to get crisp shots without a lot of artifact even though the standard Google phone doesn’t have a dedicated telephoto lens.
Some of these photography features take advantage of the Google-built Tensor processor that’s been powering Pixel phones since last year’s Pixel 6. (As Apple does with the iPhone SE, Google includes its own silicon in its budget phone, so the Pixel 6a uses the same Tensor chipset that was introduced in the Pixel 6.) The latest Tensor G2 silicon inside the Pixel 7 models offers even more exclusivity. Features, including call management and improved transcription and translation.
As impressive as the addition of Tensor chips to Google’s lineup of phones was, it’s not the kind that will resonate with a larger audience. “We see very little evidence that consumers care a lot about the chips in their devices,” Wood said. “Design, battery life, camera capabilities, and other installation features typically drive consumers’ smartphone purchase decisions.”
However, Wood added, it gives the Tensor Pixel an advantage over other Android devices “as it allows [the Pixel] To achieve deeper integration between hardware and software.
It’s an assessment Greengart shares. “Your average consumer doesn’t pay much attention to the details of silicon, but the fact that Google is designing its own processors — and proclaiming that they’re devoting more attention to AI — is a differentiator,” he said.
Google’s market share – small, but growing
[Google has] It had challenges, and it still does to a degree, but they’re trying to improve.
– Nabila Bhopal, IDC
Even this differentiating factor wasn’t enough to raise the profile of the Pixel among smartphone buyers. In terms of global market share, calling Pixel sales a drop in the bucket would be a serious overestimation of how much of a dribble.
Market research firm IDC puts Pixel’s share of the global smartphone market at 0.8% for the third quarter of 2022. Focus on the US market – Google’s biggest source of Pixel sales – and that number jumps to 5% so far. . That’s significantly lower than Apple (47.2%) and Samsung (25%), which account for more than 70% of smartphones sold in the US by IDC accounts.
As stark as these numbers may be, they are, in fact, on the rise. IDC said the 2.3 million phones Google shipped in the third quarter was the largest tally ever for that three-month period. (And that number doesn’t take into account any Pixel 7 sales, since those phones launched in October.) That’s 334% annual growth for Google’s global market share.
“[Google has] “It had challenges, and to some extent still does, but they are trying to improve,” said Nabila Popal, director of research at IDC.
What needs to change for future pixels?
In other words, Pixel is struggling to gain a significant foothold in the market due to brand awareness. Bhopal noted that Google may be more widely known for its search engine, but phones are another matter entirely.
“Despite rave reviews, Google’s biggest challenge in gaining share, both globally and in the US, is weak marketing and presence with carriers, areas currently dominated by Apple and Samsung,” Popal added. or Apple.”
Analysts say Google may be trying to change that. The Pixel 7 has benefited from Google’s biggest marketing push to date, according to CCS Insight’s Wood, as the tech giant looks to grow the Pixel’s audience beyond the tech enthusiasts who have been responsible for most Pixel device sales.
Wood added that previous Pixel versions have been hit with supply limitations, particularly outside the US, along with negative publicity about technical issues in previous Pixel versions. “The good news is that the Pixel 7 phones seem to have overcome some of these issues, and that will certainly improve Google’s reputation with key sales channels and consumers,” Wood said.
“Google has been putting money into TV ads and their influencer programme,” Greengart agreed. “But it still needs to do more in retail.”
You may remember that the original Pixel phone was sold unlocked or exclusively through Verizon. This puts Google at a disadvantage compared to other phones, since most US shoppers get their phones directly from a wireless carrier. With subsequent releases, Google has added more carrier support — you can now buy the Pixel 7 from any of the three major wireless providers — but Google still finds itself playing catch-up with other phone makers on this front.
Like Microsoft, we suspect Google is keen to “show the art of the possible” across its Pixel devices in order to provide a point of reference for other Android phone makers.
Ben Wood, CCS Insigh
Of course, there’s the question of how far Google wants to catch up with other Android devices. “Competing with your own channels is always a big risk,” Wood said. “It’s the same dilemma Microsoft has faced with its Surface products. Like Microsoft, we suspect Google is keen to ‘show the art of the possible’ across its Pixel devices in order to provide a point of reference for other Android phone makers.”
Greengart puts it another way: “Google would like to take a stake away from Apple, but it doesn’t want to destabilize Android by hurting Samsung, its biggest licensee.”
What’s next for Pixel
If that’s the case, expect Google to continue to look for ways to keep the Pixel among the best camera phones, as the Pixel could offer a fairly compelling alternative to the iPhone. The Tensor-powered AI features also give Google a way to stand out from the smartphone crowd, and perhaps get a second look from iPhone owners who are still unimpressed with the Siri assistant.
We won’t have to wait long for Google’s next move. The Pixel 7a is likely to debut in mid-2023, and the latest mid-range model is likely to adopt the Tensor G2 chipset introduced in the Pixel 7. Moreover, next fall should see the launch of another round of Pixel flagships, with a possible Focus On new Tensor chips as well as more camera improvements.
It may not be enough for Google to overtake others in the smartphone market. But it could help the Pixel continue to gain a wider audience.
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