SAN FRANCISCO – Google launched new Pixel 6 smartphones, its latest attempt to field a champion in a sector the tech giant has dismally failed thus far to conquer.
Smartphone sales are dominated by Apple and South Korean electronics colossus Samsung, but Google is aiming to expand its single-digit marketshare with the newest Android-powered Pixel line.
Google touted the phones as completely “reimagined” during a presentation in which it pointed to security, speed, style and sophisticated software capabilities.
“This year is quite a bit different,” said Google devices senior vice president Rick Osterloh according to AFP.
Pixel phones have been seen as a way for Google to showcase the capabilities of its free Android mobile operating system, but its share of the global smartphone market has been meager.
Analyst Brad Akyuz explained “Pixel’s mediocre penetration performance” by citing handset glitches in past models and US mobile service providers subsidising other brands in offers to customers.
“The one area where the Pixel has excelled at is software, but it has not been enough to differentiate much,” he added.
The new handsets take a page from Apple’s playbook with sophisticated hardware and a custom chip that tap into the internet giant’s other offerings.
Samsung uses Google-backed Android software to power phones, offering handsets at a wide variety of prices.
Apple has consistently aimed iPhones at the high-end of the market, controlling the hardware and software so tightly it has raised antitrust concerns.
“We have state-of-the-art hardware, which means Pixel can deliver even more impressive real-world performance, as well as new AI-driven experiences that have never been possible before,” said Osterloh
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