If you’ve been following the various reports published by analytics firms like Counterpoint Research and Omdia for various key smartphone markets over the last few months, you already know Apple crushed Samsung in Q1 2026 in the US, also coming incredibly close to taking Huawei’s Chinese crown away.
After so many regions with such clear differences between the world’s top two vendors, it’s pretty refreshing to talk about a place where Samsung and Apple are evenly matched. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the latest European smartphone sales results.
What a battle!
Technically, Samsung appears to be listed as the old continent’s number one vendor between January and March 2026 by Counterpoint Research, so it’s possible that Galaxy handset sales in Europe during that timeframe exceeded Apple’s iPhone scores by a few thousand units or so.
Apple and Samsung are basically tied in first place after being separated by no less than seven percentage points just a year back. | Image by Counterpoint Research
In terms of market share, however, Samsung and Apple are tied at 30 percent each, and while that represents a worrying year-on-year decline from 33 percent for the former brand, the latter has somehow managed to jump from a 26 percent slice of the pie back in Q1 2025.
Basically, we’re talking about a substantial seven-point lead that has incredibly evaporated between the opening quarter of last year and Q1 2026 due to at least two key factors: Samsung’s late Galaxy S26 series release compared to the Galaxy S25 family in early 2025 and Apple’s “relatively successful iPhone 17e launch.”
Ironically, the iPhone 17e actually made its commercial debut a few days after the S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra, thus having even less time to make a real impact on its manufacturer’s first-quarter share. That almost certainly means the company’s 7 percent surge in sales from Q1 2025 was primarily owed to the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max released last fall and the way the high-end handset trio was able to retain its popularity going into Q1 2026.
Will Samsung manage to fend off Apple in Q2?
If the late arrival of the S26 family was the only problem for Samsung in Europe these first three months of the year, you’d think winning the Q2 2026 battle for regional supremacy would be a walk in the park. After all, most prospective buyers simply waited for Samsung’s newest flagships to drop or potentially get some discounts, right?
The Galaxy S26 family is expected to make a much bigger impact in Q2. | Image by PhoneArena
But what if some of those people actually got an iPhone instead of waiting? Guess we’ll just have to… wait and see if that’s what happened, but for the time being, Samsung definitely can’t be happy with its 12 percent decline in European sales from Q1 2025.
In case you’re wondering, the company eclipsed arch-rival Apple 31 to 25 percent in Q2 2025, but that gap was smaller than the one reported in Q2 2024, not to mention Q1 2025. Clearly, iPhones are growing in popularity on the old continent (in addition to so many other regions), defying all trends to make Apple the lone top five vendor capable of posting a gain in shipments in Q1 2026.
Such bleak figures (almost) across the board!
Samsung’s 12 percent drop was only the tip of the (European) iceberg, mind you, as bronze medalist Xiaomi also dipped a worrying 11 percent (without having a new flagship delayed or anything like that). In fourth and fifth places, Oppo and Honor lost 8 and 4 percent of their Q1 2025 volumes, respectively, while the “others” category is down by 8 percent as well.
The Galaxy A57 5G will also need to be a hit to keep Apple at bay. | Image by PhoneArena
Given these numbers, it shouldn’t be shocking to hear that overall European smartphone sales are down 6 percent compared to the first three months of last year due mainly to a “deteriorating macro environment”… that’s expected to continue deteriorating.
Yes, component costs are likely to keep growing, which will undoubtedly impact product prices even more going forward and make a larger and larger number of customers postpone their next purchases indefinitely. The winner of this bleak landscape? Apple, of course, which continues to keep prices steady and maintain its fanbase more or less intact.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.
