We may finally have an idea of roughly how many ‘modern’ Pixel devices running Android 12 are out there — about 10 million, according to app details on the Play Store.
As spotted by 9to5Google, a recently-added app called ‘Security Hub’ currently lists over 10 million downloads on the Play Store. As explained by 9to5, the Security Hub app shipped with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, and later became available for Pixel 4, 4 XL, 4a, 4a 5G, 5, and 5a devices running Android 12. Devices older than the Pixel 4 don’t support the Security Hub app, even if they’re on Android 12.
In November, the Play Store listed the download count for Security Hub as 5 million, but 9to5 reports the number jumped up to 10 million a few days ago.
Considering the limits around which Pixel devices have the Security Hub app, it gives us a very, very rough estimate of the number of recent Pixel devices running Android 12. It’s especially interesting given that Google just reported an all-time quarterly sales record for Pixel (likely off the back of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro). The search giant did not share specific sales numbers, however.
Needless to say, 10 million isn’t a lot when it comes to smartphones. Samsung shipped an estimated 76.5 million smartphones and Apple shipped an estimated 52.4 million units in just one quarter of 2021. Heck, estimates for the arguably incredibly niche foldable segment point to some 9 million units shipped for all of 2021.
Granted, it’s entirely possible that not all of the Pixels ranging from the 4 series to the 6 series are running Android 12. But, I find that unlikely — one of the main benefits of getting a Pixel over another Android device is the frequency of updates and first access to new versions of Android. Roughly 10 million devices across three years of products isn’t a great look.
Source: 9to5Google
