5 reasons why Pixels will never outsell Samsung’s Galaxy phones

In the tech community, Google’s Pixel and Samsung’s Galaxy phones generate a lot of buzz, creating the illusion that they are neck-and-neck competitors in the sales race. However, the reality couldn’t be more different. Samsung is the undisputed king of the global smartphone market, while Google doesn’t even crack the top five.

For context, in the second quarter of 2025, Samsung shipped 58 million phones globally, 13.3 million of which were sold in the US. During that same period, Google shipped around 800,000 units in the US, while its global sales are not completely known. The sales gap in the US is massive, and it’s likely even bigger when taking international markets into account.

While the Pixel’s market share has been steadily rising, it’s highly unlikely to ever surpass Samsung’s dominance, at least not in the near future. Here are five key reasons why.

Google’s Pixel lineup is intentionally lean. You have the latest Pixel 10 flagship series and a more affordable A-series model. While you can still purchase last year’s models, this limited selection means Google has no true budget phones on offer.

Samsung, on the other hand, floods the market with dozens of models each year. More importantly, the company caters to every type of user, offering devices in every price category. Whether you’re looking for a $1,000 flagship or a $200 entry-level device, Samsung has you covered. It even releases phones exclusive to certain countries, designed with a specific user in mind, all in the pursuit of sales.

Many assume that in a market with high purchasing power like the US, Samsung’s top sellers are premium models like the Galaxy S-series. That’s a misconception. A recent report revealed that Samsung’s most popular phone in the US was an affordable Galaxy A16 5G, followed by the Galaxy A06 4G. This is a massive market segment that Google completely ignores, making it incredibly difficult to catch up in sales volume.

If there’s that much demand for Samsung’s budget phones in the US, this trend is even more pronounced in other parts of the world where purchasing power is significantly lower.

On paper, Google’s high-end phones cost about the same as Samsung’s. A surefire way for Google to boost sales would be to undercut Samsung on price. However, this is where economies of scale come into play — an area where Samsung has a massive advantage.

In simple terms, economies of scale mean that the more units a company produces, the lower the cost per unit. Google can’t compete on this front, as it produces a mere fraction of the phones Samsung does annually, making it much harder to lower production costs.

Furthermore, Samsung is a vertically integrated giant with its own manufacturing facilities. Google, in contrast, outsources its production. The displays on Pixel phones are often made by Samsung, and Samsung even manufactured Google’s Tensor chipsets for several generations. It simply costs Google more to build its phones than it costs Samsung.

On the flip side, you could argue that even if Google could undercut Samsung in pricing, it wouldn’t do it since it doesn’t want to position its brand as less valuable in the minds of consumers. I get the logic; it’s just that I think this has a bad impact on sales.

Samsung has been in the electronics business for decades, establishing robust distribution channels across the globe. It has partnerships with major carriers and retailers in virtually every market, big and small. Google, while regularly expanding its distribution network, cannot realistically compete with this established global machine.

Samsung phones are sold in the majority of the world’s countries, while Pixels are officially available in just 33 of them. It’s also safe to say that Google lacks the extensive carrier deals that Samsung has, which is still the main sales channel for the majority of phones.

Just five years ago, when the Pixel 5 series was launched, it was only available in nine markets. While the situation is improving, the lack of a true global distribution network remains a major handicap for Google.

Samsung’s brand identity is deeply rooted in hardware: phones, TVs, appliances, and electronics in general. When you think of Google, you think of software and services: Search, Gmail, Maps, and perhaps, those annoying online ads.

While Google has been in the hardware game since the first Nexus phone in 2010, it’s not what the average consumer associates with the brand. In the tech community, the Pixel is a well-known and respected device. However, for many people outside of tech circles, particularly in markets outside the US, the brand is unfamiliar. It isn’t perceived as being as established or premium as Samsung.

For many consumers, there isn’t enough trust built up yet, and changing that perception takes a long time. The only way forward is to get more Pixels into people’s hands — a tough challenge when your cheapest phone costs around $500 and isn’t available in most of the world.

Ultimately, Google may not even be trying to outsell Samsung. Based on a recent interview with Bloomberg, Google’s leadership seems aware that Pixels won’t outsell Galaxies, and it feels to me that’s not the company’s primary goal. Google’s strategic focus seems to be on expanding Android’s market share as a whole, rather than becoming the world’s biggest phone maker.

Convincing a Samsung user to switch to a Pixel does nothing for the Android ecosystem; the overall market share remains unchanged. Convincing an Apple user to make the switch, however, is a direct win for Google.

This is why some call the Pixel the iPhone of Android. Google’s strategy appears to be making the transition from iOS to Android as seamless as possible. Just like the iPhone, the Pixel is about simplicity, featuring a clean software experience and a recognizable design. Its model lineup also more or less competes directly with Apple’s offerings. By providing a compelling alternative, Google is trying to lure users away from its true rival, Apple, thereby increasing Android’s overall market share.

That’s my take, what’s yours? Do you think Pixels will ever outsell Galaxies? Let me know in the poll above and share your reasoning with me in the comments.