Google Pixel is Kinda Crushing It Right Now

Marketshare numbers out of Japan are being reported this week and inside is an interesting tale. Long story short, it’s great news for Google and not-so-good news for Apple.

Courtesy of Counterpoint Research, Google’s share of the smartphone market in Japan went up to 12%, which was a 6x increase from what it was last year. For Google and the Pixel line, that’s big when you’re competing against titans such as Samsung and Apple. When looking at Apple’s share, it dropped from 58% to 46% over the same period, making it appear that there may be quite a few Pixel owners in Japan who were previously using an iPhone.

This positive news for Google comes after a strong Q1 in which it became the #1 Android OEM in Japan, topping two local heavyweights in Sony and Sharp. That success was attributed much to the Pixel 7a, which apparently did very well overseas.

The US is a different animal. We’re still a heavy Apple and Samsung market, with Google currently listed as having 3% of the market in Q2 of this year compared to Apple’s 55% and Samsung’s 23%.

I look forward to revisiting these numbers in a year to see where Google lands after the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8a.

// Investing