Google Pixel: Brand Loyalty

Source: 9to5 Google

I have been seeing a number of articles talking about the lack of brand loyalty with Google Pixel phones. The graph above shows that about 35% pixel users want to switch. Why is this? 9to5 Google said that:

“Google’s Pixel lineup over the past two years have had some rocky points, with the very poor battery endurance of the Pixel 4 and the confusing lineup that is Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, and Pixel 5. With the company’s 2020 phones, we didn’t really have any major complaints on the quality of Google’s most recent phones, but the lack of larger XL models and a stagnating though still competitive camera are sure to have some users looking elsewhere.” (9to5 Google)

I was intrigued and wanted to look a bit further. I set up polls on Twitter and Reddit to see.

Twitter Results:

My twitter poll only got 2 votes which didn’t give me much to go on. Both votes said that they would upgrade to a newer pixel in the future.

Reddit Results:

My Reddit Poll got 260 votes and gave me a much better look into the reasons that people wouldn’t upgrade.

In these results, 15% of people said that they wouldn’t buy another Pixel device. Why?

The comments on the post gave me a lot of insight into this.

I found out that since Google dropped their top tier flagship phones this year, a group of pixel users weren’t happy and ended up buying a different phone. (in this case, the OnePlus 8 pro)

Another comment said that not all features on Pixel phones could be used internationally, (in this case, Europe).

The final reason that I saw in the comments was because of Samsung Dex. Dex is an incredible software, and it is highly unfortunate that they have no intentions of adding support for pixels. (especially because I have a Samsung laptop). There seems to be some likelihood that Microsoft YourPhone will add support for Pixels but no guarantee.

Why the Change in Results:

I think that the biggest reason that Google lost brand loyalty was from the users upgrading from the Pixel 2 after support was ended. Google has changed their strategy when it comes to making phones and some people didn’t like it. This year, Google didn’t release a flagship phone and as I mentioned above, some people weren’t super happy. When the Pixel 2 was released, Google only made flagship phones but now that there are none, people may have wanted to switch for a faster processor, screen, and more.

Change:

For 2020, Google released three phones: the Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, and Pixel 5. The Pixel 4a was a very popular phone because of the $350 price and more people know about the Google Pixel brand. Reading responses and Reddit posts, I see that people who bought the 4a as their first Pixel say that they wouldn’t get any other phone.

Loyalty:

Another thing that was in the comments was that some Nexus (Google phones before Pixels) users have upgraded to Pixels, in some cases twice, and still stay loyal to Google and love the Pixel line up.

Why I love the Pixels:

I got the Pixel 4a this year and before that had never heard of Google’s phones. I do remember when the Google Play Store had the devices tab for the Nexus phones before the Google store existed but only knew about the Chromebooks at the time. I love the Pixel 4a because of its design, software, cameras, price, and a ton more. Another thing that I really love is the Pixel community. The Reddit community of Pixel Photographers, the Instagram community and how Team Pixel is always a part of the community. Whether it is commenting on Instagram posts or featuring peoples Pixel Photography, Team Pixel is a very community focused company.

I hope that you enjoyed this post. I post most of my blog posts on my main site digitalwondersandsmiles.wordpress.com. Please comment and follow the blog! I have a newsletter to that you can join here!

Thanks a ton for reading!

-Digital Wonders & Smiles