Smartphone brands in the United States:Which are most popular?

Name: Smartphone brands in the United States: Which are searched most?
Creator: Brandwave
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In September 2026, Apple iPhone was the most searched smartphone brand in the United States, accounting for 77.4% of all searches among the nine brands we track. When we checked with ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, Apple iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy showed up in every answer. Samsung Galaxy was recommended most often, coming first in two out of five responses.

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Top smartphone brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Apple iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy appeared every time. Samsung Galaxy was recommended most often, coming first in two out of five answers. Apple iPhone was second, and Google Pixel was third. Nokia, which ranked fifth in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

How many AI answers named each brand
Brand	ChatGPT	Google	Answers that named it
Apple iPhone	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
Google Pixel	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
Samsung Galaxy	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
Motorola	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 1 of 2 Google AI Overviews	4 of 5
Nothing	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 1 of 2 Google AI Overviews	1 of 5
OnePlus	Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	1 of 5
Nokia	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5
Sony	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5
TCL	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5

Apple iPhone5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Google Pixel5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Samsung Galaxy5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Motorola4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Nothing1 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
OnePlus1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Nokia0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Sony0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
TCL0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about smartphone brands

5 answers

Asked ChatGPT
“Which phone should I buy?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What are the best smartphone brands?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What is the best phone for the money?”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“smartphone”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“best phone”

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United States on October 26, 2026.

Which smartphone brands do people search for most?

This chart shows how often people search Google for each smartphone brand by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine smartphone brands we track, month by month, from searches in United States.

Share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States, by month

Month	Apple iPhone	Google Pixel	Nothing	Samsung Galaxy	Nokia	OnePlus	Motorola	Sony	TCL
Oct 2025	61.1%	14%	5.5%	7.9%	3.7%	5.1%	1.1%	0.91%	0.74%
Nov 2025	64%	12.2%	3.9%	6.9%	3.2%	7.7%	0.95%	0.63%	0.63%
Dec 2025	65.1%	11.9%	4.8%	7%	2.6%	6.4%	0.96%	0.64%	0.64%
Jan 2026	64.6%	9.9%	5.8%	7.3%	3.2%	6.5%	1.2%	0.78%	0.78%
Feb 2026	66.3%	10.2%	6%	7.2%	3.3%	4.6%	0.98%	0.8%	0.66%
Mar 2026	62.6%	11.4%	8.5%	6.8%	3.1%	5.1%	1.1%	0.76%	0.62%
Apr 2026	66.1%	10.1%	6%	7.2%	3.3%	4.5%	1.2%	0.8%	0.8%
May 2026	64.1%	9.8%	8.7%	6.7%	3.2%	4.4%	1.2%	1.2%	0.78%
Jun 2026	65.4%	8.2%	13.1%	5.8%	2.2%	3.2%	0.97%	0.65%	0.65%
Jul 2026	68.4%	8.5%	9.2%	5.9%	2.3%	3.8%	0.83%	0.55%	0.55%
Aug 2026	68.8%	10.3%	9.2%	5.2%	1.9%	2.6%	0.83%	0.68%	0.56%
Sep 2026	77.4%	7.6%	5.7%	4.4%	1.7%	1.7%	0.63%	0.42%	0.42%

Rank	Brand	Share of searches	Estimated monthly branded searches	vs prior month	Share change
1, held 1st	Apple iPhone Apple	77.4%	3.4M	+49.6%	+8.7 points
2, held 2nd	Google Pixel Google	7.6%	328K	-1.8%	-2.7 points
3, held 3rd	Nothing	5.7%	246K	-18.3%	-3.6 points
4, held 4th	Samsung Galaxy Samsung	4.4%	192K	+14.3%	-0.7 points
5, moved from 6th to 5th	Nokia	1.7%	74K	+22.3%	-0.1 pointsmoved from 6th to 5th
6, moved from 5th to 6th	OnePlus	1.7%	72.6K	-15.7%	-1 pointsmoved from 5th to 6th
7, held 7th	Motorola	0.63%	27.1K	0%	-0.2 points
8, held 8th	Sony	0.42%	18.1K	-18.5%	-0.3 points
9, held 9th	TCL	0.42%	18.1K	0%	-0.1 points

1.Apple iPhone
77.4%
Held 1st. 3.4M estimated branded searches, +49.6% vs prior month. Share +8.7 points.
2.Google Pixel
7.6%
Held 2nd. 328K estimated branded searches, -1.8% vs prior month. Share -2.7 points.
3.Nothing
5.7%
Held 3rd. 246K estimated branded searches, -18.3% vs prior month. Share -3.6 points.
4.Samsung Galaxy
4.4%
Held 4th. 192K estimated branded searches, +14.3% vs prior month. Share -0.7 points.
5.Nokia
1.7%
Moved from 6th to 5th. 74K estimated branded searches, +22.3% vs prior month. Share -0.1 points.
6.OnePlus
1.7%
Moved from 5th to 6th. 72.6K estimated branded searches, -15.7% vs prior month. Share -1 points.
7.Motorola
0.63%
Held 7th. 27.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.
8.Sony
0.42%
Held 8th. 18.1K estimated branded searches, -18.5% vs prior month. Share -0.3 points.
9.TCL
0.42%
Held 9th. 18.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.1 points.

Which brand is most popular in search among smartphone brands in the United States?

9 brands

In September 2026, Apple iPhone was the most searched among smartphone brands in the United States, with an estimated 3.4M branded searches, 77.4% of all searches for the nine we track. Google Pixel is in 2nd place, 69.9 percentage points behind at 7.6%.

United States smartphone brands, last 12 months ending September 2026
Brand	Share of searches	Peak	Low	Rank
Apple iPhone	61.1% → 77.4%	77.4%Sep 2026	61.1%Oct 2025	1st
Google Pixel	14% → 7.6%	14%Oct 2025	7.6%Sep 2026	2nd
Nothing	5.5% → 5.7%	13.1%Jun 2026	3.9%Nov 2025	4th → 3rd
Samsung Galaxy	7.9% → 4.4%	7.9%Oct 2025	4.4%Sep 2026	3rd → 4th
Nokia	3.7% → 1.7%	3.7%Oct 2025	1.7%Sep 2026	6th → 5th
OnePlus	5.1% → 1.7%	7.7%Nov 2025	1.7%Sep 2026	5th → 6th
Motorola	1.1% → 0.63%	1.2%Apr 2026	0.63%Sep 2026	7th
Sony	0.91% → 0.42%	1.2%May 2026	0.42%Sep 2026	8th
TCL	0.74% → 0.42%	0.8%Apr 2026	0.42%Sep 2026	9th

Each finding as a sentence

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Apple iPhone’s share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States increased from 61.1% to 77.4%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Google Pixel’s share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States decreased from 14% to 7.6%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Samsung Galaxy’s share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States decreased from 7.9% to 4.4%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Nokia’s share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States decreased from 3.7% to 1.7%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, OnePlus’ share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States decreased from 5.1% to 1.7%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Nothing’s share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States peaked at 13.1% in June 2026 and was lowest at 3.9% in November 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, OnePlus’ share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States peaked at 7.7% in November 2025 and was lowest at 1.7% in September 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Nothing rose from 4th to 3rd among smartphone brands in the United States.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Samsung Galaxy fell from 3rd to 4th among smartphone brands in the United States.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Nokia rose from 6th to 5th among smartphone brands in the United States.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, OnePlus fell from 5th to 6th among smartphone brands in the United States.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Motorola, Sony and TCL held steady: their share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for United States smartphone brands in September 2026?

8 changes

In September 2026, Apple iPhone gained share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States, from 68.8% to 77.4%.
In September 2026, Nothing lost share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States, from 9.2% to 5.7%.
In September 2026, Google Pixel lost share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States, from 10.3% to 7.6%.
In September 2026, OnePlus lost share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States, from 2.6% to 1.7%.
In September 2026, Samsung Galaxy lost share of searches among smartphone brands in the United States, from 5.2% to 4.4%.
In September 2026, Nokia rose from 6th to 5th among smartphone brands in the United States.
Estimated monthly branded searches for TCL in the United States rose 22.3% over 12 measured months, from 14.8K to 18.1K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Motorola in the United States rose 22.1% over 12 measured months, from 22.2K to 27.1K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted for smartphone brands?

12 search terms

Each brand's share of searches among smartphone brands comes from the terms listed under its name. When people mostly search for a brand because of something else it sells, only the searches that name this product count here.