Google recently picked up a couple of big awards for its phone and AI tech. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, the company was awarded "Smartphone of the Year" for their Pixel 9 Pro and another award for Gemini AI, as a "Breakthrough Device Inovation." These Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards, marking their 30th year, are judged by a large panel of industry professionals and serve to highlight key achievements in the mobile and digital sectors.
The Pixel 9 Pro's win follows the Pixel 8 Series' success in the same category the previous year. This has been a consistent trend for Google's hardware in this competition, having taken the crown from Apple when it won in this category back in 2023 for the iPhone 14 Pro. The judges for this award typically consider factors such as device performance, design, camera capabilities, and overall user experience. To win this award two years in a row means that Google is making strides in creating a reliable product.
Best Smartphone category in the GLOMO awards, judging questions, and previous winners. | Image credit — MWC
Additionally, Gemini's "Breakthrough Device Innovation" award points to Google's focus on integrating artificial intelligence into mobile experiences. The term "breakthrough" implies that Gemini represents a significant advancement beyond incremental improvements. In the context of mobile devices, AI can enhance various functions, from voice assistance and image recognition to personalized user interfaces and predictive features. This win follows Qualcomm's last year with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature the year before.
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The GLOMO Awards, with their long history and extensive judging process, are considered a reputable benchmark for industry excellence. Other prestigious titles awarded this year were for the "Best Connected Consumer Device," which went to TECNO for MEGA MINI Gaming G1, and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra as the "Best in Show."
It's great to see the Pixel 9 Pro and Gemini being recognized this way. In our review of the device, we concluded that the device felt like a very refined and premium flagship phone. We also said that as it is clearly all-in on AI, even if you weren't into that, the phone itself deserved serious consideration from anyone looking for a premium device. Hopefully, we feel the same way about the Google Pixel 10 series once it launches later this year.
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Johanna Romero is a Senior News Writer at PhoneArena, covering mobile technology news across Android, iOS, wearables, and the Google ecosystem she knows best. Drawing on 15 years in IT and tech support from 2007 to 2022, she brings a user-friendly eye for the practical features and lesser-known tricks readers care about. Google named her an official #TeamPixel member in 2022, and she also reviews the latest devices on her YouTube channel, JoJo the Techie.
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