The European mobile phone market continues to show signs of recovery, albeit latent. According to Canalys’ latest report for the first quarter of 2024, shipments increased by 2% compared to last year. The start of a new renewal cycle for phones purchased during the pandemic period and the loosening of macroeconomic conditions are two of the main reasons pointed out by the report.

A 2 percent year-on-year increase is important, but not as important as what the report hides behind the scenes: We’re buying more expensive phones than ever before. The general photo of the best-selling models clearly demonstrates this.

Europe begins to pick up shipping speed. There were 33.1 million units in the first quarter of 2024, according to Canalys. Samsung became the largest player in Europe with a market share of 37%. While this was followed by Apple with a 22 percent share, the best-selling model in Europe was the iPhone, as always.

Xiaomi, Motorola and Honor complete the list of the top five with market shares of 16, 6 and 3% respectively. Xiaomi’s good data leads it to grab a big piece of the pie from Samsung, which took over all positions on the list in mid-range and entry-level models last year.

Honor is experiencing the highest growth in Europe at 103%. Motorola follows this with a significant rate of 73 percent. While both Xiaomi and Samsung grew by 2%, Apple fell by 17%, the worst figure on the list. This doesn’t seem to be something that worries them too much.

Apple is selling less and more expensive than ever. Last year’s best-selling model was the iPhone 14. The best-selling model of 2024 was the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple’s most expensive terminal. It’s not just about the model itself: the difference in the number of shipments compared to the second best-selling model, the iPhone 15 Pro, is much higher than last year.

Specifically, the iPhone 15 Pro Max accounted for 2.6 million shipments, while last year the figure for the Pro was 1.6 million. The difference between the first and second best-selling iPhone was only 100,000 units. This year there are one million.

Samsung remains the absolute hero. Samsung is responsible for the fact that not a single Xiaomi model is included in the list of best-selling models. The manufacturer sweeps away the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is the third most shipped model in Europe.

Xiaomi managed to place Redmi 13 and Note 13 on the bestseller list, becoming the only manufacturer that could compete in the list led by Samsung and Apple. Before going any further, the Redmi 13C outsold the Galaxy A15 itself.

Market is heading towards premium. The best-selling model is the iPhone 15 Pro Max, followed by the 15 Pro, and the S24 Ultra is in third place on the podium. The conclusion is clear: We buy more expensive phones.

Canalys points out that the premium segment is increasingly moving towards the “ultra-high-end” and that phones over $800 currently account for 32% of the market share. This is the largest premium mobile engagement in history. Shipments of the S series alone increased by 58% year-on-year.

Economical models are still alive and the report suggests that demand for low-end phones will be “vital” for the market to continue growing.

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in Xataka | Negotiable mobile is dying. The middle class is increasingly turning into the entry-level range