Google Pixel 8 Pro smartphone in porcelain white, in its shipping packaging.
If you paid full price for the Google Pixel 8, please, for sanity’s sake, don’t read any further. Google has slashed the prices of its devices multiple times since they launched last October, and it doesn’t look like that strategy will end anytime soon.
By my count, Google did big discounts on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in December, January, February, March, and April. It’s May and Google Stores in the UK and US are having another sale. These aren’t small discounts either, with most knocking $150 and $200 off the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, respectively.
The company also sent high-value vouchers to YouTube Premium subscribers to use when buying a Pixel 8, raised trade-in prices, and gave coupons for a $100 credit to random Google Photos users. Some Google One users have also reported receiving a whopping $250 voucher for a new Pixel 8. It appears the phones may have been on sale or at some sort of discount for longer than they were ever at full price.
Google has never been shy about lowering the prices of its hardware, not sticking to its price guns like Apple. The Pixel series has also undergone several rebrands over the past decade. From budget phones like the Nexus 5 and Pixel 5 to the current high-end phones we see today.
But this level of aggressive pricing is unusual for the company, and I suspect it may be the new normal. Not only for Google, but also for many other Android manufacturers.
Google is making a serious play on primary Android device. It’s been on that path since it started making its Tensor chipset in-house in 2019. In recent months, the company has ramped up its efforts by cleaning up its many paid software services — a key part of creating an integrated, Apple-like ecosystem.
A Google Pixel 8 pro phone is shown during a product launch event for the Google Pixel 8 and … [+]
Google One now includes Nest Aware and FitBit Premium (although something is still missing), Google Podcasts is teaming up with YouTube Music, while YouTube Premium has been revamped with paywall video quality and AI-powered features. Google Photos, Gmail, Drive and other Workspace apps have several new free and paid AI features to boost productivity. Read about them here.
Google wants you locked into all its services, and the gateway to them is a Pixel phone. Of course, you can access all of the above through other non-Pixel devices. But Google is releasing some Pixel-exclusive features to lure buyers into its biosphere. AI-powered camera tools like Best Take, Magic Editor, and Video Boost were Pixel exclusives until the company later made them freely available to all Photos users.
But Google’s Pixel 8 definitely isn’t on principal Android phone. If such a crown existed, it would go to Samsung, which is the most popular Android brand in the world and (now) the second most popular smartphone brand globally.
Samsung got there in several ways, but aggressive marketing tactics that directly targeted its competitors, along with extreme cashback deals, will always be remembered. As Google tries to gain more market share and get more people to pay for storage, AI features and other services, I don’t think these deals will stop anytime soon.
