Google's dropping big Pixel discounts during the iPhone 15 launch event

(Image credit: Google)

published 4 September 2023

If you're more Android than Apple and live in the UK or EU, Google would like to invite you to a party on the same day as Apple's big iPhone 15 launch event: Tuesday 12 September. The Google Party is a thank-you for "25 years of spectacular Google moments" and Google says it'll be "unwrapping birthday discounts" in the Google Store to celebrate.

Google hasn't said what it'll be discounting, but the most likely products are the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel Watch. They're all due for replacement this year, and we know that the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Watch 2 will be revealed on 4 October, just a few weeks later. So this party is likely to be a way for Google to shift remaining stock before the new devices start to ship.

What devices is Google likely to discount?

Thanks to the excellent 9to5Google.com, we know what products Google discounted at its most recent sales event in Japan last month. The products, which were all discounted by a hefty 25%, were:

Pixel 7
Pixel 7 Pro
Pixel 7a
Pixel Tablet
Pixel Buds A-Series
Pixel Buds Pro
Pixel Watch Bluetooth/Wi-Fi & 4G LTE
Nest Hub 2nd Gen
Chromecast with Google TV HD & 4K
Nest Wifi routers and points
Nest Cam (wired)
Nest Cam (battery)

There's no guarantee that Google will be discounting the same products in its UK and European stores next week. But given that the graphic for the party promotion shows what appears to be wrapped versions of the Pixel, of something tablet or hub shaped and a Pixel Watch, the smart money would be on at least those products being offered with a decent discount.

It's a surprise to see Japan, the UK and Europe all covered but not the US, which is of course a huge market for Google. The most likely explanation is that Google is keeping its powder dry in the US for Black Friday, which despite its increasingly global reach is still more massive in the US than anywhere else. If you're in the US, it's worth checking out this sales event to get a feel for what sort of savings you can expect to see after Thanksgiving.

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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).