Why Google Pixels Aren’t as Popular as iPhones and Samsung Galaxy Phones
The Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro have launched as the best Google phones yet, with better camera lenses, software and features, including an easier way for people with blindness or low vision to take selfies. The company added a bunch of Google Assistant features and touted new photography tricks like the unblurring of old photos.
It’s clear Google put a lot of work into its latest flagship phone. What’s less clear is whether anyone will care.
In a world dominated by iPhones and Samsung phones, Google isn’t a contender. Since the first Pixel launched in 2016, the entire series has sold 27.6 million units, according to data by analyst firm IDC — a number that’s one-tenth of the 272 million phones Samsung shipped in 2021 alone. Apple’s no slouch, having shipped 235 million phones in the same period.
The Pixel has long been a paradox of the mobile handset business. The family is the standard bearer for Android, the most popular mobile operating system in the world, bankrolled by one of the most successful and well-known companies. Yet it lags far behind its biggest rivals and is a niche player in a world that it basically controls.
It’s a bit baffling for Google’s phones to sell so poorly, since the Pixel phones have been well-liked by reviewers and consumers (at least the ones who’ve heard of them). Moreover, they’re the first phones to get new features and versions of Android months or even years before other phones.
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