Turns out excellent reviews and a massive marketing campaign is what’s needed to move phones
Despite their popularity among Android enthusiasts — including the readers of this very site — Pixel phones have never been strong sellers. Compared to the likes of Samsung and Apple, Google manages to move a fraction of handsets every year. Perhaps boosted by a massive marketing campaign — not to mention some seriously good word of mouth — the company’s latest smartphones seem to be off to a strong start, even compared to the Pixel 6 series before it.
The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are, in our eyes, two of the very best Android phones you can buy right now, but unfortunately, it hasn’t always translated to sales numbers. As we learned last spring, despite a round of internal promotions at Verizon, carrier salespeople failed to drum up interest in those 2021 flagships. In fact, one rep in particular only managed to move the Pixel 6 when advertising it as an alternative to an out-of-stock Galaxy S22 — a bad sign for Google.
But with the Pixel 7 series here, it seems like things are going Google’s way. While the company itself often drags its feet to disclose sales details outside of vague reporting during earnings calls, Wave7’s latest report includes responses from salespeople at all three carriers, and their findings seem promising. According to these surveys, 30 of the 39 respondents claimed sales for the Pixel 7 series were stronger than its predecessors, with one AT&T rep noting that the Pixel 7 Pro is an often successful upsell over Google’s base model.
When zooming in on sales share between carriers, it’s Verizon that comes out on top. The once-exclusive place to buy a Pixel, Verizon has Google’s share at 7 percent, holding steady from Wave7’s last survey but up from 3-4 percent during the Pixel 6 days. AT&T is at 6 percent — up from 3 percent in October — and T-Mobile is at 4 percent. Those Magenta numbers may sound bad, but Google held a 1-3 percent range prior to the Pixel 7 launch.
Of the nine respondents who didn’t claim Pixel 7 sales were stronger than that of the Pixel 6, only one — a representative at Verizon — claimed weaker numbers. That places the final eight participants in the “about the same” category, with six of them working at T-Mobile. Considering the Uncarrier has a wider selection of Android phones to pick from, including OnePlus devices, it’s unsurprising to see Google’s momentum a little weaker.
And speaking of OnePlus, it’s not looking too rosy for the ex-flagship killer. T-Mobile is the only national carrier that sells its products in stores, but shares are starting to weaken. One representative quoted in this week’s report claimed Pixels were taking away attention from OnePlus and Motorola, while another focused solely on Nord models like the N200. In other words, the OnePlus 10 Pro and 10T haven’t been flying off the shelf.
The OnePlus 11‘s global launch is set for next month, which could help boost the company’s market share in the US. But considering the Galaxy S23 is rumored to debut around the same time, it’s easy to imagine Samsung — in addition to Google’s current success — stealing a lot of the OnePlus spotlight.
