Google has just confirmed that sales for its Pixel line of handsets have increased 2X during the past 12 months. This represents the first time Google has been actively boastful about Pixel sales.
Here’s what Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, “With the launch of Pixel 3a in May, overall Pixel unit sales in Q2 grew more than 2x year-over-year.”
But does it mean Google’s line of phones has finally turned a corner? It certainly appears to be the case; 2X’ing sales is never easy, and the Google Pixel 3a, the phone I’m using right now, is a very compelling handset.
The Google Pixel 3a Pricing – Is That Its Secret Sauce?
Google was pretty vague about what caused the 2X in sales for its Pixel line of phones. It did, however, confirm that the Pixel 3a has the biggest distribution ever for a Pixel phone – it’s widely available from T Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Spectrum Mobile and others.
No other Pixel phone has gotten this kind of push. But what about the price of the Google Pixel 3a? It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than previous Pixel phones. And it has a headphone jack too. Could this (the price, not the return of the headphone jack) be the real reason why the Pixel 3a is doing so well?
I mean, LG and Sony both have pretty good distribution in the US too, but you don’t see either of those brands posting news about 2X’ing phone sales year on year. Personally, I think Google has finally given users what they want – an affordable flagship handset that works great and packs in the best version of Android on the market.
This is what the Pixel phone should have been about all along; solid software, decent cameras, and low-ish price tags. This is all people want and in the Android space, affordable phones with decent software that actually gets updated regularly are still far too rare.
Cheap Android Phones That Get Proper Android Updates
This was ALWAYS the niche Google should have gone after. But instead of doing this it decided to try and compete with Apple when it came to pricing.
This was a mistake. Lest we forget, it took Apple 10 years to get to the $1000 price tag for the iPhone X. And when it did release that phone, with its eye-watering price tag, it knew it had a pool of at least 50 million people that would definitely buy it.
I’ve lost count of the number of emails I’ve had from readers about their cheap Android phones breaking, bricking, or simply working correctly. Nine times outta ten, it’s the software – they’re running super-old versions of Android. Other times, it’s shoddy hardware. And make no mistake: this problem is RIFE in the Android ecosystem.
The Google Pixel 3a, with its $400 price tag, costs 60% less than Apple’s iPhone XS Max flagship and 50% less than its “cheaper” iPhone XR. It has a great camera, great software, the display is great, and its battery life is very good too. Hell, I’m a tech journalist and I use one, so it must be pretty decent, right?
Has Google learned its lesson? Will the Pixel 3a pricing remain in place from here on out? I really hope it does because the Pixel 3a, to me, as a long-time Nexus/Pixel user, is EXACTLY what Google’s Pixel range should be all about: value for money, software, performance, and utility.
And if you can impress a tech journalist with your $400, enough that he goes out and buys one, then convincing the general public should not be a problem.
Love live the Google Pixel 3a!
