Google's new phone isn't really a threat to Apple's iPhone - yet

Google launched a pair of phones earlier this week that were positioned as alternatives to Apple's iPhone, which is the most profitable smartphone in the market thanks to its dominance over the high-end.

Apple shouldn't be too worried that the Pixel, which retails for $649, will immediately cut into its market share, though.

An early supply chain-based estimate from Digitimes, a Taiwanese trade publication, suggests that Google's Pixel could ship between 3-4 million phones in the second half of 2016.

By comparison, Apple sold 232 million iPhones during 2015, and is on pace to do about the same amount sales in 2016. Apple ships over 4 million iPhones per week.

Of course, nobody expected Google's Pixel to reach the scale of Apple's iPhone instantly. Apple has spent nearly a decade building its supply chain, retail operation, and brand so that it could sell that many phones.

It's just a reminder that Apple has quite the head start on Google in the hardware business.