The European mobile phone market shows signs of recovery, albeit cautiously. According to the end Notify Canalys, corresponding to the first quarter of 2024, showed a 2% increase in shipments compared to last year. The start of a new renewal cycle for phones bought during the pandemic, as well as easing macroeconomic conditions, are two of the main factors cited in the report.
A 2% year-over-year increase is relevant data, but not as significant as what the report hides behind the scenes: We’re buying more expensive phones than ever before. A simple photograph of the best-selling models makes it clear to us.
Europe began to recover its shipping speed. According to Canalys, there were 33.1 million units in the first quarter of 2024. Samsung was the largest European player, with a market share of 37%. Apple followed with a 22% share, although the best-selling model in Europe was again an iPhone, as is customary.
Xiaomi, Motorola and Honor complete the top five list with 16, 6 and 3% market share respectively. Xiaomi’s good data makes it take away a good chunk of the pie from Samsung, which occupied all the positions in the mid-range and entry-level model list last year.
Honor is experiencing the highest growth in Europe with 103%. Motorola follows, with an unexpected 73%. Xiaomi and Samsung both grew by 2%, while Apple fell by 17%, the worst figure on the list. It’s not something they seem too concerned about.
Apple sells less, and sells for more than ever. Last year, the best-selling model was the iPhone 14. The best-selling model in 2024 is the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple’s most expensive terminal. The point is not only in the model: the difference in the number of shipments compared to the second best-selling model, the iPhone 15 Pro, is much larger than last year.
Specifically, the iPhone 15 Pro Max accounted for 2.6 million shipments, compared to 1.6 million for the Pro last year, the difference between the first and second best-selling iPhones being just 100,000 units. This year there is one lakh.
Samsung continues to be the absolute hero. The person responsible for not having a single Xiaomi model in the list of best selling models is Samsung. The manufacturer is sweeping the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the third model with the highest shipments in Europe.
Xiaomi managed to land the Redmi 13 and Note 13 on the best-seller list, the only manufacturer able to compete in a list starring Samsung and Apple. Without going further, the Redmi 13C has outsold the Galaxy A15.
The market turns to premium. As the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best-selling model, followed by the 15 Pro and the S24 Ultra in third place on the podium, the conclusion is clear: we are buying more expensive phones.
Canales noted that the premium segment is increasingly leaning toward the “ultra-high-end,” and phones over $800 already account for 32% of the market. This is the largest premium mobile participation in history. Shipments of the S Series alone grew by 58% year-on-year.
The economic models are still live, and the report suggests that demand for lower-end phones will be “vital” for the market to continue to grow.
Picture | BDtechsupport
In BDtechsupport | Bargain mobile is dying. The mid-range is increasingly more of an entry-level range