We lost another smartphone maker in the US this week and the number of options for Android users has essentially been reduced to two. Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices are all we have left in the high-end space. The platform of choice is shrinking.
For those who missed the news, OnePlus called it quits in the US without providing many details on why they would exit this market. We assume that sales were incredibly weak, since their phones aren’t sold through carriers and are no longer in the affordable range of flagship phones that once attracted customers to the brand.
Look, you can’t really compete in the US market at the high-end if you don’t sell to customers through their carrier. Carriers have locked down this industry for so long, thanks to “deals” and “free” phones that are handed out like candy, as long as you are willing to lock into a data plan and phone contract for 2 to 3 years. While it sounds stupid to do such a thing – commit to your wireless carrier for that long – it’s clearly working. People love the idea of cheap or free phones in exchange for an expensive phone plan, it seems.
With OnePlus now out of the game, that leaves Android fans with Samsung and Google phones to choose from, assuming you are into flagship phones. That’s depressing as hell, and I say that as someone who prefers the phones from these companies over others.
Fewer choices is never a good thing. For one, it truly brings Apple and the iPhone closer to the conversation, because why not consider an iPhone if your only other real options are Samsung or Google phones? Your friends probably have an iPhone, iMessage is always going to be that thing that will tempt you, and Apple’s phones are everywhere you look, with physical stores, a level of support you won’t get from those other two, and they live in an ecosystem of hardware that…just works.
A lack of competition reduces urgency too. If there was one thing OnePlus excelled at, it was at least trying to push new technology. From their incredible displays and performance to their early adoption fast charging tech and interest in bringing new battery technology that allowed for a 7300mAh setup in the OnePlus 15, OnePlus almost always gave us something. Google and Samsung rarely take risks or surprise us with new hardware ideas.
By no means am I telling you to avoid Samsung or Google phones, in case that wasn’t clear. It just feels so weird to think that the Android smartphone space, after all of those early years of weekly phone-after-phone in our hands, is now just this.
Thankfully, Samsung sells devices in all of the form factors at various price levels and continues to make quality hardware with software that is constantly improving at a mostly-rapid pace. Whether you want the best foldable on the planet, an “Ultra” do-it-all phone with an S Pen, or a somewhat-affordable flagship phone like the Galaxy S26 at under $1,000, you can’t go wrong.
And then there’s Google, with its wide range of Pixel devices that also come in various shapes and price points. Google still has the best software in the entire smartphone industry, top tier cameras, their hardware game continues to improve, and their update support is the best in the business.
For alternatives, we do have Nothing officially in the US space, thanks to a retail partnership with Best Buy. While Nothing doesn’t have a carrier presence (yet) or really play in the flagship space, their mid-range phones come close and are excellent devices. The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is a truly wonderful phone that is worth your consideration, especially at just $499.
Motorola is a company that makes phones and sells them in the US, but they aren’t serious and haven’t been in years. Their abysmal software support and commitments and questionable decisions are dealbreakers.
So we’re down to two – where does your future in Android go? Are Samsung and Google enough or is it time to switch sides?
Read the original post: Samsung and Google are All We Have Left, Android Fans
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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