Is the Google Pixel Finally Cracking the Smartphone Market?

At long last, the global smartphone market is on the rebound — and this time, Google may be able to enjoy the ride.

On Wednesday, the search giant held a launch event for the new budget-friendly version of its Pixel smartphone, the Pixel 9a, while also slashing the prices of other models. With rivals sputtering, can Google’s hardware division finally share in the industry’s success?

Can You Hear Me Now?

After two straight years of declines, global smartphone sales grew more than 6% year-over-year in 2024, according to a recent report from market intelligence firm IDC. The industry’s top dogs, however, didn’t quite catch the wave. Both Apple and Samsung saw their global market shares shrink last year; Apple’s roughly 20% market share in 2023 slipped to just under 19% in 2024, while Samsung’s fell from 19.5% to 18%, as both experienced a decline in total shipments.

For both companies, the stagnation has marked something of a crisis. Especially for Samsung, whose leadership even issued a formal apology in October for a lack of innovation across its core businesses (and just this week, promised shareholders “meaningful achievements” in acquisitions to boost growth in 2025).

Google, which has long seen its Android division dominate in the smartphone operating system and software space, may finally be seeing its smartphone hardware business — celebrated by techies and product reviewers — start to pick up steam. The launch of its flagship Pixel 9 phone last fall helped it secure 4% of total US smartphone shipments in the third quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. That’s small potatoes, but also a record for the company.

Still, cracking the global market will mean competing with surging Chinese rivals:

• As Apple and Samsung slipped in 2024, China-based Xiaomi scored sales growth of over 15% last year, bumping its third-place market share up a percentage point to 13.6%.
• Fellow Chinese firm Transsion, meanwhile, saw sales growth of nearly 13% last year, bringing its fourth-place market share to nearly 9%.

The Pixel 9a, due to launch next month, will retail at $499 — or $100 cheaper than the comparable iPhone 16e.

Tough Sledding: Still, the biggest roadblock for Google — as usual these days — may well be regulatory roadblocks. The Pixel line, launched in 2016, marked Google’s attempt to seamlessly integrate Android into its larger ecosystem. In addition to possibly forcing the sale of Chrome as a remedy for maintaining an illegal search monopoly, antitrust regulators at the US Department of Justice are still considering forcing the company to sell off the Android division, too, according to recent court filings. On the other hand, the company did just announce its largest acquisition ever — so it may not be too fearful of antitrust regulators, after all.