Despite a single-digit market share in practically every global region, Google still has a fairly strong foothold in the smartphone space with the Pixel, but why?

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: with the Pixel, Google hasn’t exactly hit the heights of its competitors. Rightly or wrongly, Samsung is the de facto leader in practically every area of non-Apple smartphones. Sales, perception, and everything else on top.

It would take a miracle for Google to topple the biggest smartphone maker on the planet, but the company still somehow manages to strongarm its way into the conversation when we talk about the best smartphones out there.

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Besides Android, we talk about Pixel more than any other smartphone. Which is odd, right? Given how it’s just a small sliver of the space. Let’s rewind a bit first.