Uptodown in 2021: the most used smartphone brands and models

Around 130 million individual users use Uptodown every month to download apps and games on Android from all over the world. Of all of them, 82% access the site via their smartphone, compared to 14% on desktop. There are all sorts of brands of devices, with their respective models, that allow users to download and install each APK or XAPK file in a matter of seconds. From more than a hundred million visits, we’re able to extract a large sample that helps us figure out which are the most used Android devices in 2021.

From January 1 to October 31, 2021, Uptodown received visits from a wide variety of smartphones. It’s worth mentioning that the proliferation of Asian manufacturers has led to a much greater variety in the Android device market. However, there are still some brands that lead the ranking of the most used devices this year.

A device launched in 2016 is the most widely used

Samsung tops the list, with 35% of the total share of the most-used smartphone brands by Uptodown users. The South Korean multinational company offers a wide range of devices that the brand is able to offer all types of users.

However, the Galaxy J2 Prime and Galaxy A10s are the Samsung-assembled devices that have downloaded the most games and apps from Uptodown so far in 2021. The former was launched in November 2016, challenging the concept of planned obsolescence.

Xiaomi and Huawei compete for second place

The most popular Chinese manufacturers are neck-and-neck for the next two places on the podium. Xiaomi is currently in second place with a share of 12.98% of all users. The Asian brand, chaired by Lei Jun, offers well-balanced devices in terms of value for money.

Specifically, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 is the most used device from this brand by Uptodown visitors in 2021. The first models of this smartphone were released in September 2019. Also, among the top ten most used devices by our users are the Xiaomi Redmi 9, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro.

Huawei is third in the ranking, representing 12.68% of all Uptodown users. It should be noted that none of the devices of this manufacturer sneaks into the top 10 of the most used by our visitors. The Chinese giant still does not noticeably blame the absence of Google services on its devices, but it is already looking at Oppo in its rearview mirror.

Oppo is gaining control of the market

Recent studies have already indicated that Oppo, representing 4.54% of our users, is becoming the leading smartphone manufacturer in China. Its focus on mid-range smartphones and Huawei’s split with Honor may have a lot to do with this momentum.

Meanwhile, Motorola with 4.17%, Vivo (3.84%), Realme (2.84%) and LG (2.23%) are the other smartphone brands that our visitors use most to access Uptodown. 2021 continues to show us that the Android device market is becoming increasingly segmented. However, some manufacturers continue to dominate the sector and are introducing more and more significant and advanced technological improvements.