Apple’s iPhone regains the top smartphone spot in Europe (excluding Russia)

Canalys’ latest research reveals that smartphone shipments into Europe (excluding Russia) fell 3% year-on-year to 37.8 million units in quarter four (Q4) 2023. 

Apple returned to the top spot after seven quarters behind Samsung, growing 1% year-on-year to 12.4 million units, notes the research group. Samsung took the second spot, declining 12% to 10.8 million units. Still, Samsung was the largest vendor throughout 2023. Xiaomi, Motorola ,and HONOR rounded off the top five, shipping 6 million, 2 million and 1.1 million devices, respectively.

The iPhone now has 33% of the European market (excluding Russia). That’s up from 31% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“High-end smartphones took a record share of the European market in Q4 2023. Almost 40% of smartphone shipments were priced at US$800 or higher,” says Canalys analyst Runar Bjørhovde. “The dominance of the high-end was mainly fueled by strong iPhone 15 Pro demand alongside consistent Galaxy S-series volumes and a growing Google Pixel. Looking ahead, Apple will aim to capitalize on the impending refresh cycle. This includes exploring new routes to market to enable consumers to buy iPhones, such as the bank-as-a-channel approach co-piloted with Santander in Spain.”