Smartphone sales in Europe have fallen for four years in a row, but are now back on track – Samsung remains the leader

Smartphone sales in Europe will grow by 5% in 2024 after four consecutive years of decline, exceeding 136 million units, according to analytics company Canalys.

Image source: Canalys

It’s worth noting that Canalys’ analysis is actually based on shipments, not actual store sales. Additionally, Canalys’ data includes iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 shipments to the channel before the EU’s ban on gadgets without USB Type-C went into effect.

Samsung retained its leadership in the European market, increasing sales year-on-year by 6% to 46.4 million units. It was helped in this by the Galaxy S24 series of smartphones, which were actively advertised during the Olympic Games in Paris.

Apple’s sales rose 1% to 34.9 million units, thanks in part to a strong fourth-quarter performance driven by positive customer reception of the iPhone 16, which still lacked Apple Intelligence’s smart features.

Third-placed Xiaomi sold the same number of phones under its Redmi, Poco, and Xiaomi brands last year as it will in 2023. Motorola grew 26% to an all-time high of 8 million units, thanks to expanded sales through offline stores and open market channels. Oppo was fifth, up 13% year-on-year to 4.1 million units, including OnePlus shipments.

Canalys reported that Oppo returned to growth after two tough years, driven by sales growth in Southern Europe — Spain, Italy, Romania, and Portugal. Honor and Realme posted double-digit growth, “increasing competition and generating excitement in the channel and among consumers,” according to the Canalys study. The analysts also noted that premium devices priced at $800 and above will sell the most in 2024 — 41 million, accounting for 30% of the total.

Analysing shipments by country, analysts reported that Apple’s shipments were almost twice as high as Samsung’s in the UK (52% versus 28%), while Xiaomi took first place in Spain, overtaking Samsung and dropping Apple to third place.

As Canalys noted, 2025 will be a challenging year for the European smartphone market, as the EU Directive on Ecodesign of Energy Using Products (EuP) comes into force on June 20, requiring mobile device manufacturers to prioritize durability, ease of repair, and responsible use of resources. The document includes provision of spare parts for several years, longer software support, and technical documentation to facilitate third-party repairs.