Business Market analysis

European Smartphone Market Declines in 2025

Analysis based on 7 articles · First reported Feb 23, 2026 · Last updated Mar 02, 2026

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Market Impact

The European smartphone market experienced a 1% decline in 2025 due to subdued demand and new regulations, indicating a challenging environment for vendors. However, the largest players like Samsung and Apple Inc. continued to gain market share, suggesting resilience through scale and price-band coverage.

Telecommunications Consumer electronics Semiconductors

Event Summary

The European smartphone market declined by 1% in 2025 to 134.2 million units, marking a disruptive year influenced by subdued demand and new eco-design and USB-C regulations. Omdia's research highlights that the five largest smartphone vendors, Samsung, Apple Inc., Xiaomi, Lenovo===Motorola Mobility, and Honour, continued to gain combined market share. Samsung remained the largest vendor with marginal growth, while Apple Inc. achieved significant growth and a record 27% market share. Xiaomi and Lenovo===Motorola Mobility saw declines, but Honour entered the top five for the first time. Runar Bjørhovde, a Senior Analyst at Omdia, noted the importance of scale for long-term success and the fierce competition within the channel. The outlook for 2026 is challenging due to concerns around memory pricing, which may force vendors to prioritize regions.

Key Actions

100 Europe smartphone market declined

90 Samsung increased smartphone shipments in Europe Europe

90 Apple Inc. increased smartphone shipments and market share in Europe Europe

80 Omdia published market research report

80 Xiaomi declined smartphone shipments in Europe Europe

70 Lenovo===Motorola Mobility declined smartphone shipments in Europe Europe

70 Honour increased smartphone shipments and market share in Europe Europe

50 Apple Inc. discontinued iPhone 14 and earlier models

Entities Involved

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Europe

The European smartphone market declined by 1% in 2025 to 134.2 million units, influenced by subdued demand and new eco-design and USB-C regulations. It represents 10.8% of worldwide smartphone shipments.

Importance 100 Sentiment 0

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Samsung

Samsung remained Europe's largest smartphone vendor in 2025, with shipments marginally growing to 46.6 million units. Its recovery in the second half of 2025 was driven by the Galaxy A16 and Galaxy A56 models.

Importance 90 Sentiment 20

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Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. grew 6% in Europe in 2025, reaching a record 27% market share with 36.9 million units shipped. This growth was fueled by strong iPhone refresh demand, particularly for the iPhone 16, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone 16e.

Importance 90 Sentiment 30

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Omdia

Omdia, a technology research and advisory group, published a report detailing the performance of the European smartphone market in 2025 and providing an outlook for 2026. This report positions Omdia as a key source of market intelligence.

Importance 80 Sentiment 20

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Xiaomi

Xiaomi held third place in the European smartphone market with a 16% share, despite a 1% decline in shipments to 21.8 million units. Its performance was largely driven by its budget-friendly Redmi series and expansion of its 'new retail strategy' in Europe.

Importance 80 Sentiment 10

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Lenovo===Motorola Mobility

Lenovo===Motorola Mobility remained fourth in Europe, with shipments declining 5% to 7.7 million units. It recovered in the second half of 2025 with double-digit growth in Q4, driven by expansion in key markets like Poland, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

Importance 70 Sentiment 0

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Honour

Honour climbed into Europe's top five for the first time, growing 4% to 3.8 million units. Its growth was primarily due to its affordable X-series and a focus on increasing market share and relevance with channel partners.

Importance 70 Sentiment 20

+ 9 more entities View on Dashboard

Relationships

Omdia related ↔ Informa TechTarget

Runar Bjørhovde related ↔ Omdia

Omdia related ↔ Samsung

Omdia related ↔ Apple Inc.

Omdia related ↔ Xiaomi

Omdia related ↔ Lenovo===Motorola Mobility

Omdia related ↔ Honour

Samsung related ↔ Apple Inc.

Samsung related ↔ Xiaomi

Samsung related ↔ Lenovo===Motorola Mobility

+ 7 more relationships View on Dashboard

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