The 20 most popular phones of 2015

As we start off 2016, nostalgia is in the air and curiosity for some insight on the grander scheme of things is all but natural. The past twelve months saw quite a few revolutionary device releases that managed to ramp up an impressive number of hits (we are talking a whopping 30 million for the first spot). 2015 definitely set a new bar for the entire mobile realm with more and more powerful mid-rangers proving that a good phone doesn’t need to break the bank anymore.

But, first things first, we have to give credit where credit is due – the Samsung Galaxy S6 was clearly the biggest star of 2015, drawing an unprecedented avalanche of attention. It managed to gather almost twice as many hits as its runner-up and if we factor in its curvy sibling – the S6 edge, which sits at eight place, this lead becomes even more impressive. And while we are discussing the Korean giant, the rest of the chart speaks for itself with every other spot from third all the way to seventh occupied by its handsets as well.

It is also worth noting that most of said models are mid-range offers from the company's new metal "A" series as well as the budget "J" lineup, proving that the mid-ranges is quickly becoming the new king. As for the second place holder, well it is the Asus Zenfone 2 - its best-spec'd ZE551ML version in particular.

The Zenfone 2 family turned out to be quite successful and rightfully so, offering a nice combination of a powerful Intel Atom-based hardware platform and a reasonable price tag. The only real problem with the Zenfone 2 is that it currently consists of a sea of variations, special editions and memory options that is almost impossible to figure out. Still, if we factor in all the modifications and their hits, the Zenfone 2 only tightens its grip on the second spot.

To finish up the top half of the list, we have the third installment of Motorola's budget-friendly Moto G series – offering the same near-stock Android experience on a shoestring budget. And then we get our first phone out of China with the Xiaomi Redmi 2 – another powerful budget offer. Lenovo is another OEM that deserves recognition for its work during the year. Its sensible A6000, A6000 and K3 Note offers have been doing well in Asia and India and it shows.

You can check the rest of the top 20 chart for yourself and be sure to share your thoughts on these 2015 popularity trends in the comment section below.