Google won the "Best Smartphone" award for the first time at the MWC. The Pixel 8 series won from contenders, such as the Apple iPhone 15 Pro, the OnePlus Open, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, and the Samsung Flip 5.
The Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro take over the title from the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max that won last year. This is the first time Google has won the prestigious "Best Smartphone" award at the MWC's GLOMO election. Google did previously win the award for 'Disruptive Device Innovation' with the Pixel 3.
The GSMA gives the "GLOMO Best Smartphone Award" to phones that came out between January 2023 and December 2023 and excel in performance and innovation. According to the jury, the Google Pixel 8 Series best fits that description. Other candidates were:
- Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
- OnePlus Open / OPPO Find N3
- Samsung Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
The previous winners of the "Global Mobile Awards - Best Smartphone" were:
| 2022 | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max |
| 2021 | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra |
| 2020 | OnePlus 7T Pro |
| 2019 | Huawei Mate 20 Pro |
| 2018 | Apple iPhone X |
| 2017 | Samsung Galaxy S7 edge |
Pixel market share triples
Google is currently enjoying relative success with its Pixel phones. Not long ago, it was announced that its market share in the North American market tripled between 2021 and 2023. Side note: this is still only 3%.
According to Counterpoint Research, Apple still dominates the North American market by 62%, followed by 18% for Samsung and 8% for Motorola. Google follows only in fourth place. Globally, Google does not appear in the top six largest phone manufacturers.
Photo: Rick Osterloh
