Google’s Early Pixel 9 Sales Off to Hot Start It Seems

With each year’s Pixel launch, we find ourselves sitting back and waiting for sales numbers to roll in and tell us if Google finally has a hit on its hands or if their devices remain a niche option for enthusiasts. It’s not that we’re wondering if Google will ever become a serious player on the level of Samsung and Apple, because their reach just isn’t on the scale of those two, but the way Google’s smartphone numbers land in certain countries can at least tell us that folks are starting to understand and accept what Google is offering.

For the Pixel 9, Google certainly went for it in a way that they haven’t in the past. Not only did they move the launch up by a couple of months from their typical schedule, they released a total of 4 smartphones, one that could be considered a more budget-friendly option, a two-sized approach to their usual “Pro” line, and then a “Pro” foldable for those with big wallets and a need for a bigger screen.

We reviewed all 4 devices and found them to all be excellent smartphone options that should fit the needs of just about everyone. In case you missed it, August and September were filled with Pixel 9 reviews (Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold).

But with us thinking Google released its best line-up of phones to date, has that translated to sales? In the Q3 Alphabet earnings call, we listened to see if any of the executives would mention sales figures or give us an sort of hint at how things were going. They didn’t say anything really, and instead we got a simple “We’ve seen strong demand” for the Pixel 9 and that they have “already received multiple awards.” That’s it. They didn’t say that they saw record sales or the best quarter ever or anything of the sort, but that’s probably nothing to look deeper at knowing the launch happened at the end of a quarter. Maybe we’ll get more details after Q4 wraps and we are flooded with potential holiday promos.

That said, the folks at Counterpoint released data today that suggests Google saw a big jump over Q3 2023 sales (a 20% increase). Of course, Google didn’t release the Pixel 8 series until Q4, so they were still selling older devices in Q3 of 2024 and the comparison is kind of weak. In fact, if there weren’t big increases, Google should be worried.

If you need another data point to consider, there’s a website tracking service called Statcounter that published updated data for 2024 and it shows Google’s smartphone market share in the US jumping from 5% to 14% from in September to October. They track website analytics and then dump the data they’ve received into cute little charts that show everything from smartphone market share to screen resolution stats to browser version share.

At the moment, I think the early signs for Google with the Pixel 9 series are positive and at least two batches of data show solid early returns.