Pixel 6 Marketing Thoughts

For me, the death of Windows phone started when Microsoft bought the Lumia lineup and subsequently stopped doing what made the Lumia lineup "successful". Which is to say, they immediately stopped making high end devices and focused on low and mid range devices.

Yes, a lot of people end up buying cheaper phones. But, as I pointed out at the time, people aren't drawn to the ecosystem because of affordable phones.

Android was in a slightly difference boat because you had companies like Samsung to make flagship phones which kept the excitement alive for the Android ecosystem in general. But, it is safe to say that aside from the Nexus lineup there was never anything particularly Google-esque in the market which explains the lackluster sales when the Pixel devices first hit shelves.

The first generation or so of Pixel devices really just leached off the popularity of Android in general. So, there was definitely some excitement surrounding their affordability. But, the reason that they never really took off, I think, was specifically that they never made a true flagship Pixel device.

Which brings us to the Pixel 6 launch. The store crashed. Basically the second the sales went online. And it was the Pro model which sold out quickest. While I doubt the traffic was anywhere near as high as at an Apple launch, it is quite safe to say that demand was higher than expected. And Google was expecting this device to double the sales of any prior Pixel phone. I don't have any hard numbers at this stage, but I would say it is looking good for Google.

And, while I hate that we now have the non-A version Pixels with more discrepancies between the larger and smaller versions. I have to say; I think the strategy will pay off. Though, I wish they had just bumped up the cost on the smaller phone to get the RAM, camera and display up to par and then focused on the Pixel 6a to deliver the more affordable experience.

Right now I just feel like the lower end of the Google phone spectrum is getting cluttered. And that remains the final fault in Google's marketing strategy; how they deal with old models. I'm hoping this changes as well going forward. But I don't know where new devices will slot in since it only makes sense to use the new Tensor chip and iterations of it in all future phone and tablet releases which leaves very little room to make a cheaper variant of the Pixel 6 without departing the mid-range phone market and going to truly budget devices.

That isn't to say that Google hasn't dealt with this problem in the past. Rather, it is that how they dealt with the problem IS the problem. They create these positions for themselves where they don't know where to slot in a future device, so they simply drop any devices which might interfere entirely. This is why you can still buy a Pixel 4a in Canada, but not the Pixel 5 which is newer. 

It makes no sense. Aside from the obvious; they don't want the Pixel 5 cannibalizing sales of the Pixel 6 and they can't discount it because they likely can't afford to discount the Pixel 4a further and wouldn't want the more premium Pixel to cannibalize sales of the Pixel 4a. Since the 4a is likely selling better, they kept that and dropped the 5.

What would be nice to see is a well thought out product plan where older devices are discounted over a year or 2 and then dropped. This approach would allow Google to make sales off older devices as their costs to produce them goes down. And, I'd say that I'm hopeful that they will do this, but as I also said... I don't really know how they can slot a Pixel 6a into the current lineup.

The 6 is already a great value and already makes concessions on hardware to get there. Too many more concessions to create a lower price point though could end up hurting the brand. For instance, with the MASSIVE jump to 12GB, I don't think Google can justify sticking at 6GB even in a more affordable phone. Tensor is the only option for SoC now. Pixel's have always been about camera, so that can't be compromised any further that the 6 compromised compared to the 6 pro. That just leaves build materials, screen and battery. And again, you can't really sacrifice any of those TOO much. 

Though, perhaps the best answer is that next generation they simply discount the 6 lineup to fill the void left by the A series. Given that they are selling pre-orders with free Pixel Buds, I have to think that there is some margin in there and that the margin will only grow after a year on the market allowing them to chop another $100 or more off the lineup.

Those are hopes though. I don't think Google is very good at marketing hardware. I am shocked that, in retrospect, everything about the Pixel 6 launch (aside from the store crashing) seems like smart marketing.