Samsung is the dominant Android brand for good reason. Beyond its impressive lineup that spans everything from budget devices to ultra-premium flagships and foldables, Samsung keeps both hardware and software polished to a consistent standard.

When someone asks what phone I’d recommend, I almost always tell them to get the best Samsung they can afford. However, despite consistently recommending them, I haven’t personally owned a Samsung device in almost a decade, and I don’t plan on going back. Allow me to explain.

Samsung phones are the safest recommendation I can give to anyone

“Reliable” and “predictable” are the words you want to hear when describing a phone

Samsung makes some really good phones; there’s no questioning that. Whether it’s the baseline flagship Samsung Galaxy S26, the futuristic Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, or one of its budget-friendly A-series devices, Samsung has a strong contender in every price bracket.

Regardless of how much you’re paying, the core experience is largely the same: polished, mostly bug-free software with several years of updates through One UI, excellent high refresh rate AMOLED displays (even on cheaper models), solid Exynos or Snapdragon SoCs, and cameras with some of the best post-processing around.

If you pay more, you’ll get better specs, build quality, and extra features, but even the cheap phones don’t feel all that bad to use—you need to be a real phone enthusiast to be able to tell the difference between the $550 Galaxy A57 and the $900 Galaxy S26, for instance. One UI makes all Samsung phones feel polished, modern, and feature-rich.

That consistency is exactly why I feel so comfortable about recommending Samsung phones. Most people will be happy with a Galaxy device and feel fully integrated into the broader Android ecosystem, regardless of which model fits their budget.

Over the past few years, I’ve recommended and even bought a variety of Samsung Galaxy A and S Series phones for family members, and I’ve heard very few complaints.

My wife is still using a Samsung Galaxy S23+ and plans to keep it for a few more years, and I recently upgraded my mom to a Samsung Galaxy A55—it was by far the best used phone I could find under $200. Both are happy with their phones and already familiar with the experience, as they’d used Samsung phones in the past.

The things that make Samsung great are also what hold me back

What works for everyone else isn’t what I want in a phone

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

Samsung phones all look and feel familiar, polished, and reliable, but the same traits that make them an easy recommendation for most people hold me back from buying one—I honestly just find them a bit too generic and boring.

I’m kind of like a hypothetical car guy friend: they might drive something fun like a Toyota GT86 or an old BMW, but when you ask what to buy, they’ll tell you to get a Toyota Corolla or Honda CR-V. Their own cars are fun and exciting, but not the most practical, reliable, or fuel-efficient. If you just need to get from point A to point B, you want something dependable—not a car that still leaks oil even after a $2,000 repair bill.

In the same way, I wouldn’t really enjoy owning and using a Samsung phone all that much. Everything about Samsung phones feels safe and predictable rather than cutting-edge, discounting the folding phones, which are not my cup of tea. I prefer something quirky, and I don’t mind taking a risk if it means getting better specs for the same money.

That’s why I picked a OnePlus 15—compared to the Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup, the software might not be as polished or supported for as long, and the cameras are probably a bit worse, but I get a 165Hz display and a massive 7,300mAh silicon-carbon battery with 120W charging, which dwarfs the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 5,000mAh battery and 60W charging, while also paying a better price.

I used to be a Samsung user too, back when the phones still sucked

TouchWiz spoiled my experience early on

Credit: Photomans/Shutterstock

I have to admit something: I used to really like Samsung phones. They had first-class displays, powerful specs, and trendy designs that made the early Galaxy flagships feel great on the hardware side.

Unfortunately, I bought them in an era when they were still running the horribly laggy and bloated TouchWiz Android skin, which soured my experience. I always ended up flashing CyanogenMod or other custom ROMs on my Samsung devices, and after a few years of living with beta ROMs that kept breaking core functionality, I decided enough was enough and started buying phones with near-stock Android, like the Nexus 4 and Motorola DROID Turbo.

By the time a cleaner new UI called One UI replaced TouchWiz, that early experience had already stuck with me. Even though I can acknowledge how much Samsung has improved post–One UI, I just can’t quite bring myself to give the brand another chance.

I’ll keep recommending Samsung, even if I’ll never buy one again

I respect their products, but my interests lie elsewhere

Samsung is the leading Android smartphone brand, and unless they do something seriously wrong, that’s likely to remain the case for years to come. That’s honestly a good thing for anyone who already owns or doesn’t mind owning a Samsung, because it means solid software support and a clear upgrade path when it’s time for a new phone.

However, I personally prefer phones that lean more toward experimentation, especially on the hardware side. As an enthusiast, a phone with a battery that lasts two full days feels infinitely more exciting to me than a generic glass sandwich with “Samsung” printed on the back.

9/10

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Display

6.78-inch 2772*1272 (FHD+)

The OnePlus 15 features the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC that enables gaming features never before seen on a smartphone. The 165Hz display is perfect for mobile gaming, and when not gaming, it runs at 120Hz, making it ideal for everyday usage. The triple camera array is pretty great, and the 7,300mAh battery lasts multiple days on a single charge.