Worst to best: All the major Android skins, ranked

Update: January 16, 2026 (8:30 AM ET): Android skins are always changing, so we’ve updated our ranking as well. Some of the more notable changes include ASUS dropping a few spots, while vivo, HONOR, and Xiaomi climbed up the list. You can check out our updated ranking below.

Not all flavors of Android are made equal, but which ones are actually the best, and which ones are at the bottom of the pile? Well, we decided to rank the major Android skins.

We took several factors into account when ranking these Android overlays, namely aesthetics, the level of polish, the number of features, and the OEM’s update policy. It’s also worth noting that this isn’t an authoritative ranking; it’s more for fun than anything else.

So with all that in mind, let’s get on with it, going from worst to best!

I’ve heard some people call Xiaomi’s MIUI a bad Android skin in bygone years, but these people really have no idea what a bad Android skin is if they haven’t used Tecno’s HiOS.

The Transsion-owned brand might be a major player globally today, but HiOS is the worst Android skin in our ranking. That’s due to a derivative aesthetic akin to MIUI and iOS, separate dropdowns for notifications and quick toggles (my pet peeve), and plenty of obscure bloatware. Compounding matters is the fact that you’re sometimes forced to install some bloatware after booting up.

2023’s TECNO Phantom V Fold even shipped with a forum app that displayed NSFW images. There aren’t a ton of features, either, although it’s not a barebones skin by any measure. We also had fun with the “plump butt” camera filter (seriously). Finally, TECNO is only promising up to two major OS updates and three years of security patches for its high-end phones. That’s basically the bare minimum.

Zen UI has made some meaningful improvements over the years, ditching the bloated, visually horrid approach of bygone years in favor of a relatively lean, stock-like experience. You’re not getting many features here, although the ability to choose your quick-setting tile style (see above) is a welcome addition. The company has also added trendy AI features to recent Zenfone models, namely audio recorder summaries, text summaries, and call translations.

Easily the biggest issue with ASUS software is the update situation, as you’re only getting two major OS updates. Yes, the €1,099 Zenfone 12 Ultra only gets two major Android OS upgrades and five years of security patches. That’s a disappointment in 2026 when even Sony offers a longer update policy.

Another downside for ASUS is that its recent Android 16 update lacked major features. By contrast, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, and others are all bringing plenty of features and tweaks to their Android 16 skins.

If this ranking were purely about functionality, Xiaomi’s HyperOS would definitely be in the top three. Between per-app volume controls, slick gallery features, and shutdown confirmation (requiring a PIN to turn off the device), Xiaomi has always delivered in this regard. Unfortunately for the long-running brand, there’s more to a good Android skin than the number of features.

The biggest issue with HyperOS is the amount of bloatware and/or ads. Making matters worse is that Xiaomi doesn’t actually make it easy to disable system ads in the first place. The company has eased up in recent years, but its phones still offer plenty of bloatware, app “recommendations,” and an app store with persistent notifications. At least you can uninstall most of the bloat and disable these notifications, but do you know what would be better? Not dealing with this stuff in the first place.

Another major issue with Xiaomi’s software is the iOS-inspired look and feel, with my biggest complaint (again) being the split notification shade and quick settings menu. Then again, OPPO/OnePlus and vivo have also copied Apple’s aesthetics in 2025. Xiaomi offers four major OS updates and six years of security patches on its flagship phones and recent mid-rangers like the Redmi Note 15 series. That’s not as good as Google and Samsung, which both offer seven years of updates for their flagships. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy A series phones also enjoy six major OS updates.

HONOR’s Android software fails to stand out from a visual perspective, and this only got worse with MagicOS 10 and its Liquid Glass aesthetic. The skin brings a healthy variety of features, but there are also some gimmicky additions (e.g. Air Gestures, AI app recommendations, Yoyo Assistant), Apple-inspired features (e.g. Magic Capsule), and some bloatware. Colleague Rob Triggs also criticized the AI suggestions feature, which sometimes offered nonsensical suggestions like using the torch at midday.

It’s also worth noting that top HONOR phones used to ship with three years of OS updates and five years of security patches. Even rivals like Xiaomi and OnePlus did a little better than that. Fortunately, HONOR has since joined Google and Samsung by offering seven years of updates, starting with the Magic 7 Pro. That’s a pretty big deal.

There’s still a lot to like here, though. Magic OS has some great eye protection features, text extraction capabilities, and the neat Magic Portal feature to quickly share content between apps. But it still feels like the company is cramming features for the sake of it.

Vivo used to offer Fun Touch OS on its global phones, and this had a reputation for being boring and inoffensive. That changed in late 2025, as the company basically brought its China-only OriginOS skin to global audiences.

The biggest downside to OriginOS 6 is that it’s heavily inspired by Apple’s iOS 26, featuring copious use of transparency and light. These derivative stylings extend to the lock screen and the focus on lock screen widgets. Fortunately, the skin brings a decent number of features compared to Fun Touch, including the fun Flip Cards wallpaper feature, support for Apple devices, and some new widgets. However, I’d argue that Xiaomi and OPPO still have the edge in terms of features.

The biggest issue with vivo’s OS has traditionally been the copious amount of pre-installed apps. Things have improved with the X300 Pro, although we’re not out of the woods yet. Vivo phones used to top out at just three major OS updates and four years of security patches, but the company has steadily improved this commitment to the point where the X300 series offers five OS upgrades and seven years of security patches. That’s not as good as Google and Samsung, but it’s still great in 2026.

Motorola used to have one of the best software overlays in the game, and Hello UI (formerly My UX) still delivers a good experience today. This Android skin effectively looks and feels like pure Android with a few tweaks. This approach has the added benefit of smooth performance as it isn’t encumbered by years of legacy crud.

The skin maintains beloved features like gestures (e.g. chopping your hand for the flashlight) and attentive display functionality, but has also introduced welcome new additions in recent years. This includes the well-received ReadyFor desktop mode, Spot Color camera functionality, and Google’s own Material You customizations. Motorola’s foldables even outdo Samsung when it comes to cover screen functionality.

There are two significant issues that drag things down, though. The first problem is that Motorola’s update policy varies wildly, from just one major OS update on its budget Android phones to three OS updates and four years of security patches on high-end phones like the Razr Ultra. We’ve also seen five years of OS and security updates for the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, while the Motorola Signature recently stepped up with seven years of updates. But neither phone is available in the US just yet. The other issue with Motorola’s software is that its cheap phones are often filled with ads, “recommendations” masquerading as ads, and a horrible weather app.

Much like Motorola, Sony’s Android overlay builds features on top of stock Android rather than offering a full-blown overhaul. The result is a performant, lightweight Android skin for Xperia phones.

Sony’s Android skin brings an almost unparalleled variety of multimedia and camera features to high-end phones. This includes PlayStation remote play, loads of advanced photo/video controls in the camera app, a Video Creator app, and streaming your gameplay to YouTube. In saying so, those hoping for more general features and customization options seen in the likes of One UI will be disappointed. The Xperia UI also ships with a few bloatware apps, although it’s not as bad as others on the list.

The biggest issue with Xperia UI has historically been Sony’s pathetic update commitment, as it has long offered just two major OS updates and three years of security patches. That was poor form for phones that regularly retailed for ~$1,400. The good news is that recent high-end phones offer improved update pledges. The Xperia 1 VI offers three OS updates and four years of patches, while the Xperia 1 VII delivers a 4+6 update policy. The latter pledge extends to the mid-range Xperia 10 VII. Talk about a major improvement.

It’s a huge achievement for Nothing OS to be in the top five after just a few years on the market — most good Android skins usually require years of iteration.

The best thing about Nothing OS is its distinctive aesthetic, which features heavy use of monochrome colors, dot-matrix effects in places, and a few neat widgets. This skin would be higher on the list if we were judging things by looks alone. Nothing’s software also brings plenty of visual customization options as well as customization for the Glyph lighting seen on its phones.

The biggest issue with this software skin has traditionally been the short list of features compared to rival skins. However, recent updates have brought some great additions, like Essential Recorder, Essential Space, Essential Apps, and shareable camera presets. Nothing also promises three major OS updates and six years of security patches for the Nothing Phone 3a series, while the Nothing Phone 3 gets 5+7 years.

OPPO’s Android skin — which also forms the basis for OxygenOS on OnePlus phones and Realme UI on Realme devices — is the best Android software from a Chinese smartphone brand in our book. One big reason for its high ranking is due to the variety of customization options. This includes changing the shape of quick setting tiles, tweaking system colors and icon name sizes, and the ability to adjust the speed of app launching/closing animations.

There are also plenty of useful everyday features, such as image clipper functionality, auto-pixelation of sensitive info in shared images, and some AI features (e.g. webpage summaries, object erasing). Color OS doesn’t beat Samsung and Google in terms of the all-important update policy, but the Find X8 and Find X9 series are now scheduled to receive five OS upgrades and six years of patches. Meanwhile, OnePlus says the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 15 get a 4+6 update policy.

OPPO’s skin isn’t without flaws, though. For one, the sheer amount of bloatware and recommendations in some cases. This is usually restricted to Realme UI in some markets, but we noticed bloatware recommendations upon setting up the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus Open too.  The software also lags behind Samsung One UI as far as foldable-specific features are concerned. Another major issue surfaced late last year when our reviewers lamented the “heavy” Oxygen OS 16 update after the brisk and lightweight Oxygen OS 15.

Is it any surprise that Samsung’s all-conquering Android skin is placed so highly? The Galaxy maker continues to offer a dizzying variety of features, including much-loved additions like Dex, Samsung’s Expert RAW camera app, lock screen widgets, and Bixby Routines. Samsung also brought a ton of Galaxy AI features to recent phones, covering everything from recorder summaries and webpage/file summaries to generative AI editing and live translations during calls. One UI 8 also added 90:10 multitasking, Audio Eraser, improved Modes and Routines, and a more useful Now Brief/Now Bar.

Samsung is tied with Google when it comes to all-important updates, offering seven years of updates on its latest high-end phones. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention its Good Lock suite of modules too, offering an unparalleled level of official customization options for every facet of your phone.

One UI just misses out on the top spot due to a ton of bloatware. It’s seriously hard to look past the sheer variety of pre-installed Samsung apps, Microsoft apps, and third-party bloatware. But nobody — not even Google itself — matches One UI for the sheer number of features.

The Pixel UI has long been one of the best Android skins in the game, borrowing stock Android’s look and feel while offering some truly innovative features. Long-time Google Pixel features include call screening, a Now Playing feature that passively recognizes music around you, the ability to select text and images from the Recents menu, and the Google Recorder app. More recent additions include the Best Take and Add Me photo modes, using your phone as a PC webcam, and webpage summarization smarts. One major downside is that some Pixel features, such as call-related capabilities, aren’t available around the world.

Another point in the Pixel UI’s favor is that there’s virtually no bloatware, unlike Samsung, Xiaomi, and others on this list. Google also offers an impressive seven years of OS and security updates for recent phones — in line with Samsung and HONOR. The company’s Material 3 Expressive visual refresh also helped keep Google at number one in our book, and this redesign shows Android OEMs that you don’t have to copy Apple.

Perhaps the only significant issue I have with Google’s own Android skin is that it lags behind Samsung One UI when it comes to foldable-specific capabilities (e.g. per-screen customization). The Pixel UI lacks some traditional features compared to rivals, such as floating app windows and auto-pixelate functionality for shared images. Nevertheless, you’re getting plenty of exclusive features in return.

Do you agree with our Android skin rankings? What’s the best software in your book? Let us know via the poll below!