Fierce competition reshapes European smartphone market

The European smartphone market declined by 1 per cent to 134.2 million units in 2025, according to the latest research released by market analysts Omdia.

This marked the end of what the firm described as a disruptive year shaped by subdued demand and new eco-design and USB-C regulations.

The findings show that Europe’s smartphone shipments totalled 134.2 million units in 2025, reflecting weaker consumer appetite and regulatory adjustments across the region.

Samsung remained Europe’s largest smartphone vendor, with shipments edging up to 46.6 million units over the year.

After a slow first half of 2025 caused by the absence of the Galaxy A0x series, Samsung rebounded strongly in the second half of the year.

The recovery was driven in part by a discounted version of the Galaxy A16 and strong momentum for the Galaxy A56, which emerged as the top-selling smartphone model in Europe in 2025.

Apple recorded 6 per cent growth, reaching 36.9 million units in 2025 and securing a record-high 27 per cent market share in Europe.

The company’s performance was supported by a surge in iPhone refresh demand from both consumers and businesses.

Shipments were particularly driven by the iPhone 16, the Pro Max versions of both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17, and the iPhone 16e.

Compared to other global markets, the iPhone 16e ranked among Apple’s top-shipping models, largely because it replaced the iPhone 14 and earlier models that were discontinued in late 2024 due to the USB-C regulation.

Xiaomi held third place with a 16 per cent market share, despite experiencing a 1 per cent decline to 21.8 million units.

Its performance was largely underpinned by its budget-friendly Redmi series.

Towards the end of 2025, Xiaomi expanded its overseas ‘new retail strategy’ into Europe, opening several Xiaomi Stores and broadening its ecosystem portfolio.

Motorola remained fourth in the ranking, although its shipments fell 5 per cent to 7.7 million units.

The company saw weaker demand in the first half of 2025 but recovered in the second half, achieving double-digit growth in the fourth quarter.

This resilience was supported by continued expansion in key markets including Poland, Italy, Spain and the UK.

HONOR entered Europe’s top five for the first time, growing 4 per cent to 3.8 million units.

The growth was largely driven by its affordable X-series devices, reflecting a stronger focus on building share, presence and relevance with key channel partners in support of its longer-term premium ambitions.

“Europe’s five largest smartphone vendors continued to gain combined share, reflecting the importance of scale for long-term success in the region,” commented Runar Bjorhovde, senior analyst at Omdia.

“Even though shares continue to shift towards the largest players, fierce competition within the channel continues to reign across all markets, increasing the need to differentiate and understand how to most effectively capture customers,” he explained.

“The fierce channel competition has also created a growing willingness amongst sales partners to introduce new vendors with attractive products and differentiated brands into their portfolios,” he observed.

“Even though many vendors beyond the top 5 faced big hurdles last year, vivo, London-headquartered Nothing and Amsterdam-headquartered Fairphone grew by high double digits,” he pointed out.

“These vendors are excellent examples that there are opportunities through strong differentiation even in such an established, mature and highly competitive region,” he added.

Looking ahead, Bjorhovde warned that concerns around memory pricing in 2026 have created a challenging outlook.

“In 2026, concerns around memory pricing have created a challenging outlook,” he cautioned.

“In Europe, which made up just 10.8 per cent of all smartphones shipped worldwide in 2025, the biggest question is which vendors are most likely to prioritize the region if hit by price increases or supply shortages,” he argued.

“We expect the largest vendors to be more resilient due to their scale and price-band coverage,” he suggested.

“However, for many vendors, it will be critical to find the right balance between different regions and markets,” he stressed.

“Scaling a smartphone business within Europe can be very gradual and challenging, requiring consistent investment over time, making it very costly to scale back,” he noted.

“Europe’s large premium segment makes it attractive to many vendors in the long-run alongside a less price-sensitive mass-market segment,” he remarked.

“However, even in the face of short-term difficulties, capturing interest and demand from customers must be the top priority for all industry players,” he emphasised.

“Both vendors and channel partners need to find key differentiation points, target core influence stages in the buying journey, and retain customers more effectively than ever before,” he concluded.