Google Remains a Fringe Player in the Smartphone Market

On Wednesday, Google unveiled the 10th generation of Pixel smartphones, the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. The new phones come with new, powerful Tensor G5 chip, a MagSafe-like magnet called Pixelsnap enabling fast wireless Qi2 charging and a lot of AI capabilities woven directly into the UI. Having worked with various hardware makers before, Google debuted the “made by Google” Pixel smartphones in 2016. But despite good reviews and attractive price points, the company never really cracked the smartphone market, selling just a fraction of the devices market leaders Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi move year after year.

According to Statista Consumer Insights, Google remains a fringe player in the smartphone market to this day, with five or less percent of smartphone users calling a Pixel device their main phone in most major markets. As our chart shows, Google phones are most popular in Japan and Canada, where they're used by 9.8 and 6.8 percent of smartphone users, respectively.

Thankfully for Alphabet's shareholders, the company doesn't rely on smartphone sales the way that Apple does. In the second quarter of 2025, the operating segment that includes all of Google's hardware products as well as Google Play, YouTube subscriptions and other products and services accounted for just 12 percent of Alphabet's total revenue, while advertising accounted for almost 75 percent. At Apple, the iPhone alone accounted for just under half of total sales in Q3 of fiscal 2025, clearly illustrating where each company's priorities lie.