Joe Maring / Android Authority
2025 was an eventful year for the Android phone ecosystem. Between the full-blown adoption of silicon-carbon batteries, Qualcomm’s Apple-rivaling Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and more phones with integrated Qi2 magnets, there was a lot to get excited about.
Which manufacturers excelled this year and which ones had a bad time, though? Well, I decided to rank major Android brands from worst to best, based on how well their year went. I took into account their products, innovations, software/updates, overall strategies, and more to create this best-to-worst ranking. Disagree with my list? Then post your own in the comments below!
Which Android OEM was number one in your book in 2025? 3025 votes Google 32 % HMD 1 % HONOR 2 % Motorola 5 % Nothing 3 % OnePlus 18 % OPPO 4 % realme 0 % Samsung 26 % Sony 1 % vivo 2 % Xiaomi 4 % Other (leave a comment) 1 %
13. HMD Global
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
HMD still stands out in 2025 as one of the only brands consistently offering phones with a microSD card slot. It also released another repairable device this year in the HMD Aura 2, as well as the cool OffGrid accessory, which brings satellite connectivity to any device. The firm also released the HMD Fusion X1 for teenagers (seen above). So you absolutely can’t fault it for trying different things.
Unfortunately, that’s where the good news generally ends. HMD decided to stop selling phones in the US earlier this year, depriving the market of sorely needed competition. Its output in 2025 also consisted almost entirely of low-end phones, so the few fans clamoring for an HMD Fusion 2 or Skyline 2 were left in the lurch.
Finally, the company still offers an extremely stingy update pledge for most of its phones. In fact, the HMD Fusion X1 is only expected to receive roughly two years of quarterly security updates. What are OS upgrades anyway?
12. realme
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