Pixel 3 Phones Are Selling Poorly

Google has announced that the Pixel 3 smartphones are selling poorly with a decline in year over year sales. The search giant is blaming the decline in sales on fierce competition in the global smartphone market, and while that has something to do with it, that isn’t the entire story.

One reason that manufacturers see smartphone sales decline globally is skyrocketing prices for devices. Flagship smartphones are often over $1,000 each today and the improvements between years are minimal. CNET also figures that part of the issue with Pixel 3 sales specifically is the carrier exclusivity deal Google has with Verizon.

Other reasons include premium affordable phones like the T-Mobile OnePlus 6T that is half the cost of other premium devices out there while offering most of the performance. Buyers might also be waiting to see how folding phones pan out, which isn’t good so far with the failure of the Galaxy Fold.

5G is on the horizon as well though adoption is slow right now with hardware and network availability still poor. Couple the Verizon carrier exclusivity with the only other method being to buy directly from Google and many people buy a different handset at their carrier. Google might get more traction if the device was available on all networks and could be purchased unlocked at retailers.