Samsung remained the chief in the European smartphone arena during 2025, yet it was Apple that posted the most notable expansion. Fresh figures from the analytics firm Omdia indicate that 134.2 million handsets were shipped across Europe last year. This marks a decrease of just 1% from 2024, which isn’t a severe drop but suggests persisting lackluster demand. Due to more cautious consumer spending and regulatory shifts, such as mandatory USB-C and eco-design mandates, the market failed to gain strong momentum. Nevertheless, major vendors firmed up their standings. Samsung and Apple jointly accounted for 62% of all deliveries in the territory. Samsung maintained the leading spot with 46.6 million shipped units, equating to a 35% market share—a slight rise from 34% the preceding year. The growth was marginal, around 200,000 extra units year-over-year, but the corporation managed to steady the situation after a slow start to the year. Sales picked up in the latter half due to aggressive pricing on the Galaxy A16 and particularly robust interest in the Galaxy A56, which reportedly ended up being the top-selling smartphone in Europe in 2025. Apple, meanwhile, exhibited stronger advancement. Apple shipped 36.9 million iPhones in Europe, a 6% increase compared to the prior year, reaching a record 27% market holding in the area. A steady refresh cycle and strong appetite for the iPhone 16 lineup were largely responsible for this. The iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro Max models performed excellently in the high-end segment. Xiaomi secured third place with 21.8 million shipments and a 16% share, though volumes dipped slightly. Following them was Motorola with 7.7 million devices (a 6% share), down 5% from the year before. Honor entered the top-five with 3.8 million units and a 3% share, showing noticeable momentum towards the year’s end. Overall, the market appears increasingly fragmented. Premium devices kept propelling growth, whereas the budget segment remained under pressure. Samsung leaned on the strength of its mid-range offerings, Apple capitalized on demand for premium upgrades, and both companies broadened their lead. Europe represented 10.8% of worldwide smartphone shipments in 2025. It is not the biggest territory but remains significant. An interesting observation: despite the general stagnating appetite, the smartphone market shows a distinct trend toward polarization. Buyers are either economizing, opting for proven mid-tier models such as the Galaxy A-series, or are willing to spend more for flagship hardware, which explains the success of Apple and Samsung’s top-tier models. It’s also noteworthy that the compulsory transition to the USB-C port for all phones sold in the EU, effective late 2024, might have temporarily boosted new model sales, but it did not act as a long-term growth catalyst, according to analysts. Rutab.net
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