2025 was a weird year for Android phone makers. We got genuinely useful upgrades like increased use of silicon-carbon batteries and more phones flirting with Qi2-style magnets, but it also felt like a lot of brands spent the year moving sideways rather than forward. We have some insight on the subject, but we also wanted to know what our well-informed readership thought, so we decided to poll you on which Android OEM had the best year overall.
To get the ball rolling, our own Hadlee Simons gave his breakdown when we ran the poll, ranking major Android brands from worst to best based on how their 2025 played out. He obviously considered the hardware side, but also things like software support, strategy, and whether the brand actually seemed to be moving in the right direction. He ultimately concluded that no OEM deserved the top spot, but second and third positions went to Samsung and OnePlus, respectively. More on the latter of those a bit later, but first, let’s see how closely (or not) you agreed with Hadlee’s analysis by looking at the outcome of that poll.