2022’s most hotly anticipated phone is the iPhone 14. Likely to arrive in September 2022, just like September 2021’s release of the iPhone 13, the iPhone 14 series has garnered over 1 million global searches in the last year – more than double that of the next phone in the rankings (the Samsung Galaxy S22 with 518,000 searches).
With millions of Apple phone users across the globe, it’s no surprise that the Apple iPhone SE 3 ranked in third place, with just over 285,000 global searches last year. The iPhone SE 3 is a perfect alternative for those who might not want to wait until the end of the year for a new iPhone, with a potential release rumoured as early as March 2022.
Models from Chinese brands Vivo (the V23 garnered 195,700 global searches) and Xiaomi (the Xiaomi 12 received 165,300 searches) make up the top five most anticipated releases. Interestingly, the only foldable phones to find themselves in the top 20 are the Oppo Find N and Google’s Pixel Fold, and Finnish brand Nokia places highly in ninth position with the much anticipated X50.
Apple’s iPhone 14 Is The Most Anticipated Phone Release Of 2022
While the base model iPhone 14 will reportedly be relatively similar to the 13 when it comes to aesthetics, the Pro, Pro Max and a potential new model currently known as the iPhone 14 Max will likely have a completely overhauled design. This is set to include a new approach to the ‘notch’, in addition to various camera and processing improvements, highlighting yet another step forward for Apple’s flagship product.
| Rank | Phone | Global Searches (Last 12 months) |
| 1 | Apple iPhone 14 | 1,110,030 |
| 2 | Samsung Galaxy S22 | 518,000 |
| 3 | Apple iPhone SE 3 | 285,470 |
| 4 | Vivo V23 | 195,700 |
| 5 | Xiaomi 12 | 165,300 |
| 6 | Oppo Reno 7 | 162,610 |
| 7 | OnePlus 10 | 148,100 |
| 8 | Realme GT 2 | 134,700 |
| 9 | Nokia X50 | 92,100 |
| 10 | Honor Magic 3 | 89,720 |
| 11 | Oppo Find N | 76,900 |
| 12 | Huawei Mate 50 | 44,900 |
| 13 | Poco X4 | 40,500 |
| 14 | Google Pixel 6a | 37,000 |
| 15 | Redmi K50 | 37,000 |
| 16 | Nokia 10/X60 | 33,700 |
| 17 | Google Pixel Fold | 24,700 |
| 18 | Poco F4 | 22,200 |
| 19 | Oppo Find X4/X5 | 16,920 |
| 20 | Asus ROG Phone 6 | 16,500 |
Len Leeson, Founder of Mozillion, comments:
“Brands such as Apple and Samsung are consistently popular with consumers, but it’s great to see our research revealing demand for less well-known brands such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo too.
Methodology:
Mozillion compiled a list of over 50 phone models set to be released globally in 2022, by tracking any mentioned in news articles covering ‘2022 phone releases’. The models were then analysed using Google Keyword Planner.
The number of total global searches for each series of phones and any variation of the terms used to describe them (e.g., Honor Magic 3, Honor Magic 3 Pro, Honor Magic 3 Pro Plus, Magic 3, Magic 3 Pro, Magic 3 Pro Plus) were calculated for the last 12 months and used to provide the final rankings.
All data correct as of January 2022.
An estimated 1 billion people use iPhones worldwide. That’s an increase of 5.48% over the past year.
The total number of active iPhone users has increased by 22.85% since 2017, with the number of iPhones in use growing by 186 million..
iPhone worldwide market share
iPhones accounted for 16.76% of global smartphone shipments in Q1 2021. That’s down from 21% in the previous quarter.
Per sales data from January 2021, Apple accounts for 6 of the top 10 best-selling smartphones.
Various iterations of the iPhone 12 alone represent a 15% market share of global smartphones.
