The year 2022 saw the release of hundreds of smartphones, some more successful than others. Now that we’re saying goodbye to the year, it’s time to take a look back at some of the best models as measured by one very important metric: their popularity with you, our readers.
Here are the top 20 most searched phones in the last 12 months. We included some phones that technically debuted in 2021, but it didn’t seem fair to exclude the ones that started shipping on December 31st.
The 5 most popular phones of 2022
Like last year, Samsung Galaxy phones occupy 9 positions in the Top 20. The clear leader (by a wide margin) is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G. However, the other two members of the S22 fell behind the Galaxy S21 FE, so Samsung may want to reconsider the fate of the Fan Edition series. Also, note that out of the 9 Samsung phones, there are 5 Galaxy A models and four from the S series.
Xiaomi occupies 6 places in the chart: the Redmi Note 11 secured the third place, just behind the Galaxy A53 5G. Its siblings, the Redmi Note 11 Pro 11 Pro 5G, although not as popular, are also on the list. The Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 12 (the December 31st phones we mentioned) were also some of the hottest phones in 2022, the 12S Ultra could have been too if it had launched earlier or gone global.
Hottest Phones of 2022: 6 to 10
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is Apple’s most popular phone this year, not even close to the rest of the 14 series. The affordable iPhone SE is Apple’s second entry in the Top 20 chart, although it did not rank as high as its predecessor in 2020.
OnePlus is historically one of the most popular brands in our database, so it’s no surprise that the OnePlus 10 Pro made the list. No North this year, though. Still, it’s not a bad representation for a company that’s younger than most of the other brands on the list. Most, but not all, the Nothing Phone (1) is the brainchild of OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, and managed to attract enough interest to make the Top 10.
Hottest Phones of 2022: #11 to #15
Google also gets some recognition this year, though not for the well-reviewed Pixel 7 series — it’s the humble Pixel 6a that represents Google’s phones this year (we have a feeling there’s a Pixel 7a coming soon).
Finally, some noteworthy things. We don’t know how many Sony Xperia Pro-I units were sold, but the phone lit up people’s imaginations and almost cracked the Top 20.
Then there is the iPhone 14 Plus, the newcomer to the family after the departure of the mini. It ranked far lower than any other model in the iPhone 14 series (the 14 Pro isn’t far outside the Top 20).
Hottest phones of 2022: 16 to 20
Another thing to note is the lack of foldables in the Top 20. In fact, the most popular foldable is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, but it misses even the Top 50. As you can see from the number of affordable phones in the chart below , price is still a big factor and foldables aren’t ready for mass adoption. Maybe in 2023, we’ll meet here in 12 months to talk about it.