Google’s Pixel 6 ‘sales record’ might have only been moderate YoY growth, suggests analyst data

Ben Schoon | Feb 4 2022 - 2:56 pm PT

Earlier this week, Alphabet’s quarterly earnings call confirmed that the Pixel 6 series had broken “quarter sales records” for the series. Now, data from a respected analyst first offers a bit more potential context on that record quarter.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai touted Pixel sales as a part of this week’s earnings call, with a “[quarterly] sales record for our Pixel phones despite supply constraints” following the Q4 launch of Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, as well as the slightly earlier launch of Pixel 5a. Some took Pichai’s statement to mean that sales of the Pixel 6 had grown significantly, but it seems the growth was only moderate.

Marton Barcza, better known for his YouTube alias “TechAltar,” obtained data from CounterPoint Research that may give us a bit more context around this sales record for the Pixel 6.

According to the data from Counterpoint, Google’s Q4 for 2021 saw the Pixel 6 series boost the lineup to what is effectively moderate year-over-year growth compared to the Pixel 5 series. Pixel sales apparently went up 7% year-over-year in Q4 of 2021, while the month of December went up by 14% compared to the same period in 2020. From Q3 to Q4, sales reportedly rose by over 60%. That doesn’t come as a surprise given that Q3 only contained the launch of Pixel 5a, which was only released in the United States and Japan.

In another recent report, Counterpoint said that Google’s smartphone sales in the United States grew 56% year-over-year in Q4, putting the brand in sixth place in the US market at 1% share, just behind OnePlus and Alcatel.

These numbers show only moderate growth, but they do line up with Google’s statements. It’s also important to remember that this growth came amid Google having constant trouble keeping the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro in stock both at its own online store and with partners. Stock has since stabilized, and Google just expanded sales of the Pixel 6 series to Italy and Spain this week.