Main points
- The winner of the user rating of the best Android smartphone manufacturers received over 32% of the votes as the favorite brand, ahead of Samsung.
- The victory is due to the popularity of last year's line of devices.
Users named the best smartphone manufacturer in 2025 / Collage of Channel 24
A survey revealed which Android smartphone brands users loved the most in 2025. While many predicted Samsung's victory with its wide budget line, the winner turned out to be another company that doesn't even make cheap smartphones.
Which brands were the most successful according to users?
Android Authority conducted a poll among its readers to find out which manufacturer performed best during 2025. Interestingly, before the voting began, editor Hadley Simons presented his own rating of the main Android brands, assessing not only the hardware, but also the software support, strategy and general direction of the companies' development. According to his conclusion, no manufacturer deserved the first place, but the second and third positions were taken by Samsung and OnePlus, respectively. What do the users themselves think?
The survey results showed a clear leader:
- Google won over 32 percent of the vote.
- Samsung received about 27 percent.
- OnePlus, with almost 14 percent, confidently took third place.
- After these three, support drops sharply – Xiaomi, Motorola, and OPPO received only a few percent each.
- The remaining brands shared insignificant shares.
Google beats Samsung in voting for best Android manufacturer of 2025 / Screenshot by Channel 24/Android Authority
Overall, the results do not differ much from Simons' estimates, although users were more generous towards some manufacturers.
- Google's win shows that many survey respondents consider the Pixel 10 lineup and continued software support more important than the battery issues that lowered the editorial rating.
- Samsung's second place also looks logical – the Galaxy Fold 7 and TriFold were major achievements after a year of rather weak and mostly evolutionary updates.
- OnePlus' third place was the most telling result, as it demonstrates that a successful start to 2025 remained in the readers' memory, even if poor decisions at the end of the year prevented the company from taking a higher place.
Not everyone is happy with the results
In the comments to the article, some readers disagreed with Google's high ranking, arguing that the Pixel's battery and overheating issues should have been given more weight in the overall rating.
Vivo's placement also drew criticism, with several commentators believing the brand deserved a higher position.
There have been isolated complaints about the lack of a headphone jack, slow or inconsistent Android updates, and the US market being limited for many manufacturers.
OnePlus was mentioned mostly in the context of how successful the OnePlus 13 has been for some owners.
Which smartphone was recognized as the best in 2025?
If we talk about a specific smartphone, then so far we only have data from professional reviewers. Consumer Reports traditionally evaluates smartphones comprehensively, taking into account performance, autonomy, cameras, displays, usability and reliability. In 2025, the Google Pixel 9a was recognized as the best. Although it formally belongs to the previous series, the device was released in April 2025.
It has become one of the most powerful mid-range smartphones. It is the first non-flagship model from Google to receive a local AI assistant Gemini Nano. Thanks to this, the smartphone supports features like Circle to Search and AI-based photo editing tools without the need to buy more expensive versions of the Pixel.