Last month, Google launched its first fully self-branded Pixel smartphones worldwide as well as in India. The unique and the distinguishing factor about these smartphones from the earlier Nexus series is that these smartphones are premium in terms of features as well as the price tag. Pixel phones have been pitched by the search giant as direct competitors to Apple's iPhone and if latest report by research firm Counterpoint is anything to go by, Google might have a strong case in its favour.
Google has managed to garner a 10 percent market share in India’s premium smartphone segment.
According to a Counterpoint research report, in just over 17 days, Google India shipped over 33,000 units of the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. This helped propel the company to the third position in the list of companies in the premium smartphone segment. Smartphones priced above Rs 30,000 are classified in the premium smartphone segment. Google with its 10 percent market share, follows Apple and Samsung that have a market share of 66 percent and 23 percent respectively. “We are very enthused by the feedback from Indian customers and the initial response for Pixel has been extremely positive and in line with our expectations,” a Google India spokesperson told ET.
"Google is aggressively trying to take advantage of the lack of competition in this segment and does not want to miss-out on the opportunities. The company is leaving no stones unturned with heavy spend on marketing, there are exchange and cashback offers also available for the new entrant. A refreshing and feature packed Pixel is making for a good proposition against the incumbents Apple's new iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S7 smartphones," Counterpoint Research said in an emailed statement.
Google launched the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones in India with prices starting from Rs 57,000. Despite the high price tag, one of the things that has worked in the Pixels’ favor is the whole Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco. With its unique combination of top-end specifications and deeply integrated Google Assistant, there’s no Android smartphone that comes close to the Pixels. At this price range then the only real competition to the Pixel smartphones are Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
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