Apple passes Samsung as the top brand in Europe's carrier smartphone sales, Counterpoint says

Apple sold more smartphones through European carriers than any other brand in the second quarter of 2026, overtaking Samsung, according to a report from Counterpoint Research based on its Europe Channel Share Tracker. 9to5Mac reported the findings earlier.

The numbers

• Apple: 37 percent of smartphone sales through European operators in Q2 2026, up from 33 percent a year earlier.
• Samsung: 34 percent, down from 39 percent.
• Fastest growers: vivo, up 90 percent year over year in the channel, and Motorola, up 27 percent. In Q2 2025, Google and HONOR were the fastest-growing brands through operators.
• The channel overall: Carrier sales fell 4 percent year over year, compared with an 11 percent drop in the open market and an 8 percent decline across all channels. That nudged operators' share of total smartphone sales in Europe from 35 percent to 36 percent.

Why carriers held up

Counterpoint links the shift to the memory price crisis, which has pushed up component costs and hit low-end phones hardest. Phones bought from operators are more often paid off on contract and lean toward premium models, so that channel has been more insulated.

"Smartphone sales through operators in Europe are typically more high-end than through the open market, as more are purchased on a contract. They are also more skewed towards more premium brands like Apple, Samsung, and Google," said Jan Stryjak, associate director at Counterpoint. "The collapse of the low-end of the smartphone market so far in 2026 because of the memory price crisis has therefore benefitted the operator channel."

Stryjak expects carriers to keep gaining share over the next few quarters as the low end stays under pressure. He added that independent retailers have been running more promotions than operators, which "could mitigate some of the price rises" and give the open market a lift.

What it means for Apple

The figures cover April through June, before iPhone 18 Pro went on sale on September 18, so they reflect a lineup led by iPhone 17 models. They also measure share of one sales channel, not Apple's share of the whole European market.

The same memory costs are showing up in Apple's own pricing, with iPhone 18 Pro storage upgrades costing more than last year. Apple's next update on its regional sales, including its Europe segment, comes with fiscal fourth-quarter results on November 2.

Sources

• Counterpoint Research, Jan Stryjak, "European Operator Channel Benefits from Low-end Collapse in Region's Smartphone Market in 2026," October 6, 2026
• 9to5Mac, Marcus Mendes, "Apple overtakes Samsung to lead European carrier smartphone sales in Q2, per report," October 6, 2026