A new report from Counterpoint Research shows that Apple overtook Samsung during the second quarter of 2026 to become the leading smartphone brand in Europe’s carrier channel, as operator sales held up better than the broader market. Here are the details.
Apple helps carrier sales outperform broader European smartphone market
In a report published today, Counterpoint Research says smartphone sales through carriers in Europe declined 4% year-over-year in Q2 2026, compared with an 11% drop in the open market. Total smartphone sales, per the report, declined 8%.
Apple was a key driver of this shift, having overtaken Samsung as the market share leader of Europe’s operator channel. Motorola and vivo also contributed to the growth with some strategic positioning with key European operators.
Counterpoint says this is yet another result of rising memory costs, which have hit Europe’s low-end smartphone market particularly hard. Carrier sales, meanwhile, have held up better because they tend to skew toward higher-end devices and premium brands such as Apple, with more phones purchased on contract.
According to the report, Apple’s share of smartphone sales through European carriers rose from 33% in Q2 2025 to 37% in Q2 2026, while Samsung’s fell from 39% to 34% over the same period.
That said, Chinese brand vivo posted the biggest year-over-year increase in carrier sales, at 90%, while Motorola came in a distant second with 27% growth.
Here’s Jan Stryjak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, on these numbers:
“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. 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, which has declined comparatively less than the open market.”
Stryjak added that he expects the carrier channel to continue gaining share over the “next few quarters as the lower end of the market continues to be impacted by the memory crisis.” He also noted that independent retailers have increased promotional activity compared to carriers, “which could mitigate some of the price rises and provide addition [sic] stimulus to the open market.”
To read Counterpoint’s full report, follow this link.
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