Samsung smartphone sales in Europe fell by 12% in the final quarter of last year, while iPhones managed to outperform the market. The result was that Apple overtook Samsung smartphone shipments in Europe for the first time in nearly two years.
Market intelligence company Canalys said that while the European smartphone market as a whole declined by 3% year-on-year, and Samsung took a much larger hit, Apple managed to eek out 1% growth …
Canalys’ latest research reveals that smartphone shipments into Europe (excluding Russia) fell 3% year-on-year to 37.8 million units in Q4 2023. Apple returned to the lead position of the ranking table after seven quarters behind Samsung, growing 1% year-on-year to 12.4 million units. Samsung took the second spot, declining 12% to 10.8 million units, offset by stable S-series and mid-range A-series shipments.
Samsung did lead across the year as a whole, but strong demand for the iPhone 15 line-up pushed the company into second place in the holiday quarter.
One interesting note is that despite a difficult economy, demand for premium models has never been higher.
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,” said Runar Bjørhovde, Analyst at Canalys. “The dominance of the high-end was mainly fuelled by strong iPhone 15 Pro demand alongside consistent Galaxy S-series volumes and a growing Google Pixel.
Apple has also been getting more creative with its marketing, including testing a leasing partnership with Spanish bank Santander. Canalys suggests that Apple may extend this type of promotion.
Looking ahead to this year, Canalys expects the European smartphone market to return to growth, as we’re now in the typical upgrade window for devices bought during the pandemic.
Louvre photo by Irina Lediaeva on Unsplash
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