What you need to know
- Counterpoint Researched released its analysis of smartphone shipments and sales for Q4 2023 this week.
- Notably, Google Pixel devices represented 3% of all smartphones shipped in North America.
- While it's still a small number, Google is now in fourth place in North American smartphone shipment, and the Pixel brand is growing.
After a few trying years in the beginning, the Google Pixel is growing to become a force in the Android smartphone market. Anecdotal evidence and positive reviews point to the success of Pixel, but there's no hard data to back it up. Counterpoint Research released its analysis of smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023, and it includes positive growth for the Pixel lineup.
Counterpoint ranked smartphone manufacturers based on their global shipments in Q4 2023, and Google wasn't found in the top six. Ranked from highest to lowest, these were the companies with the most phones shipped globally last quarter: Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Honor. Overall, the report states that the global smartphone market grew by 7% year-over-year in 2023 and 8% quarter-over-quarter.
Google's growth can be discovered at the regional level, specifically in the North American smartphone market. In this area, Google is the smartphone manufacturer that shipped the fourth-most phones last quarter. Only three manufacturers are ahead of the company: Apple, Samsung, and Motorola. Google Pixel phones represented 3% of the total smartphones shipped in North America in Q4 2023.
That might not seem like much, but it's significant for Google. Considering how late Google launched Pixel in the smartphone race, it's impressive that the brand has managed to claw away market share from the likes of Apple and Samsung. Plus, the market share Google achieved in Q4 2023 is higher than it has netted in the past. In years past, Google was lucky to own a percent of North American market share.
It's worth noting that this Counterpoint report only represents a snapshot of Google's market share. The data within covers just one quarter of 2023. Since it's specifically for the fourth quarter, it includes all the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro sales from the holiday season and the initial release window.
Combined with other data, it's looking like Pixel is on the rise. A report from Nikkei Asia claimed that the Pixel brand eclipsed 10 million phones shipped in 2023. More recently, the Pixel 8 series won "Best Smartphone" at MWC Barcelona this week.
One of the best Android phones you can buy
Google's Pixel lineup has grown recently, and it's not hard to see why. The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a bona-fide flagship and it's an excellent Android phone in 2024.
