---
title: "Apple surpasses Samsung as Europe’s top carrier smartphone brand in Q2 2026"
description: "Memory price crisis hits low-end market, boosting carrier channel sales of premium devices"
url: https://mactoreality.com/apple-surpasses-samsung-as-europes-top-carrier-smartphone-brand-in-q2-2026
published: 2026-10-07T05:17:49Z
updated: 2026-10-07T05:17:49Z
author: "Mac to Reality Newsdesk"
category: Rumours
tags: ["Business & leadership","iPhone"]
publisher: Mac to Reality
ai_assisted: true
apple_heat_impact: 3
---

# Apple surpasses Samsung as Europe’s top carrier smartphone brand in Q2 2026

*Memory price crisis hits low-end market, boosting carrier channel sales of premium devices*

**Key points**

- Apple captured 37% of European carrier smartphone sales in Q2 2026, up from 33% a year earlier; Samsung dropped from 39% to 34%.
- The memory price crisis has hit low-end smartphones hardest, benefiting carriers that skew toward higher-end contract devices.
- Vivo posted a 90% year-over-year increase in European carrier sales, and Motorola grew 27%.

Apple surpassed Samsung as the leading smartphone brand in Europe’s carrier channel in the second quarter of 2026, according to [Counterpoint Research](https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/european-operator-channel-benefits-from-low-end-collapse-in-regions). A memory price crisis that has crushed the low-end market is credited with the shift, since carriers predominantly sell premium devices on contract.

In the April-to-June period, Apple accounted for 37% of smartphones sold through European carriers, up from 33% a year earlier. Samsung, the previous leader, saw its share slip from 39% to 34%. Sales through carriers fell 4% year over year, compared with an 11% drop in the open market; total sales across all channels declined 8%.

The upheaval in the low end also lifted smaller brands. Vivo posted a 90% year-over-year increase in European carrier sales, while Motorola grew 27%.

Counterpoint analyst Jan Stryjak said: “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.”

## Sources

- [Counterpoint Research: Counterpoint Research report](https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/european-operator-channel-benefits-from-low-end-collapse-in-regions)
- [9to5Mac: Apple overtakes Samsung to lead European carrier smartphone sales in Q2, per report](https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/06/apple-overtakes-samsung-to-lead-european-carrier-smartphone-sales-in-q2-per-report/)

*This report was written by the Mac to Reality newsdesk with AI assistance from the sources listed above, under the editorial policy at https://mactoreality.com/editorial-policy.*