Recognition: David Imel / Android Authority
Almost a year ago we told you which phones we use as daily drivers. The results showed that Samsung was the most popular brand among Android Authority Employees, with Google in a relatively close second place.
We’re almost slated for a 2021 edition of this survey, but we wondered about the phone brands doing that Android Authority Readers are using at the moment. We were particularly interested in which Android phone brands our readers are using. We know many of our readers have iPhones (you’re all welcome here too!), But instead of pitting Android against iOS, we want to know which Android OEMs have a place in your pocket.
So we posted a poll. That’s how you voted!
What brand of Android are you using?
Results
We released the poll on February 2, 2021 and at the time of writing it had received 18,915 votes. There is clearly one manufacturer above all else and that is Samsung.
About two thirds of all Android Authority Readers with Android phones rock a device from the South Korean brand. Between Samsung’s healthy budget portfolio, well-rounded flagships, and the promise to offer three versions of Android updates, there are plenty of reasons to get on board.
The second most popular choice was Google, as 18% of respondents said they would pack a Pixel phone. Google gave us some good Pixels this year, with the Pixel 4a being a budget champion for many. The Pixel 4a 5G also packs many extras of the Pixel 5 at a significantly lower price.
OnePlus rounded off the podium. Almost 16% of voters said they had a device from the brand associated with BBK. The company expanded its portfolio in 2020, shipping cheaper phones like the OnePlus Nord, N10, and N100. It also served the OnePlus 8 series and OnePlus 8T, although some comments suggest that older flagships are still in use.
Read more: The Best Android Phones Worth Buying
Motorola (6.78%), Xiaomi (6.6%), and LG (5.5%) were the only other manufacturers that each received more than 5% of the vote. It’s interesting to note that Motorola and LG are big in North America but have declined in other markets, suggesting that many of the respondents were from North America.
It’s also worth noting that Oppo, Vivo, and Realme are ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh for global market share, according to Counterpoint. But none of these brands garnered more than 2% of your votes, which in turn may suggest a lot of US and Canadian respondents.
Of course, this survey doesn’t exactly give a clue to the entire Android smartphone market, but it’s still fun to see what readers are using. And the comments also shed more light on certain models.
Remarks
- Hassan Saam El-khatib: Google. The only brand that I trust. Fast updates, long support, clean software and good camera. Pixel phones are so simple and seamless.
- Doctor: Samsung all the way. S21 Ultra. S pen support, best cameras in an Android phone, quick updates … I like Google phones, but if I wanted to be boring I would go to Apple.
- Alex: I currently have a Galaxy S10 +, but every year Samsung phones are more like Apple (at least in terms of hardware) and now they have no headphone jack, no external SD card slot, no MST, no edge screen option and no charger included My next phone will likely be a different brand.
- Zoid: I’ll keep my OP6 until it dies. Rooted, good processor, headphone jack, good battery, good screen, just the right size for my hands, clean operating system (before they decided to ruin it). The only thing missing is an SD card slot. Never going to own a Samsung – hate the bloat and user interface.
- Eric Welling: I still rock and enjoy my Oppo Find X2 Pro. Coming from the Huawei P30 Pro, I can really say that Oppo fills the void that Huawei has left. In between these phones, I had the Samsung S20 Plus 5G for about 2 months but it is a mystery to me why they are leaders in the smartphone industry. Poor battery life, lagging software and screen, terrible camera performance, and Samsung’s user interface are terrible.
- actionjksn: I’ve only used the LG V series and I’m happy with them. I wish they wouldn’t go out of business. I now have the V60 and it’s fast and good looking. I’m really not worried about the updates. I like my DAC audio jack and the SD card slot. And the price, wife and I got two V60s for BOGO at $ 800 for both.
- AnySmarterIdRunLinux: S8 +. I’ve wanted a new phone for over 2 years but nothing interesting came out. I think I’ve finally got to the point where I no longer have to worry about updates that I don’t want or need, so I can only use these until they die.
- Kevin Hoang: This is the North American smartphone market, if you ask this in Asia it is more likely that Xiaomi will only dominate the table, followed by Oppo or Samsung and vivo
- Mawuena Dogbe: I still rock the Essential Phone here!
- Chuck: I use the Razer Phone 2, but I wish I weren’t.
- Tony Talks: Using an Oneplus 6T as a secondary device. I didn’t want to, but my iPhone 11 Pro is my primary device due to its smaller size.
- ProLoveLife: LG G7 One, it’s a decent phone, but a bit of a limited user interface. PS I got it as a gift, I wanted the regular LG G7.
That’s it for our survey results article! Which phone are you using right now? Are you satisfied with that? Let us know in the comments below.