Google’s Android One program was designed to provide inexpensive smartphones with high-quality components and a guaranteed ability to upgrade the OS as new versions of Android are released. In addition, Google took firm control of the specifications and designs to make sure that they fit with their vision on every level. Finally, the phones, launched in India, would have a price range of roughly 5,000-10,000 rupees (US$80-160). So two months in, how has Android One been received by the market?

Not well. While Counterpoint Research said that 23 million smartphones have been sold in the Indian market, less than 500,000 Android One units have actually been shipped. This is notable as well because the launch of the program was intended to coincide with India’s biggest shopping season. Part of the reason seems to be that the phones have had trouble being picked out of the large number of inexpensive smartphones already on the market. Second, while Google pursued a similar online strategy that Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has had with great success, it has failed to gain the buzz that Xiaomi gets wherever it shows up.

Finally, and perhaps the biggest problem, is that most brick-and-mortar retailers are refusing to stock the devices altogether. While Google launched the Android One platform online, the plan was always to then go to retailers to expand the company’s reach. This has not happened, in large part because retailers such as Croma, Future Group, Planet M Retail and Next Retail, BigC, Lot Mobiles, Reliance Retail and Sangeetha Mobiles — which together operate more than 1,800 stores – have decided that the online-only launch was a shot across their bow. In addition, they may have already been feeling the pressure from Xiaomi’s online-only strategy, and are letting Google know that if they choose to prioritize online, then retail won’t be there for them.

This also means that the retailers, and perhaps the public at large, does not see the Android One phones as being the market-breaking devices that Xiaomi’s phones have proven to be. Xiaomi markets itself as having great phones at an affordable price. Google seems to have said something closer to, “here are some cheap phones that work really well.” There are libraries of meaning between the two statements, and it appears as though India’s consumers understand the difference well.

Nevertheless, it is still far too early to call the Android One program a failure; it just has not had its anticipated success so far. In addition to India, the phones will be marketed in Indonesia and the UK in the near future.