Nowadays, it is so easy and effortless to pick up the phone and start a video call with friends or a video conference with colleagues on the opposite side of the world that we forget what happens in the background. Smartphone technology and telecom services make that possible, providing a vital thread that keeps communities connected through calls and messages.
Smartphone market thriving in the old continent
In recent years, the smartphone market in Europe has grown, with its market size reaching around 75.5 billion euros in 2023. In the same year, Western Europe counted around 459 million smartphone subscriptions – a value forecast to fluctuate in the near future. Germany is the Western European country with the highest smartphone subscriptions, roughly 75.5 million. Yet, the United Kingdom registered the largest smartphone penetration in 2023, amounting to over 93 percent.
Samsung leads the European smartphone market
As in the rest of the world, Samsung and Apple have been and still are the major players in the European smartphone market. More precisely, Samsung is the leading smartphone vendor in the continent, with Apple usually catching up in the fourth quarter, when the tech giant ships the highest number of iPhones. The Samsung Galaxy 23 and the iPhone 14 models are among the most popular smartphones in several Western European countries. For instance, in the United Kingdom, the Apple iPhone 14, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max combined accounted for over 40 percent of the UK smartphone market in 2023. In the same year, in Germany, the Samsung Galaxy 23 and Galaxy S23 Ultra occupied 16 percent of the German smartphone market.
5G to set the tone in the coming years
Somewhat recently a new mobile broadband technology has been developed, 5G, with Europe being among the main regions building its infrastructure. Smartphone firms, from the most established like Samsung and Apple to the newer companies like Xiaomi and Vivo offering more affordable options, manufacture 5G-capable devices, given that global demand is going to increase three-fold between now and 2027 worldwide, including Europe. In the western part of the old continent, the number of 5G subscriptions is expected to dramatically increase in the coming years, going from over 143 million in 2023 to almost 492 million by 2028.
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