The Google Pixel could grow to lead the smartphone market as sales surge, highlighting a strong consumer shift toward devices that balance competitive pricing, cutting-edge AI features, and ecosystem flexibility. The Pixel saw a whopping 105% YoY increase in sales in H1 2025, per Counterpoint Research, while overall global premium smartphone sales grew 8% YoY. Pixel’s growth points to an industry pivot where software-driven intelligence, rather than hardware specs alone, lead consumer choice. The smartphone race could move away from who offers the most storage or fastest processors and toward who delivers the most useful tools for daily life.

The news: Smartphone makers and developers may be misplacing their focus on on-device AI as consumer interest nose-dives from already low levels. Only 3% of smartphone owners are willing to pay extra for AI features, per CNET’s 2025 Smartphone Innovation Survey, down from 6% in September. Our take: Enterprise customers may be a better bet for on-device AI adoption considering public consumers’ disinterest and privacy concerns. To boost use among consumers, smartphone makers could focus on easy-to-use features that are accessible to those new to AI and roll out AI upgrades incrementally rather than all at once to avoid AI overload.

The news: In a bold power play, Google dropped Android 16 just one day after Apple unveiled iOS 26 at WWDC, a divergence from its usual September release. The timing steals some of Apple’s spotlight, escalating the tech rivalry while injecting new energy into the smartphone wars. Key takeaway: Google’s fast-tracked and AI-infused Android 16 update signal a shift in mobile strategy aimed at overtaking the iPhone. Developers and advertisers should prioritize Pixel-first app experiences, optimize for desktop-like multitasking on mobile, and reimagine engagement for an OS that’s more utility driven. A Pixel-first rollout for Android 16 indicates Google is pushing its own hardware platform, making Pixels more attractive to consumers who want the latest features first.

CEO Aravind Srinivas says Comet will track user activity to build deep profiles for hyperpersonalized ads but risks alienating privacy-focused users.

With an antitrust trial on the horizon, Google is slashing jobs and budgets to hedge against a forced Chrome divestment.

Voluntary buyouts in its Platforms and Devices unit suggest a pivot toward AI and cloud as its hardware struggles in a saturated market with slowing upgrade cycles.

Global sales grew 4% in 2024, driven by Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and on-device AI after a historic slump in 2023.

Fitbit smartwatches, website cut as Google favors Pixel Watch: Google phases out Versa and Sense to promote its costlier Pixel Watch, sidelining Fitbit’s better battery life and affordability.

Proximity mobile payments are on a growth tear, driven by strong spend per user. Here’s how providers are using wallet integration and new features to make proximity payments stickier.

Google goes ambient: New Pixel phones, the first ever Pixel smartwatch, and a future tablet that transforms into a smart display are all touchpoints to Google’s wider IoT and ambient computing aspirations.

Beyond just advertising, Alphabet’s tech touches nearly everything. This report looks at 23 of its most important business areas, examining their maturity, disruption of the market, leverage over partners, integration with other products, and five-year outlook.

China’s economic woes squeeze smartphone growth: The largest market and producer of smartphones, rocked by monthslong lockdowns, is holding back global production and sales for the remainder of the year.

Apple dominates surging smartwatch sales, but Google is entering the fray: Growing interest in smartwatches and headphones in emerging markets like India indicate potential for Google and partners to grow Android’s ecosystem with devices like the new Pixel Watch

Thinner and lighter devices are a repairability problem: Tech companies like to talk about how far ahead they are in sustainability, but their products undermine their net-zero aspirations.

Social commerce accelerated in the US in 2020 amid the pandemic-driven ecommerce boom as key platforms advanced their shopping and checkout capabilities.

Snap Inc. reported strong gains in both users and revenues in its Q1 2020 earnings on Tuesday, despite growing concerns about the impact of the coronavirus on worldwide ad budgets. Here are three takeaways for advertisers.

How will advertising on Facebook evolve at a time when regulators are circling, advertisers are getting restless and consumer attitudes are sliding? This report, informed by extensive conversations with dozens of brand and agency executives, details our expectations over the next 24 months.