Apple is now the biggest smartphone brand in Europe’s operator channel. It finished the second quarter of 2026 with a 37% share, up from 33% a year earlier, while Samsung dropped from 39% to 34%.
Counterpoint Research published the figures in a new analysis from Associate Director Jan Stryjak, based on its Europe Channel Share Tracker. The operator channel covers phones sold through mobile carriers, where more buyers sign a contract.
Apple had already tied Samsung at 34% of overall European shipments that quarter. In the operator channel, it now holds a three-point lead.
Operators Lost Only 4% While the Open Market Fell 11%
Total smartphone sales in Europe fell 8% year over year in Q2 2026. Sales through operators declined 4%, while the open market dropped 11%. That lifted operators from 35% of the market to 36%, and pulled the open market from 65% to 64%.
Stryjak said operator sales are “typically more high-end than through the open market” because more phones are bought on a contract. They also lean toward premium brands including Apple, Samsung and Google. The memory price crisis has collapsed much of the low end this year, so the channel that sells fewer cheap phones took the smaller hit.
Apple Gained Four Points While Samsung Lost Five
Apple’s gain came at Samsung’s direct expense in this channel. Here is how the main brands moved between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026:
- Apple went from a 33% share to 37%
- Samsung went from a 39% share to 34%
- vivo grew sales 90% year over year, the fastest in the channel
- Motorola grew sales 27% year over year
Counterpoint credits vivo and Motorola’s growth to strategic positioning with key European operators. That is a change from Q2 2025, when Google and HONOR were the fastest growing brands through operators.
Apple’s operator result fits a wider pattern. The company took a record 49% revenue share of the global smartphone market in Q2 2026, and the iPhone 17 was the best-selling smartphone in the world for the quarter.
Counterpoint Expects Operators to Keep Gaining Share
Counterpoint expects operator sales to keep gaining share on the open market over the next few quarters, because the low end continues to feel the memory crisis. Independent retailers are responding with a steady increase in promotions. Stryjak said that activity could soften some of the price rises and give the open market extra stimulus.
