2025 Winners and losers: Google

Google’s hardware division didn’t have a particularly strong 2025, releasing new phones that didn’t really stand out as particularly innovative. That’s not the best strategy in any market, but it’s particularly damaging in those outside the US where more makers are present.

And, sure, Google isn’t primarily a hardware company, but it makes phones, earbuds, and smartwatches every year and fails to make a meaningful market impact against the likes of Samsung and Apple, its main rivals.

Still, Google’s phones are getting better and better even if not always at an impressive pace. There are…