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Omdia’s latest research reveals that Europe’s smartphone market (excluding Russia) grew 2% to 33.0 million units in 1Q26, showing resilience amid growing supply-side costs and increasing risks of availability bottlenecks. Healthy end-user demand alongside channel frontloading helped boost the market.
Key vendor highlights from 1Q26 include:
- Samsung was Europe’s largest vendor as it grew 3% to 12.6 million units. Effective discounting of the Galaxy A16 4G helped Samsung boost volume, offsetting declines related to the delayed launch of the Galaxy S26, A57 and A37.
- Apple grew 9% to 8.8 million iPhones, driven by robust iPhone 17 series demand in addition to benefiting from a wider mid-range coverage from the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16e. Noticeably, Apple’s strong results came despite lower and fewer discounts than in previous years.
- Xiaomi retained third place despite declining 15% to 4.5 million units, as it was more immediately impacted by supply-side difficulties. However, Xiaomi’s ASP grew 21% compared with 1Q25, boosted by a record-strong Xiaomi 17 and 15T series performance, which drove year-on-year value growth despite the shipment decline. Premium sales were particularly strong in France, Germany, and Spain.
- Motorola grew 17% to 1.9 million units, driven by rapid expansion in Spain and Portugal, alongside continued progress in France and Italy.
- OPPO grew 9% to 1.3 million units, largely driven by its comeback in France alongside growth in Romania and Poland. With both realme and OnePlus now under its umbrella, OPPO is restructuring to optimize its portfolio and strategy with ambitions to strengthen its European position.
- HONOR, ranking sixth, was the fastest-growing vendor among the largest players, with shipments increasing more than 60% compared to 1Q25. HONOR’s growth is underpinned by its portfolio being expanded further down the price-tiers.
“Demand remains healthy in Europe’s smartphone market as shipments were boosted by the ongoing replacement wave alongside channel partners expanding their inventories,” said Runar Bjorhovde, Principal Analyst at Omdia. “Even though some price hikes have occurred, combined with fewer and lower discounts than in previous years, vendors and channel partners remain far more concerned about what is to come in 2Q26. In a region where the three largest vendors hold almost 80% market share, competition is often fiercer amongst channel partners than between vendors, creating a clear rationale for the channel to frontload as a precautionary move."
"The average-selling-price (ASP) of smartphones in Europe surged to a record-high level of €580 in 1Q26,” added Bjorhovde. “This was largely caused by lower availability of devices costing less than €200, which made up an all-time low of just 25% of shipments. Additionally, the high-end remained resilient thanks to Apple’s growth. The focus from both vendors and channel partners has shifted from volume to value to deliver results and operational sustainability. Many vendors who normally focus on the mass market segments are increasingly concentrating on the mid-to-high-end, hoping to benefit from less price-sensitive and upgrade-willing buyers.”
“The first quarter of 2026 delivered beyond expectations, but the outlook remains bearish as the rapidly escalating memory bottleneck worsens,” commented Bjorhovde. “Omdia forecasts shipments into Europe to decline 12% in 2026, but the majority of this will come in the second half of the year. We expect inventory levels to remain above normal as long as the trajectory points to future steep price increases. However, a market correction will be inevitable in the mid-term, as it will become beneficial to act cautiously and reduce inventory levels again as memory pricing starts to stabilize. Both vendors and channel partners need to remain highly agile within the evolving market conditions but must ensure that their focus remains upon attracting end-buyers and strengthening their brands for long-term success.”
