Mikkel Christensen
Apple may dominate today’s smartphone market, but the best-selling mobile phone of all time still belongs to Nokia.
Apple may dominate today’s smartphone market, but the best-selling mobile phone of all time still belongs to Nokia.
More than two decades after its release, the Finnish company’s ultra-cheap feature phones continue holding records modern smartphones have yet to break.
Nokia still leads
According to BGR, the Nokia 1100 remains the best-selling mobile phone ever with around 250 million units sold worldwide.
Close behind is the Nokia 1110 with roughly 248 million sales.
Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus rank as the best-selling smartphones ever, reaching an estimated 224 million units combined.
Simpler phones dominated
The Nokia 1100 launched in 2003, followed by the Nokia 1110 in 2005 during a very different era for the mobile phone industry.
Unlike today’s premium smartphones, both devices focused on affordability, long battery life and durability rather than advanced features.
The Nokia 1110 reportedly sold for under $80 in some markets, making it especially popular in developing regions including India and parts of Africa.
Smartphones changed the market
Modern smartphones now face far more competition than mobile phones did during Nokia’s peak years.
Apple and Samsung currently hold similar shares of the global smartphone market, while brands like Xiaomi and Huawei remain major players outside the United States.
Industry analysts say the market is now far more fragmented, making it harder for a single device to dominate global sales.
Buyers keep phones longer
Another major shift is how long consumers now keep their devices.
Many smartphone users are upgrading less frequently than they did during the early smartphone boom, slowing down sales growth for newer models.
Higher prices for premium smartphones have also contributed to longer replacement cycles.
A record that may stand
Despite huge advances in smartphone technology, Nokia’s sales records may remain difficult to beat.
The company’s low-cost phones arrived at a time when mobile ownership was rapidly expanding worldwide and affordable devices faced less competition.
While smartphones have become far more powerful, analysts say no modern device currently has the market conditions needed to match Nokia’s record-breaking sales numbers.
Sources: BGR, Counterpoint Research
