You may be seeing more and more Google-signed smartphones on the street, and that’s completely normal. Last year, the company delivered a few million more than in 2022.
If there is one area in which the Pixels, and even before them the Nexus, have never shone, it is in that of popularity. Although the devices produced by the Mountain View firm generally display interesting performances for (generally) attractive prices, they have never managed to steal the spotlight from more established brands.
And we are still far from it! However, Google has good arguments for continuing its adventure in the production of smartphones.
A record which must be renewed in 2024
In 2023, the American giant delivered 10 million Pixel smartphones, two million more than in 2022. Figures of which we already had an idea, but confirmed by our colleagues at Nikkei Asia. This is an honorable progression, the driving force of which we do not know exactly, as Google does not communicate its figures in detail. However, we suspect that the excellent Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7a have a lot to do with it, having been the spearhead of the range for most of the year.
The company is aiming for the same score in 2024, headlined by the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, released last fall, but also with their little brother: the Pixel 8a. This is a pivotal generation of smartphones for Google, which has not only chosen to highlight artificial intelligence, but which will also begin producing them in India from next quarter. A change that other tech players, such as Apple, have also started for several months.
An outsider in an ultra-competitive sector
Despite these good results, Google is still far from placing one of its smartphones among the most popular devices in the world. In the top 10 sales in 2023, we reported that the iPhone 15 Pro Max had sold 32 million units, and the iPhone 15 17 million. To make a more exhaustive comparison, the Samsung Galaxy A14 ended up in the pockets of 21 million users last year.
However, Pixels seem to have a bright future ahead of them. Google shows great confidence in its devices, not only by making it a preferred platform for the deployment of its AI services, but also by supporting them for seven years. It remains to be seen whether 2024 will be as bright for these smartphones, which must evolve in an ultra-competitive environment dominated by Apple and Samsung for many years, but which is also witnessing the emergence of Chinese manufacturers who have it in their stomachs.
Source : Android Police
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