Who is your favorite OEM?

[ian87w]

Seeing the discussions here, it seems like it's quite barren, in a sense that in terms of devices, people are only discussing either a flagship Samsung, Pixel, or OnePlus phones. But Android ecosystem is much richer than those. So I wonder, what is your actual favorite OEM?

My vote is for Samsung and Realme.

Samsung is really turning a new leaf after being pushed to the corner in emerging markets by the Chinese. Their offerings in the Galaxy A and M lineup are really interesting and competitive. Plus, at least with Samsung, there's a predictable software upgrade cycle for your phone (mid-rangers usually only get two OS upgrades, and quarterly security patches). Not great, but at least predictable. It's unlike the various other OEMs who are haphazardly releasing patches and updates, and dropping OS support without any consistent pattern.

My second choice is Realme, simply because in my country, if you're looking for a cheap but great phone, Realme is doing a great job imo, to the point they give Xiaomi, the previous value king, a run for their money. I don't care much about their other brands like Oppo or Vivo as they are usually "overpriced" for the spec. But Realme is quite a great value for budget conscious.

My current phone is an Honor (Huawei) phone. I liked Huawei, but the lack of GMS make their future phones a no go for me.
As for Xiaomi, I used to like them, but their recent releases seem uninspired. Even their promising Poco brand is relegated into rebranding existing Redmi/Mi phones.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Samsung.

Many of the Chinese OEMs have traditionally had limited exposure in the UK. Although I know that has changed over the last few years. Due to the limited exposure only the larger OEMs like Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC and more recently Huawei have ever been on my radar.
I tried the LG G3. I didn'tike the LG G3 and I returned it and got the S5. I don't like the way Sony phones look or the software skin. I've always found them aesthetically unappelaling. HTC had some interesting handsets in the past but Samsung always had better phones which is why I usually ended up with a Samsung phone when I used android.

I think Samsung are still the best OEM. Huawei have made some very competitive devices but their current issues wouldn't allow me to choose one of their devices.

The pixel phones have great cameras and I am excited about their approach to AI, however as an overall package I'd still pick a Samsung phone.

 

[kkh786]

Samsung!

 

[5105973]

I loved the one and only HTC phone I ever owned but they had their day and it’s over. I love my Pixel2 and 3XL but Google, like HTC and LG, insists on repeating the same kinds of stupidity that keep promising products from attaining their full potential. The frustration is that nobody is asking them for anything outrageous. Just implement better QC and don’t skimp on specs that will seriously negatively impact customer satisfaction.

I think Samsung keeps upping their game while covering the basics pretty well, too.

 

[Vegastouch]

Seeing the discussions here, it seems like it's quite barren, in a sense that in terms of devices, people are only discussing either a flagship Samsung, Pixel, or OnePlus phones. But Android ecosystem is much richer than those. So I wonder, what is your actual favorite OEM?

My vote is for Samsung and Realme.

Samsung is really turning a new leaf after being pushed to the corner in emerging markets by the Chinese. Their offerings in the Galaxy A and M lineup are really interesting and competitive. Plus, at least with Samsung, there's a predictable software upgrade cycle for your phone (mid-rangers usually only get two OS upgrades, and quarterly security patches). Not great, but at least predictable. It's unlike the various other OEMs who are haphazardly releasing patches and updates, and dropping OS support without any consistent pattern.

My second choice is Realme, simply because in my country, if you're looking for a cheap but great phone, Realme is doing a great job imo, to the point they give Xiaomi, the previous value king, a run for their money. I don't care much about their other brands like Oppo or Vivo as they are usually "overpriced" for the spec. But Realme is quite a great value for budget conscious.

My current phone is an Honor (Huawei) phone. I liked Huawei, but the lack of GMS make their future phones a no go for me.
As for Xiaomi, I used to like them, but their recent releases seem uninspired. Even their promising Poco brand is relegated into rebranding existing Redmi/Mi phones.

You mean Redmi? Maybe in your country they are called Realme I suppose.
And I agree. I'm going mid grade soon. SS A71 or the Redmi 10X. Still looking at all my options but those are the front runners.
The flagship days for me are over. Too expensive for my taste.

 

[ian87w]

You mean Redmi? Maybe in your country they are called Realme I suppose.
And I agree. I'm going mid grade soon. SS A71 or the Redmi 10X. Still looking at all my options but those are the front runners.
The flagship days for me are over. Too expensive for my taste.

Redmi and Realme are two different brands.
Redmi is made by Xiaomi, Realme is a sub-brand from BBK group (the same parent company as OnePlus and OPPO).

The Samsung Galaxy A71 is a great phone.

If you are thinking of the Redmi 10X 4G with Helio G85, I would avoid that model. Helio G85 and under only supports eMMC storage, which is slow. At least consider the 10X 5G or the 10X Pro models, as those two use the Dimensity chip and it supports the faster UFS storage.

 

[Vegastouch]

Redmi and Realme are two different brands.
Redmi is made by Xiaomi, Realme is a sub-brand from BBK group (the same parent company as OnePlus and OPPO).

The Samsung Galaxy A71 is a great phone.

If you are thinking of the Redmi 10X 4G with Helio G85, I would avoid that model. Helio G85 and under only supports eMMC storage, which is slow. At least consider the 10X 5G or the 10X Pro models, as those two use the Dimensity chip and it supports the faster UFS storage.

I see, ok havent heard of Readme.
The RedMi i was thinking of is the 10X 5G. I dont really care if it is 5G but thats what it is and its under $300 while the Pro version is about $100 more at around $369 but there isnt a big enough difference in the Pro for me to want it more. I just dont like that i have to order it from China and it will take 3 to 10 weeks to get it.

The A71 i may order the International version as it is cheaper than TMobiles US version and the difference is 5G which again....seems to not be working every where yet so it isn't a big draw. I also can get a variety of cases to choose from for either phone which is a big deal to me as well.

 

[Jack Neill]

For android I loved HTC up to the M9 then I preferred the S7-S9 and OneUI is excellent.

 

[AustinIllini]

Google by a fair margin.