Samsung stays No.1 in Europe while Apple surges to record 27% smartphone market share

Smartphone demand in Europe cooled a bit in 2025, but Samsung once again led the pack. The South Korean giant sold 46.6 million units on the continent, accounting for 35 percent of total sales. This was just an improvement of 200,000 units over 2024’s performance.

As Omdia analysts put it, Samsung’s first half was characterized by a sales slowdown, thanks in part to the non-availability of the Galaxy A0x series. However, things picked up in the second half as Samsung introduced a cheaper Galaxy A16. Samsung also got a boost from the Galaxy A56, which finished 2025 as the best-selling model in Europe.

Apple had a better year, ending the year with a record 27 percent market share. The Cupertino-based company shipped 36.9 million iPhones to Europe in 2025, a 6 percent increase from 2024. Apple’s sales were driven by iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 e. The last model made up for sales lost by Apple's discontinuation of the iPhone 14 and earlier models due to the USB-C regulation.

Other top smartphone vendors include Xiaomi, which ranked third. The Chinese company claimed 16 percent of the market, but saw sales drop by 1 percentage point to 21.8 million units. Motorola’s loss was even more substantial, with a 5 percent decline and 7.7 million smartphone shipments, landing in fourth place. HONOR was among the gainers, rounding out the top five in Europe with 3.8 million units.

Overall, smartphone sales in Europe declined by 1 percent in 2025. The market represented 10.8 percent of global shipments.