Pixel CEO says ‘very few’ Pixel users come from Samsung phones

Google’s Pixel phones don’t rank in the top five when it comes to global market share, but they certainly have some vocal fans. But where do those Pixel owners come from? Well, a Google executive says they’re not actually from Samsung.

Rick Osterloh, Google’s vice president, said: strategy In an interview (monitored via 9 to 5 google) that “very few” Pixel phone owners come from Samsung devices. This is an especially interesting claim since Samsung is the world’s No. 1 smartphone brand, so it’s reasonable to assume that many Pixel phone owners were former Galaxy phone owners.

The Pixel CEO explained where Pixel owners are headed in a follow-up answer:

They come from a lot of people, some of them have left the market and some of them have left Apple, but ultimately, we think what we’re trying to do is try to gain Android share overall and that’s my main goal is to try to improve the competitiveness of Android, improve our innovation, improve the problems that we can solve for users at all levels. But we certainly have problems in the premium space that we want to try to address.

It’s worth noting that the Pixel phones have made great strides in Japan because local brands are struggling in the first place. In fact, local manufacturer Kyocera announced its plans to exit the consumer phone market just over a year ago. Google’s rise in the US in the past few years has also partly coincided with LG’s exit from the smartphone market.

However, it’s not surprising to hear that some Pixel owners are migrating from iPhones. Google has long been trying to lure iPhone users with its marketing and attractive trade-in deals.

Interestingly, Osterloh also acknowledged that there are “problems with premium devices.” He didn’t go into specifics, but the company’s phones have long been criticized for disappointing overall performance compared to rivals, as well as unreliable connectivity. However, Google has sought to address this issue with a new modem. The company is also expected to switch chip manufacturers from Samsung to TSMC in 2025, which could lead to gains in performance and battery life.