Global Google cumulative lifetime smartphone shipments 2016-2023

Google launched its first Pixel series back in 2016. In the following years, Google Pixel unit shipments have rapidly increased. Up until 2023, the American tech giant had shipped just under 38 million Pixel phones.

Google generates most of its revenue from ads

Over the decades, Google has established itself as one of the leading tech companies in the world, recording a market capitalization of almost two trillion U.S. dollars and ranking third after Microsoft and Apple. The American giant operates in many different industries, but its advertising segment is by far the most profitable, accounting for over 70 percent of the total revenue in 2023. Furthermore, Google’s revenue from the digital and hardware segment has been rapidly increasing, also due to the growing popularity of its Google Pixel phones lineup.

Apple and Samsung at the top of the smartphone market

Google faces the likes of several competitors in the smartphone market, which was forecast to record revenues of almost 470 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Apple and Samsung are the leaders of this industry, while other vendors, like Xiaomi, occupy lower market shares. In 2023, Apple surpassed Samsung in terms of unit shipments for the first time ever, shipping around 235 million smartphones worldwide.