Apple beats Samsung with the most googled phone of 2021

Research by mobile phone accessory suppliers Case Monkey looked into the most Googled smartphones of this year, to reveal which new releases have been the most anticipated and sought-after phones of 2021. 

Apple’s iPhone 13 topped the tables, and the number of global searches for the highly anticipated addition to the iPhone collection nearly broke the internet, with 21.3mn global searches, six times as many as Samsung’s Galaxy S21 in second place. The iPhone 13 was released in September 2021, but with Apple’s marketing hype, the phone has been eagerly anticipated all year and sold out within minutes of its initial release.  

Coming in second place, Samsung’s Galaxy S21 has a total of 3.4 million global searches. Samsung’s newest entry in the ‘Galaxy S’ series was released in January 2021, alongside the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The design and specs of the S21 created some controversy around the Galaxy S series, with the ‘cheaper’ plastic design and reduced screen resolution leading to some claiming that Samsung missed the mark with their new iPhone competitor.  

Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro comes in third place, with 1.8mn searches worldwide. The Pro comes with higher quality tech features than the standard iPhone 13, like its predecessors. With Apple’s newest releases taking both first and third place, it can only be assumed that the iPhone versus Samsung battle is going in Apple’s favour.  

Google’s Pixel 6 is the only non-Apple or Samsung entry in the top five, with 1.8mn global searches in total. Coming in fourth place, the Pixel 6 has quickly risen in popularity, with many believing it could overtake the Galaxy S21 in the battle against Apple’s iPhone.  

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra closes out the top 5, with 1.5 million global searches. The higher spec, higher quality version of the Galaxy S21 aims to contend with the likes of Apple’s iPhone Pro series, and with only 300,000 fewer global searches, it could be a strong contender.  

The OnePlus 9 Pro comes in sixth, Samsung’s Galaxy Z-Fold 3 and Z-Flip 3 come in seventh and eighth, respectively, followed by the Sony Xperia 1 III, with Google’s Pixel 5a finishing off the top ten.  

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Case Monkey said: “The Android versus iPhone debate has never been stronger, and the figures shown here could hint towards which company is leading the charge and heading for mobile domination. It should be very interesting to see how Samsung come back against Apple’s iPhone 13 popularity in 2022.”