Black Friday deals gave Google's Pixel a big boost compared to the iPhone

Black Friday deals are often good business for tech brands, and this year it’s the Google Pixel that has been one of the major hot sellers. While Apple’s iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S7 ranges were some of the best sellers in terms of raw numbers, the Pixel line-up saw the biggest growth rate out of the bunch, according to data collected by Localytics. This is a another rather sign for Google’s new premium smartphone series.

In terms of growth rates, the Pixel boasted a 120 percent boost to device activations during Black Friday, followed by the Galaxy S7 with a 36 percent jump. The iPhone 7 only saw a 13 percent increase, and the 7 Plus model only accounted for 1 percent of that number. Worryingly perhaps for Apple, consumer appetite for grabbing a discounted iPhone 7 is down significantly compared to the iPhone 6S, which saw a 36 percent boost to device activation last year over the Black Friday period.

Given the Pixel’s high price point compared with previous Google phones, it wouldn’t surprise me if a good number of customers had been waiting for its price to fall before picking one up. Combine this data with numerous reports of stock delays and big sales forecasts this year, and the Pixel is certainly shaping up to be one of Google’s most popular smartphone releases.

This data isn’t perfect though, it only reflects the change in sales between Black Friday and the previous weekend, which are usually sedated as customers wait for the deals anyway. The data doesn’t really show any longer term trends either. Not to mention that the Pixel saw much greater discounts than the iPhone, as Apple was only offering a $50 gift card with purchases made over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Still, at least over the weekend it looks like the Google Pixel was in quite high demand. Did you buy one?