What you need to know
- A Canalys report detailed the performance is the U.S. smartphone market share in Q2 2025.
- Researchers state Google shipped 0.8 million Pixel 9 series units, as well as observing a 13% overall annual growth, solidifying its fourth place spot in the U.S.
- Google's Pixel 9 helped the company reach record-breaking sales in Q3 2024, and it also assisted in pushing the company further into the premium market in India.
Google's Pixel picked up steam in the U.S. this past quarter, as analysts report the series has grown across the nation.
This week, Canalys reported on the U.S. smartphone market share during Q2 2025, and there's a familiar brand that broke into things (via 9to5Google). Overall, the analytics firm states Q2 2025 saw an 11% YoY (year over year) decline in smartphone shipments to 13.3 billion units. However, the highlight this time around is Google, as research shows the company's Pixel series has carried it into the top five this past quarter, placing it in fourth place.
Compared to the same time last year, Google's Pixel grew in the U.S., shipping 0.8 million units across the country. This brings Google into owning 3% of the market share for Q2. Overall (and speaking annually), Canalys states Google's Pixel has grown 13% in the U.S. market.
While Google has grown in the U.S. phone market share, it's still behind the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Motorola. Samsung reportedly shipped 8.3 million units in Q2 this year, amassing a whopping 38% annual growth with its Galaxy phones. Canalys researchers say this is "primarily driven" by its budget series, the Galaxy A line.
Motorola only saw a modest 2% growth in the U.S. while Apple saw an 11% dip.
Will Google look for more?
Canalys highlights several issues that could hinder other OEMs in the U.S., such as "new requirements to local operations, uncertain tariff policies, and pressured demand." Its researchers also claim that the hold over the market that the top three creators have "leaves a very small opportunity for the remaining vendors."
As a potential remedy, Canalys states, to break into things, other OEMs could look toward creating stores consumers can walk into to potentially "improve the market’s attractiveness."
This is the second time reports of Google and its Pixel line surging have come to light in recent history. In January, India's premium smartphone market was a topic of discussion. While many OEMs like Samsung, OPPO, and Vivo grew by a slim margin, Google started breaking into the market with a little more bang. The company and its Pixels grew by roughly 4% between January 2024 and September 2024.
Another report showed that the Pixel 9 series also helped Google obtain record-breaking sales in Q3 2024 after it debuted.
All eyes are turning to Google, as we're coming up on August. The company's Made by Google event is expected to showcase the Pixel 10 series and other products.
