Google to Release Smartphone in Japan

October 10, 2018

Tokyo- Google Inc. will launch its Pixel smartphone in Japan soon, aiming to compete against Apple Inc.'s iPhone series, which dominates the Japanese market.

Details including its main features and price have yet to be disclosed.

Major Japanese mobile phone carriers are expected to roll out Google's new handset.

Demand for the iPhone has been brisk in the Japanese smartphone market.

According to Tokyo-based research company BCN Inc., Apple's iOS accounts for 55.3 pct of the operating system market, while Google Inc's Android holds 43.6 pct.

The prices of iPhones have been surging, with the high-end version of the latest XS model costing nearly 200,000 yen.

Depending on its price, Google's Pixel may trigger a shift to smartphones using the Android OS among Japanese users, analysts said. Jiji Press