[DigitalToday intern reporter Hong Kyung-min (홍경민)] Europe’s smartphone market is locked in an intense battle for market share despite headwinds from tighter regulation and slowing demand, as major manufacturers strengthen their lineups. Samsung held the crown on the back of its dominance in the budget segment, while Apple and Honor each set record-high shares with regulation-compliant models and value-for-money devices.

PhoneArena, citing a report by research firm Omdia, said on Feb. 24 that total shipments in Europe’s smartphone market in 2025 fell 1 percent from a year earlier to 134.2 million units. It said top-ranked manufacturers expanded their sales shares and delivered solid growth.

Major brands including Apple and Honor are reshaping the market landscape with record results driven by their flagship models despite a stagnant market environment.

Apple shipped 36.9 million iPhones, up 6 percent from a year earlier, and achieved a record 27 percent market share. China’s Honor also shipped 3.8 million units, up 4 percent, and entered Europe’s top five for the first time.

Despite the rise of these emerging challengers, Samsung Electronics increased shipments to 46.6 million units and raised its share to 35 percent from 34 percent a year earlier, even as the overall market contracted. That reinforced Samsung’s position as Europe’s top supplier and maintained the gap with the runner-up group.

Samsung Electronics’ resilience came from the strength of its budget lineup, which made up for weak performance in the first half. The Galaxy A56 became the best-selling single model in Europe, while the Galaxy A16 and Galaxy A36 5G, offered with aggressive discounts, ranked third and sixth in sales, driving results. The flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra also entered the top 10, as Samsung showcased a dense sales lineup spanning budget to premium devices.

Apple’s rapid growth reflected its ability to absorb replacement demand created by USB-C standardisation rules in Europe. PhoneArena analysed that older models up to the iPhone 14, which lack a USB-C port, were discontinued due to the regulation, concentrating demand for replacements on the budget iPhone 16e and powering the share gain. It also said the Pro Max models in the iPhone 16 and 17 series ranked among top best-sellers, and that the profitability strategy focused on higher-priced models took hold successfully.

Competition in the mid- and low-priced segment was also intense. As Honor raised its share on the success of its X series, Xiaomi held onto third place with a 16 percent share on the strength of its Redmi series. Motorola’s shipments fell 5 percent due to weak first-half performance, but it defended its market share at last year’s level. Experts said that because a large portion of total volume in Europe comes from mid- and low-priced devices, competition among Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor, which have strong dominance in this segment, will determine the market’s direction.

Still, Apple is unlikely to be able to break Samsung’s dominance in 2026. A rumour says Apple will first launch the iPhone 18 Pro lineup this autumn and separate the launch of base models to early 2027, which could limit an initial supply push. The absolute gap in market share with Samsung also remains, and Apple’s reluctance to target the ultra-low-priced budget segment to secure profitability also reduces the chances of an upset.

In the end, 2025 in Europe was a year in which each manufacturer delivered practical results in its core strengths. Apple focused on maintaining healthy profitability rather than obsessing over the sales ranking itself, while Samsung Electronics firmly held the European crown with an overwhelming product range spanning budget to flagship models.