Which? study ranks smartphone brands by faults, with Sony and Huawei worst after six years

A Which? study analyzing 15,644 smartphones across 14 brands found fault rates are generally low in the first year but rise over time. Sony and Huawei phones were found to develop the most faults after six years of ownership, while OnePlus, Realme and Google were the most reliable, with just 11% experiencing faults within six years. Samsung and Apple were in the middle, at 13% and 15% respectively.

Looking at year-by-year results, some brands show notable differences over time. OnePlus reported 0% faults after one year, rising to 3% after three years and 11% after six years. Realme registered 2%, 4% and 11% across the same intervals; Google reported 4%, 7% and 11%; Samsung 2%, 7% and 13%; Apple 3%, 8% and 15%; Huawei 3%, 13% and 29%; Sony 3%, 12% and 31%.

Battery problems accounted for 29% of all faults, including devices losing charge quickly or battery life deteriorating rapidly. The next most common faults were slow or sluggish performance (5%), freezes (5%), and device crashes (4%), followed by software update problems (3%). Fingerprint and facial-recognition issues were the least common, at under 1%, while 1% of devices reportedly caught fire or smoked, stopped turning on, or suffered speaker failure.

With fault rates fairly low overall, Which? urged consumers to focus on security updates. The organization noted that the best manufacturers support phones for at least five years from their initial release date, including Apple and some Samsung and Google devices, while the worst only provide updates for two years.

The study underscores that reliability and software update longevity can shape the long-term value of a device.