In this day and age, owning a smartphone is an indispensable requirement thanks to its convenience. To satisfy this demand, companies from all over the world churn out devices across a broad spectrum of technologies in all shapes, sizes, and colors. From this plethora of choices, one can find a device that matches their tastes and has the technical specifications they need. However, while there are many top smartphones and brands that are popular today, there are rare phones that go on to create a cult following and leave behind their own legacy. Here are 3 smartphones that were all the rage when they were launched.

iPhone 6/6+
Apple’s iPhone 6 and its extended family was the company’s bar of success that its other models strived to reach. Apple is no stranger to appearing in the top smartphone lists, not since Steve Jobs revolutionized the smartphone world with the original iPhone. Years later, the iPhone 6 continued that legacy of breaking records and till date has sold hundreds of millions of devices worldwide. Selling at least three times as many devices as the next best-selling top smartphone model from Apple, the iPhone 6 has set a benchmark for the success of every future smartphone model from the company to be measured against.

Nokia 5230
The most delightfully surprising entry in this list happens to be the Nokia 5230, which was released way back in 2009. This was by no means a top smartphone and even barely scratched the surface of the level to be called a “smartphone.” With no high-end features, no WiFi connectivity, a 3.2-inch display and a meager 70 MB of internal storage, it was far from any firsts. However, its lack of features also helped it reduce its price drastically and it performed phenomenally well in the so-called “budget-smartphone markets.” As an entry-level budget smartphone, it shipped a whopping 150 million devices worldwide and is still higher than most top smartphones currently sold today.

Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 was released in 2013, and to say it was one of the top smartphones of the year would be an understatement. Capitalizing on the market success of its predecessor, the Galaxy S3, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 sold a mind-boggling 80 million units worldwide. Thanks to its relentless marketing drive, the phone became an icon for Samsung and a benchmark for all future models to be compared against. At the time, the Galaxy S4 boasted features such as advanced eye tracking as well as other high-end features and software and cemented its position as the de-facto Android device that could stand up to the juggernaut that was the Apple iPhone.

These phones defined an era in terms of design, popularity, and usability and will live on as legends of their time.