According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, Google’s smartphones are facing huge loyalty issues as 57 per cent of users plan to switch to another brand.

After working with various hardware makers, Google debuted the “made by Google” Pixel smartphones in 2016. However, despite attractive prices and good reviews, the company never cracked the smartphone market, selling just a fraction of the devices compared to market leaders Samsung, Apple, or Xiaomi.  

Two weeks ago, the tech giant launched its latest smartphone, the Pixel 8a, a more affordable version of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, with a starting price of $499 in the United States. While Google’s new device is designed to appeal to a wider user base with its AI-driven software, the company is grappling with a significant issue: existing smartphone users are dissatisfied with their devices.

According to a Statista Consumer Insights survey conducted among nearly 10,000 smartphone users in the United States, one of Google’s top two markets, more than half of Google’s current smartphone users plan to switch to another brand on the first occasion.

When asked how likely they were to change to a different smartphone brand, 57 per cent of them said this was very likely. This loyalty issue could potentially lead to a significant loss in market share for Google.

Google’s loyalty problem becomes even more apparent when compared to its competitors, Apple and Samsung. The statistics reveal that Google has 23 per cent more dissatisfied smartphone users than the two brands, with 34 per cent of old users from both Apple and Samsung ready to switch to another brand.

The Statista Consumer survey also revealed discouraging figures about the share of Pixel users willing to stick to the Google brand. Statistics showed the tech giant had only 25 per cent of loyal smartphone users, much less than Apple or Samsung.

As the king of tech brand loyalty in the United States, Apple had the opposite results, with half of iPhone users unlikely to change their smartphone brand and  Samsung having 44 per cent of loyal smartphone users willing to stick to the company in the future.