Why Google needs to rethink their Pixel strategy?
Back in 2016, Google launched its own line of smartphones under the name of Google Pixel in an effort to showcase their latest advancement in software and become a “Apple” in android, wherein the hardware and the software would both be manufactured by the same brand, to provide seamless ecosystem similar to what Apple had achieved earlier. Come 2019, Google’s Pixel line of phones have failed to capture the attention of the smartphone audience to the extent what Google expected. Google has merely 2.23% market share in North America which is less than Motorola and Huawei. Brands like Samsung , Apple and even Chinese brands like OnePlus are giving Google a hard time in premium smartphone segment. So, why such a big software giant like Google has failed to capture one of the biggest tech segments of the world? There are many reasons, which we are going to analyze in this article.
The Origin and timeline of Pixel lineup
Back in 2016, Google decided to launch its own range of Smartphones which was quite a big move at the time since Google was mostly considered a Software company. However, this wasn’t the first time we we were seeing a smartphone by Google. Google had previously worked with companies like Samsung, HTC, LG, Huawei and Motorola to make Nexus smartphones in the past. The devices were appreciated for their value for money as they provided good quality hardware including processor and other specifications at relativity less price compared to premium market leaders Samsung and Apple. The devices also had better timing of software updates compared to other android phones and this strategy was again adopted in Pixel lineup as well. But during Pixel, Google changed their pricing strategy, and the device was directly targeted to the premium smartphone buyers, competing directly against Apple and Samsung.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones which were launched in 2016, were great devices and were praised for their software, especially for the Google Assistant integration. Google also provided free unlimited cloud storage to store their high quality images along with the purchase of device. But the devices were criticized for their high prices since many of the fans from earlier Nexus devices were disappointed. The smartphones didn’t had any differentiating features to outshine against the offerings by Google’s competitors. Also the device was plagued by various issues such as Bluetooth pairing problem, Rear Camera flare, connectivity problems with LTE bands and many more.
In 2017, Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were launched. These devices unlike their predecessors had one clear outshining feature, which was its camera. These devices were claimed to be camera king of the smartphone market. The Pixel 2’s competitors were not even able to match its camera performance even by using better camera hardware. All the magic was done through its software processing. However, the journey of this device was also plagued by criticisms and issues. The biggest criticism of this device was the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack. The move was criticized since Google mocked Apple on removal of headphone jack from their devices that previous year. The devices were plagued by Screen Issues with a under-saturated and distorted OLED panel. Devices were plagued by Audio issues as well.
In 2018, Google launched Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL. The devices yet again had an outstanding camera, maintaining the dominance that its predecessors had against the competition. The camera came with night sight which helped in photography under very low light. But yet again the device was again criticized for its ugly looking notch and for its sub par hardware performance. The device was again plagued by number of issues related to audio and display apart from sub-par performance due to availability of only 4 GB of RAM.
In May 2019, Google also launched Pixel 3A and 3AXL as trimmed down version of Pixel 3 devices with same camera however with lower specs to sell in mid range segment and which directly competed with the offerings by OnePlus, Oppo and Vivo in many markets. Due to its lower price, the device sold pretty well compared to its premium counterparts. This doubled the sale for Google’s smartphones in second quarter of 2019.
In October 2019, Google launched Pixel 4 and 4XL. The device featured a second telephoto lens for the first time. The device also featured a motion sense technology with advance face recognition system. Along with it, device also featured an OLED display with 90hz refresh rate. However, yet again Google messed up. The device design and specification of the device got leaked far too early, so much so many said that it was the “Most leaked smartphone of all time”. Due to the motion sense technology, which used a frequency range which was not available for commercial use in many countries, hence the devices couldn't be launched in countries like India. The Pixel 4 was also specifically criticized for its small 2900 mAh battery. The Pixel 4 devices were also criticized for their price as their competitors had better offerings for the price since the base model came with only 64GB of onboard storage without the facility of micro-SD card expansion. Google also removed the free unlimited storage offering for storing high quality photos first time since the launch of first pixel device.
What are the reasons of failure?
One of the biggest reasons of failure for Google is the price of the devices. The prices of the devices were targeted for premium smartphone market. However, the devices didn’t justified the high cost. Google also repeatedly dropped the prices of their smartphones after few months of the launch, thereby depleting the resale value of the product and also destroying the relations of the consumers who had already purchased their device at high price. The rise of OnePlus also made situation worse as OnePlus devices were relatively cheaper compared to pixel devices, but had similar and sometimes better performance along with the overall quality of the product. These devices also had OxygenOS which was near stock android experience in terms of timing of software update as well. So, Google pixel devices were basically selling due to their camera performance and their advantage in terms of software experience and updates was vanished.
If that wasn’t enough, all the Pixel devices were plagued by countless number of hardware and software issues, drawing the existing customers away from the Pixel brand. Not only OnePlus, but Samsung and Apple both have been able to bring a better product for the price compared to Google in last few years. These brands have been able to establish a loyal customer base, unlike Google.
Due to its high pricing, Google has also failed to capture some emerging markets like India and China where smartphone sales have not saturated like in North America and Europe. Chinese Brands like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and OnePlus have been miles ahead than Google in these markets.
The main issue with the Google Pixel has been the fact that, the devices may have had some outstanding cameras over the years, but most of them failed in one parameter, being a good overall package for the price. For Google Pixel to succeed, either they need to make their pricing strategy for such kind of devices to compete against aggressively priced OnePlus, or improve the quality and overall package at current prices so that they can compete better against the offerings by Samsung and Apple.
