2026 is going to be a bad year for smartphones, but Google Pixel continues to look like a bright spot, with a new report revealing that Pixel is already seeing growth this year as the rest of the industry struggles.
Counterpoint Research reports that the global smartphone market in Q1 2026 dropped by 6% year-over-year. Apple, leading the market right now at 21% share, saw 5% growth thanks to iPhone 17 demand.
Every other major brand dropped.
Samsung didn’t lose any share of the market, but saw shipments fall by 6% YoY. That’s despite strong demand for the Galaxy S26 series. Xiaomi saw a bigger drop of 19%, while Oppo and Vivo dropped by 4% and 2%, respectively.
The report brings out two bright spots in Android’s “other” marketshare, though. One of those is Nothing, which saw 25% YoY growth in Q1 2026, which Counterpoint attributes to “its distinctive design, niche positioning and growing consumer awareness.”
Google Pixel also grew, seeing 14% YoY growth in Q1 2026. Counterpoint says that Google is “strengthening its presence across key mature markets” while pointing to “edge AI capabilities, computational photography, and clean, user-friendly software” as key reasons why Pixel is growing. Pixel 10a’s launch in Q1 also likely helped bolster these numbers.
What remains ahead for the year to come for Pixel remains to be seen, but this is a pretty good start.
More on Google Pixel:
- Pixel Now Playing brings back ‘Tap to see what’s playing’ lockscreen search
- Google Pixel bests iPhone and Samsung in repairability name-and-shame report
- Pixel 10a finally launches in Japan with exclusive ‘Isai Blue’ color [Video]
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