Europe’s smartphone grows by 5% in 2024, Samsung retains top spot: Report

Smartphones

The latest smartphone research from Canalys, now part of Omdia, reveals smartphone shipments in the European region (excluding Russia) grew by 5% last year. Moreover, Samsung has bolstered its position as the largest smartphone vendor in Europe in 2024, through increasing its shipments by more than 6% to a total of 46.4 million units. In comparison, Apple followed second with a total of 34.9 million units shipped.

Europe sees first smartphone sales growth after three years

The report points out that 2024 saw the highest number of premium devices sold, which was in total 41 million, or 30% of the total 136 million shipments. The analysis is based on shipments and not actual store sales. Canalys reports also confirm that Samsung reaffirmed its position as Europe’s largest smartphone vendor, growing its 2024 shipments by 6% to 46.4 million units.

However, Apple was the largest vendor in Q4 2024 backed by a positive reception of the iPhone 16 series combined with continued demand for iPhone 13 and 14 for budget-conscious users. In contrast, Samsung's increase in sales was mostly driven by the Galaxy S24 series, which was heavily marketed during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Talking about other Chinese players, Xiaomi finished third on the ranking table, with a total of 22.2 million Redmi, POCO, and Xiaomi-branded smartphones shipped. Interestingly, this is the same volume of the company’s total shipment as in 2023. Lenovo-owned Motorola delivered its best year in Europe yet, as it grew 26%, surpassing 8 million units.

Oppo and OnePlus’s volume returned to growth after two difficult years, as the Chinese OEM saw a push in the Southern European market, growing by 13% to 4.1 million devices.