A new interactive comparison tool launched by Uswitch has revealed the best-selling mobile handsets of the past twenty-five years, and revealed which phones have been the best-value over the past quarter of a century!

Nokia 1110 remains the best ever seller, with over 250 MILLION units sold

Image: Uswitch.com

2005’s best-seller, the Nokia 1110 may seem pretty basic in comparison to the smartphones of today, but it’s low cost revolutionised the market, allowing more people to own a mobile phone than ever. The handset sold over 250 million units worldwide, a feat that hasn’t been beaten to this day.

Best-selling phones by units sold

Number. Handset model Year Units sold
1 Nokia 1110 2003, 2005 250,000,000
2 Apple iPhone 6 2014 224,400,000
3 Nokia 105 2013 220,000,000
4 Nokia 3210 1999 160,000,000
5 Nokia 5230 2009 150,000,000
6 Samsung E1100 2009 150,000,000
7 Nokia 1200 2007 150,000,000
8 Nokia 2600 2004 135,000,000
9 Nokia 1600 (1650/1661) 2006 130,000,000
10 Motorola RAZR V3 2004 130,000,000
11 Nokia 3310 2000 126,000,000
12 Nokia 1280 2010 100,000,000
13 Apple iPhone 8 2017 86,300,000
14 Apple iPhone 7 2016 78,300,000
15 Apple iPhone XR 2018 77,400,000
16 Apple iPhone 11 2019 75,000,000
17 Apple iPhone 5 2012 70,000,000
18 Samsung Galaxy S III 2012 70,000,000
19 Motorola StarTAC 75+ 1996 60,000,000
20 Apple iPhone 4S 2011 60,000,000
21 Samsung Galaxy S6 2015 45,000,000
22 Nokia 6120 1998 21,000,000
23 Nokia E71 2008 15,000,000
24 Nokia 5800 XpressMusic 2008 15,000,000

Table: The phones that were the best-sellers by year from 1995 to 2020.

Motorola StarTAC would still cost the most in today’s money

Whilst many of the latest iPhones have come just shy of the ÂŁ1,000 mark, this actually pales into comparison compared to the cost of some of the earlier handsets. The Motorola StarTAC, which was the best-selling phone from 1995-1997 and the world’s first ‘flip-phone’ had a cost-price of ÂŁ1,400 – which would be a whopping ÂŁ2,251 in today’s money if adjusted for inflation.

The iPhone 11 is best for battery, but it’s all relative

As phones have increased in capability, so has the demand on their batteries. The modern models have the biggest battery capability, with the iPhone 11 coming in at 3110 mAh (Milliamps hour). Ultimately, the more mAh a device has, the better the battery. However, smartphone battery usage is incredibly demanding compared to devices of old. The Motorola RAZR V3 for example had 680 mAh, but far less capability than the latest iPhone – meaning it’s battery would last longer.

The Nokia 3310 released in 2000 was lauded for it’s long-lasting battery life at the time, capable of 55 hours on standby mode, but its capability would be tested if it had the capabilities of today’s smartphones.

The newly announced iPhone 12 actually has a smaller battery size at 2815 mAh than the iPhone 11, meaning that the more demanding phone is less likely to hold out against it’s predecessor.

Blackberry never tops the list, despite revolutionising market 

Some infamous handsets didn’t actually make the best-seller list. Whilst Blackberry phones seemed a staple for many with it’s recognisable QWERTY keyboard design, it battled Apple for market dominance before stopping producing handsets altogether in 2016. The original iPhone released in 2007 only sold 6.1 million units as consumers stuck to designs that were more tried and tested – it took until 2011 for the iPhone 4S to become Apple’s first best-selling phone.

How does the iPhone 12 compare?

Whilst the battery life is comparably smaller than that of it’s predecessor the iPhone 11, at a cost of ÂŁ799 for a 64GB model it would still sit in our top ten most expensive handsets of the past twenty-five years. Are we looking at the potential best-seller of 2021? Only time will tell.

Rehan Ali, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com comments:

“It really is incredible to look back at the phones of yesteryear and see how the technology has changed over the past quarter of a century.

“Handsets which would have been considered game changing at the time, are now looked upon as basic bricks of plastic, only good for use as paperweights or museum displays.

“However, within the last five years, we’ve seen a significant shift in smartphone durability. Many devices can now last for up to five or six years, without the need to upgrade, as changes between models are more nuanced.

“One factor which has always been relevant is battery life, because no matter what phone you have, if it can’t last you the best part of a day, it is as useful as some of the older phones in our study.

The full interactive asset, and more information on the best-sellers from 1995 to 2020 can be found here.