Smartphone survey results show solid Pixel brand loyalty

Why do we buy the phones we buy? The lure of the latest hardware and features? Smartphone makers might want to believe that buyers are malleable and that they’re only one big, flashy press event away from dazzling all those undecided minds and locking in their sales. But is the truth far more cynical than that and have many of us already decided on our next phone long before it even hits the market? With the Pixel9 When we launched, we thought about brand loyalty and why we choose one smartphone over another.

Senior Features Editor Rita El Khoury shared the legacy of how pixel got her hookedyears ago with the Pixel 2 XL, and never really let go. For El Khoury, the initial appeal was practical — smartphone journalists get to try a lot of different phones, and interest in Pixels started to swell. But then, year after year, Pixel after Pixel, she found herself looking forward to the next generation in a way that transcended the demands of her job — she became a true fan.

A big part of that appeal, to put it mildly, is how useful Pixel features have proven to be, whether they're protecting her from spam calls or making taking notes in a meeting a breeze. Compared to what we've gotten from Google with Pixel models, efforts from other companies have felt more like gimmicks. Camera performance has also emerged as a big draw, with El Khoury even noting that Pixel phones have made her a better photographer.

But what about you? Have you heard Google’s siren song? Has your Pixel 9 pre-order come in yet? And which number Pixel will it be for you? We wanted to know:

How many different Pixel phone models have you owned?

With over 10,000 votes, it's clear we've got some serious Pixel loyalists in here, and most of you are already on your second or third. Given how well all of these models are supported in software, even someone who's only owned three Pixel phones could still be a user going back to the early generations of the hardware – these aren't phones you need to replace every year.

While a significant number of the poll respondents are Pixel newbies, you’ll find yourself sticking with Google for a while longer, as even more of you are already on your fourth or fifth. The numbers start to drop off fairly quickly after that for the diehards who’ve amassed six or more Pixel models, but that’s still an impressively large chunk of users who are this dedicated to the brand.

Looking at the responses to our poll, readers share some of their thoughts on why they buy Pixels. Not surprisingly, photography comes up quite a bit, as does the appeal of Google’s clean, intuitive interface. Some of you even buy Pixel phones specifically because they’re supported by third-party custom ROM projects. But we also see trends emerging among the adversaries, and reliability took a hit after Google's move to Tensor silicon. With an expected change in production for the The Pixel 10's Tensor G5 That could go a long way toward rebuilding that trust. Perhaps some of those voices will even consider a Pixel phone again soon.