Google has been named the overall winner in CNET’s 2026 People’s Picks for smartphones, outperforming Motorola, Samsung, and Apple in key categories like customer satisfaction and battery longevity.

Key Points

• Google secured the top spot with a 4.52 out of 5 satisfaction rating, followed by Motorola at 4.45.
• Motorola ranked highest for price-to-value, with 82% of users reporting exceptional value for their devices.
• Apple led the durability category, with 78% of users praising the iPhone's resistance to drops and daily wear.
• Google Pixel users reported the highest engagement with AI features, with 88% finding them essential or useful.
• Apple maintains the highest brand loyalty, as 86% of iPhone owners stated they are extremely likely to purchase the brand again.
• The survey, conducted by Alchemer, gathered data from 1,107 U.S. adults between July 1 and July 28, 2026.

Why it Matters

These results highlight a growing consumer preference for affordable, high-value devices over premium-priced handsets in a market impacted by rising hardware costs. While Apple retains strong brand loyalty through its ecosystem, the data suggests that competitors are successfully capturing market share by delivering superior battery performance and practical AI integration.