Samsung's 2022 flagship phone won the popularity contest in Korea. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, in particular, was the most popular smartphone in Samsung's home country last year. In fact, Samsung made nine of the ten most popular phones sold in Korea in 2022, while Apple made only one.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra led the popularity charts in Korea partly because it was the only sensible option for Galaxy Note fans. With the Note series canceled, fans of the S Pen had little choice but to turn to the new Galaxy S22 Ultra model, as it featured a boxier design than the rest of the S22 series and an embedded S Pen.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 beats Apple
According to reports citing market research firm Counterpoint Research (via Naver), Samsung sold 1 million Galaxy S22 Ultra units in Korea last year. Sales were initially low due to the GoS controversy, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra slowly gained more traction. Even in North America, where Apple's iPhones dominate, the Galaxy S22 Ultra gained a lot of attention in Q2, becoming the sixth most sold phone.
The other Samsung phone the report mentioned is the Galaxy Z Flip 4. The foldable flip phone was the second most successful smartphone in South Korea last year after the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
More so, the Z Flip 4 defeated Apple, whose iPhone 13 placed fourth. The Z Flip 4 running second is quite a performance, given that Samsung announced the phone half a year after the Galaxy S22 Ultra and gave the foldable device less time on the market before the year closed.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 are fundamentally different. The former is a more traditional smartphone, save for the embedded S Pen, whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a foldable flip phone without an S Pen and productivity features like Samsung DeX. Yet both phones found a big-enough audience in South Korea last year to top the popularity charts.
Samsung released the Galaxy S23 Ultra earlier this year and is now developing the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which should get announced in August-September. The next-gen foldable flip phone is expected to feature a larger cover screen, and it will be interesting to see how this upgrade will improve the phone's appeal.
SamsungGalaxy S22 Ultra
