During one Google’s earnings calls, the search engine has confessed that sales numbers of its flagship Pxiel 3 devices were not what it expected. Ruth Porat, CFO for Google, said to investors that sales of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL during Q1 2019 were significantly less than Q1 last year.
According to Porat, one of the reasons behind the lackluster sales was due to “some of the recent pressures in the premium smartphone market”. While she did not specify what exactly those pressures are, several industry players are pinning one of the issues to the high asking price of the devices.
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When the series first launched, pricing for the phone started from US$799 (~RM3301) for the Pixel 3 and went as high as US$899 (~RM3714) for the top-tier version of the Pixel 3 XL. Since then, Google has reduced the price of both devices, lopping off US$200 (~RM826) across the board. Probably just in time for the launch of its rumoured and much anticipated mid-range Pixel 3a series.
On that note, Google’s annual I/O event is just around the corner. It is expected that the company will reveal the mid-range and more affordable Pixel 3a series then. That said, it’s unlikely that Google will even bring the new mid-range devices to our shores.
