Google isn’t set to launch the Pixel 11 series until around August, but it seems like there might be another Pixel coming very soon.
Google’s Japan account just teased a product that is a “Japan-Exclusive” and set to launch tomorrow (really in just a few hours, since Japan is 14 hours ahead of the US).
Looking at the image, it appears to be using the Pixel 10 Indigo color, and that’s likely what this is for Japan. It’s likely a Pixel 10a in the Indigo color, which will be exclusive to Japan. There hasn’t been a lot of leaks or rumors about this – largely because it’s for Japan only. So we don’t know for sure that this is what’s coming, but it does seem very likely.
Why is Google making a Japan-only Pixel?
Over the years, Google has had quite a bit of success in Japan with its Pixel smartphones. In fact, for a while, it was Google’s biggest market for Pixel, even larger than the US. The Pixel 7a was a huge hit for Japan, and we’ve even had launches timed for Japan that were worldwide.
Though it’s a little surprising to see Google doing this with the Pixel 10a, since it is a very small update from the Pixel 9a. Instead of doing a new color of the other Pixel 10 models, though Pixel 10a did just launch about a month ago.
Pixel is currently the third largest smartphone brand in Japan, behind only Apple and Sharp, which is a homegrown brand like Sony. Google has roughly 10% of the market in Japan, versus less than 5% in other markets like the US and the UK. Of course, the US is a much larger market than Japan – about 3x larger. Growth has plateaued in the past year or so for Google in Japan, so this new Indigo Pixel 10a could be a way for Google to surpass that plateau and start growing again.
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