The European smartphone market declined by 6% year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research’s Q1 2026 Smartphone Market Monitor.
However, Apple had a solid quarter thanks to good growth in Eastern Europe, a steady trickle of users migrating to Apple from Android in Western Europe, plus a relatively successful iPhone 17e launch, notes the research group.
iPhone sales grew 7% year-over-year in the first quarter. Apple now has 30% of Europe’s smartphone market. It and Samsung are tied for first place.
Overall, the ongoing memory price crisis started to impact smartphone manufacturers, with many choosing to either raise prices of new products or adopt spec “shrinkflation”(reduce component upgrades), while the onset of the Iran War resulted in spiraling energy prices and a weakened economic outlook, said Counterpoint Associate Director Jan Streak. Both factors negatively impacted consumer purchasing, especially towards the end of the quarter.
Counterpoint expects the memory crisis and the Iran War to continue to impact consumer spending throughout 2026, especially in the lower price tiers.
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