Late Galaxy S26 launch and early iPhone 17e success led to a Samsung-Apple draw in Europe in Q1
Late Galaxy S26 launch and early iPhone 17e success led to a Samsung-Apple draw in Europe in Q1
Publish Date: 2026-05-25 07:54:00
Source Domain: www.phonearena.com
If you’ve been following the various reports published by analytics firms like Counterpoint Research and Omdia for various key smartphone markets over the last few months, you already know Apple crushed Samsung in Q1 2026 in the US, also coming incredibly close to taking Huawei’s Chinese crown away.After so many regions with such clear differences between the world’s top two vendors, it’s pretty refreshing to talk about a place where Samsung and Apple are evenly matched. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the latest European smartphone sales results.
What a battle!
Technically, Samsung appears to be listed as the old continent’s number one vendor between January and March 2026 by Counterpoint Research, so it’s possible that Galaxy handset sales in Europe during that timeframe exceeded Apple’s iPhone scores by a few thousand units or so.
Apple and Samsung are basically tied in first place after being separated by no less than seven percentage points just a year back. | Image by Counterpoint Research
In terms of market share, however, Samsung and Apple are tied at 30 percent each, and while that represents a worrying year-on-year decline from 33 percent for the former brand, the latter has somehow managed to jump from a 26 percent slice of the pie back in Q1 2025.
Basically, we’re talking about a substantial seven-point lead that has incredibly evaporated between the opening quarter of last year and Q1 2026 due to at least two key factors: Samsung’s late Galaxy S26 series release compared to the Galaxy S25 family in early 2025 and Apple’s “relatively successful iPhone 17e launch.”Ironically, the iPhone 17e actually made its commercial debut a few days after the S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra, thus having even less time to make a real impact on its manufacturer’s first-quarter share. That almost…
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