Google appears to be taking at least some customers away from Apple A new interview with Rick Osterloh, Google's senior vice president of devices and services, reveals which smartphones people typically replace with Pixel phones

The interview by Stratechery focuses on the history of the Pixel, Android, and smartphones In the interview, Ostrow states that few Samsung owners would trade in their Samsung for a Pixel phone Instead, it appears that most users are either switching from the iPhone or have previously left the Pixel

In response to a question about where customers are coming from, Ostrow said, “They are coming from a lot of people, some of whom [are] out of the market and some of whom are coming from Apple But ultimately what we are trying to do is to try to gain market share for Android as a whole, and I think my main goal is to try to improve Android's competitiveness, improve innovation, and improve the problems we can solve for all segments of users I believe that is my main goal But we certainly have problems in the premium area, and I want to work on solving those problems”

Google phones have always occupied an odd position in the smartphone market While they are often affordable, their chips usually leave something to be desired when compared to other devices like the Galaxy S24, and this seems to be what Osterloh calls “the problem in the premium space” However, the company is working to remedy the hardware issues by adopting a new modem and changing its chipmaker from Samsung to TSCM

However, thanks to the announcement of the Pixel 9 series at the Made by Google event, now is the perfect time for those considering a move to the Pixel series The new phones feature an improved Tensor G4 chip and a wealth of AI features Google also aims to make AI faster and safer by running as many new features on-device as possible

Apple losing a few customers does not seem to mean much to them The company seemed to think that the release of Apple Intelligence would help, but the delay has dampened that expectation a bit

In the meantime, let us know if you've switched or plan to switch to a Pixel phone Also, check out our hands-on review of the Pixel 9 and our hands-on reviews of the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL