A graphic allegedly from Canalys that has appeared on the Poco Phones subreddit claims that in the second quarter of 2025, Samsung held the top spot in the European smartphone market with 31% unit share but experienced a notable 10% annual growth decline. Conversely, Xiaomi climbed to second position with a 23% unit share and 11% annual growth.
Perhaps most shockingly, Xiaomi’s jump to second place knocked Apple down to third place, with a 21% unit share, and a 4% annual decline. It’s notable because Apple is the only vendor selling devices with iOS and we hear so much about the “Apple ecosystem”. Well in Europe, it seems like the Apple ecosystem doesn’t hold too much of a grip over people as it once did.
The switch in rankings between Xiaomi and Apple also suggests that consumer preferences are changing. Xiaomi is known for offering decent performing phones for a modest price, while Apple devices are relatively expensive. With the increase in prices for consumer goods in Europe in recent years, people may have decided to cut back on their smartphone spending.
This data represents a quiet downfall for Apple and Samsung, who both saw negative annual growth during Q2 2025. Samsung’s 10% decline is significant despite its number-one position. Apple’s 4% decline, while not as big, is notable because it led to the company losing its second-place position to Xiaomi.
What we don’t know specifically is why these declines happened as we only have the figures; Canalys doesn’t seem to have published anything to its newsroom at the time of writing so we can only speculate as to the reasons for the flip, but Xiaomi’s strong device lineup and people having a desire to save money seem like good explanations.
Xiaomi’s 11% annual growth stood out as the most significant positive trend among the top five. Realme also showed a positive 5% annual growth, securing the fifth spot with a 4% unit share, unchanged from the previous quarter. While Q2 was bad for Samsung and Apple, the company that suffered the most was actually Lenovo, who saw a decline of 18% annual growth. If you’re scratching your head wondering which devices Lenovo makes, that would be Motorola. It’s plausible too that Xiaomi’s increase in unit share came at the expense of Motorola, as they both target a similar audience.
Source: u/crashcarson on Reddit