CHART: Premium phones hit record high as Europe's smartphone market slipped in Q1 2025
Buyers may be holding off on frequent upgrades, but when they do buy, they’re going big.
It’s an interesting time for smartphones in Europe. On one hand, fewer people are buying new phones. On the other hand, the ones who do are spending more than ever.
As shown by a Canalys report spotlighting the European smartphone market in the first quarter of 2025, shipments across the continent (excluding Russia) dropped by 2% to 32.4 million units in the quarter, but the premium segment is booming.
For the first time, premium smartphones priced over €800 accounted for nearly one-third of all shipments, reaching a record 32%. It shows that buyers may be holding off on frequent upgrades, but when they do buy, they’re going big.
That shift is reshaping the leaderboard, and it's playing directly into the hands of Samsung and Apple.
Samsung stayed on top as Europe’s top vendor with 12.2 million shipments—flat compared to last year—but reached its highest-ever average selling price, thanks to strong Galaxy S25 sales and a packed promotional playbook including trade-ins, bundles, and its new Galaxy Club upgrade program.
Apple, wasn’t far behind, and actually posted the biggest gain. Its shipments rose 10% YoY to 8.0 million units while extending its grip on the high-end market. A strong launch for the iPhone 16e and continued demand overall gave it a nice push, helping it to offset the impact of the discontinued iPhone 13 and 14 due to the EU’s USB-C requirement.
But things were a lot rougher further down the price ladder. Entry-level demand didn't fare too well and underperformed sharply. The volume of sub-€200 smartphones shipped in Q1 hit its lowest point in more than a decade, dropping to just 27% of the market.
Xiaomi and Motorola, both heavily reliant on the lower price bands, took major hits. Xiaomi managed to hold third place with 5.3 million shipments, but Motorola saw a steep 19% decline. Google Pixel, however, quietly made progress, cracking the top five for the first time with a 43% year-over-year surge to 0.9 million units shipped.
All this premium growth is great for the top players, but it’s raising some eyebrows. When Apple and Samsung dominate the high-end and everyone else scrambles for what’s left, the market gets top-heavy and fragile. On top of that, upcoming EU regulations around sustainability and batteries are squeezing margins even more for both mid and low-end segments.
Looking ahead, experts predict that vendors that can adapt to the new premium-driven landscape and cater to evolving consumer buying habits would be the ones to find opportunity in the shift toward premiumization.
Canalys forecasts the European market will decline another 3% in 2025 before returning to modest growth in 2026.
