Google really turned the Pixel brand around after a rough start, hitting its stride with the Pixel 9, and offering further refinements with the Pixel 10. And for the past couple of years, sales have been good, even becoming the premium phone line with the most growth.
It’s exciting, not only for the brand, but also for consumers. Of course, while we’re always looking into what’s next, it’s important to reflect on how the year ended for Google, along with other phone manufacturers.
Things were good for Google
Counterpoint Research (via 9to5Google) shared that Google made huge gains in 2025, showing 25% year-over-year (YoY) growth. And while that’s spectacular, it still has quite a ways to go before it even begins competing with brands like Apple and Samsung.
Apple was the top smartphone brand to close out last year, with 20% market share and 10% YoY growth. Samsung was close, with 19% market share, but didn’t see quite as much success with just a 5% YoY growth.
Since this a global report, we get Xiaomi and Vivo in the third and fourth slots respectively. With Oppo rounding out the top five. Google and OnePlus are cited as being outside the top five, which isn’t surprising considering the size and push we’ve seen.
A tough road ahead
Although smartphones have reached a point where innovation doesn’t come as quickly and often as some people would like, we’re still getting refined products that get better and better each year. Despite this, it looks like 2026 could be one of the toughest years yet, with prices set to rise for a number of different reasons.
Of course, there’s the possibility that we could see some really exciting things this year. Most notably, foldable phones could finally fix their biggest problem. And Apple could even be throwing its hat into the ring with its own foldable phone. Naturally, we can’t wait to see what Samsung, OnePlus, and Google bring to the table.
However, it’s unclear whether all of this will translate to sales. Counterpoint even revised its own forecast late last year, reducing shipments by 3%. With that said, we’ll be able to see soon enough, with Samsung set to deliver new phones sometime in the next couple of months.
