Europe Smartphone Shipments Drop 6% YoY in Q1 2026
- The European smartphone market declined by 6% YoY Q1, largely due to a deteriorating macro environment.
- The memory price crisis started to impact OEMs, with many choosing to either raise prices of new products or adopt spec ‘shrinkflation’, while the onset of the Iran War resulted in spiralling energy prices and a weakened economic outlook. Both factors negatively impacted consumer purchasing, especially towards the end of the quarter.
- Meanwhile, the later launch of the Samsung S26 series meant many shipments were pushed into Q2, impacting the YoY comparison.
- On a positive note, Apple had a solid Q1 2026 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.
- We expect the memory crisis and Iran War to continue to impact consumer spending throughout 2026, especially in the lower price tiers.
London, Berlin, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Fort Collins, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo – May 21, 2026
Europe’s smartphone market took a downturn in Q1 2026 as shipments declined 6% YoY, according to Counterpoint Research’s Q1 2026 Smartphone Market Monitor, largely due to a deteriorating macro environment. The memory price crisis started to impact OEMs, 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 spiralling energy prices and a weakened economic outlook. Both factors negatively impacted consumer purchasing, especially towards the end of the quarter.
Europe Smartphone Shipments Share by OEM, Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
Associate Director Jan Stryjak said, “Aside from the macro headwinds, another factor was the delayed launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series. The launch itself was a relative success, with Counterpoint Research Weekly Smartphone Sales data showing a 4% increase in sales for S26 in Western Europe in the first four weeks of availability compared to the S25 over the same time period. However, the fact that the launch was a week later than the S25 in 2025 meant many shipments were pushed into Q2, impacting the YoY comparison. This resulted in Samsung’s overall smartphone shipments declining by 12% YoY in Q1 2026. Conversely, Apple had a solid Q1 2026 thanks to good growth in Eastern Europe and a steady trickle of users migrating to Apple from Android in Western Europe. In addition, the iPhone 17e was perceived as a significant upgrade to the iPhone 16e, unlike most other new devices, so its launch was relatively successful.”
Stryjak continued, “we expect the macro environment to remain challenging throughout the rest of 2026. More recent smartphone launches have seen significant price rises as a result of the memory crisis, for example the volume heavy Samsung Galaxy A series and HONOR 600 series, and with geopolitical tensions remaining high, the region needs to brace itself for further difficulties ahead.”
About Counterpoint Research
Counterpoint Research is a global market research firm specializing in products across the technology ecosystem. We advise a diverse range of clients – from smartphone OEMs to chipmakers and channel players to Big Tech – through our offices located in the world's major innovation hubs, manufacturing clusters and commercial centers. Our analyst team, led by seasoned experts, engages with stakeholders across the enterprise – from the C-suite to professionals in strategy, analyst relations (AR), market intelligence (MI), business intelligence (BI), product and marketing – to deliver services spanning market data, industry thought leadership and consulting. Our core areas of coverage include AI, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Displays, eSIM, IoT, Location Platforms, Macroeconomics, Manufacturing, Networks and Infrastructure, Semiconductors, Smartphones and Wearables. Visit our Insights page to explore our publicly available market data, insights and thought leadership, and to understand our focus, meet our analysts and start a conversation.
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Author
Jan Stryjak
Jan is an Associate Director with Counterpoint Research, based in London, and leads the company’s European and Sustainability research. He is a seasoned analyst with over 17 years’ experience in the TMT sector, previously with GSMA Intelligence where he led a team of analysts producing highly impactful regional insights. Before that, Jan held strategy and analyst positions at Vodafone UK and Qualcomm respectively, and started his career with research firm TNS (now Kantar).