According to figures from Counterpoint Research, the iPhone was the best-selling smartphone worldwide in 2022. No less than 8 positions in the top 10 are occupied by iPhones. The front runner is the iPhone 13 – for several reasons. 
Gonny van der Zwaag | iCulture.nl – 8 March 2023, 8:03 whatsappfacebooktwittertelegramlinkedinmailprint
iPhone 13 bestselling smartphone
The iPhone 13 appeared in September 2021, so it had been on the market for a while when the year 2022 arrived. Yet people continue to buy such devices during the year, according to the figures. The iPhone 13 grabbed about 28% of that year's iPhone sales. After the release of the iPhone 14 series, the predecessor even received an extra boost through price reductions. The iPhone 13 did particularly well in emerging countries. It sold twice as much as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which finished at number 2. Apple does not publish any figures itself, so we depend on market analysts such as Counterpoint.
The top 10 consists of:
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Samsung Galaxy A13
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone SE
- Samsung Galaxy A03
The figures are unique in a few respects. First, Apple has never before taken 8 out of 10 spots in the ranking. Apple has always been prominent, but not nearly as dominant. Secondly, it is the first time that a Pro Max model has outsold the regular Pro and standard models. Since its introduction in September 2022, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is said to be the best-selling model at the moment.
That bodes well for the upcoming iPhone 15 series, because there are rumors that Apple wants to distinguish the devices more from each other. The iPhone 15 Pro Max then gets a periscopic camera and possibly some other extras that you won't find on the other models.
The table below also shows the position of the iPhones in the various months. For example, quite a few Pro Max models were sold shortly after the iPhone 14 introduction, but three months later the standard model 14 took over the lead.
Outlook 2023: fewer models dominate ranking
Only Samsung was in the top 10. The Galaxy A13 took fourth place and in tenth place we find the Galaxy A03. In 2023, Counterpoint Research believes that the top 10 smartphones will be dominated by a smaller number of devices. Companies release fewer models than in previous years. At Apple, the number of models was already limited, but Asian brands always tended to release as many different devices as possible to see which one would catch on. That will be a lot less. This is evidenced by the fact that worldwide in 2022 there will still be ‘only’ 3,600 models were on the market, compared to 4,200 in 2021.
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