The Google Pixel 9 is a hit: Pixels earn double-digit market share for the first time

What you need to know

• According to research firm Statcounter, Google Pixel market share more than doubled in the span of a month.
• The recent spike in Pixel market share can likely be attributed to the success of the Google Pixel 9 series.
• Additionally, Counterpoint reports Google phone shipments increased 20% year-over-year on the back of the Pixel 9 series.

The Google Pixel 9 series, which includes four phones at various price points, received rave reviews from the media when it launched in August. However, that isn't always indicative of how a lineup of flagship phones will resonate with consumers. A variety of factors can determine whether a phone is successful, even if the hardware and software are both excellent.

Well, a pair of reports from two research firms suggest that the Google Pixel 9 was a hit, however you look at it. Counterpoint Research's results from the third quarter of 2024 revealed that Google smartphone shipments increased 20% year-over-year. For reference, the Pixel 9 series debuted nearly two months earlier in 2024 than the Pixel 8 series did in 2023. Google's shipments represented just four percent of phones shipped overall in Q3 2024.

“The Pixel 9 series had a staggard launch this year starting at the end of August with the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro XL, followed by the 9 Pro and 9 Pro Fold in the beginning of September," said Maurice Klaehne, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, in a press release. "We expect GenAI smartphones to perform well in Q4 as more software updates for both iOS and Android get released.”

Counterpoint also revealed that the Pixel 9 Pro XL, the biggest of Google's new flagships, was in the top ten of the best-selling premium phones in Q3 2024.

However, it's Statcounter's market share figures from October 2024 that give us a better idea of how the Pixel 9 series is performing. Google's mobile vendor market share in North America is 12.4% as of October 2024, which is the first time the company's smartphone market share crossed into double-digit territory. More importantly, it spiked from 4.76% in September 2024 to 12.4% in October 2024. That kind of jump in the span of a month signals that the Pixel 9 series is finding immense success.

Google's apparent winner in the Pixel 9 is great news for Android as a whole. There is growing skepticism that Samsung, which recently apologized for failing to innovate, can disrupt Apple's stronghold on the premium phone market in North America. The market share spike Google earned last month could be a reason for optimism that it, not Samsung, can challenge the iPhone.