We are buying more expensive cell phones than ever before. This is exactly what the major manufacturers wanted.

The Galaxy S range is wide, and Apple is selling fewer but more expensive ones than ever.

The European mobile phone market continues to show signs of recovery, albeit quietly. According to the latest report from Canalys, corresponding to the first quarter of 2024, shipments were up 2% compared to last year. The start of a new upgrade cycle for phones purchased during the pandemic, as well as easing macroeconomic conditions, are two of the main reasons cited in the report.

A 2% year-over-year increase is relevant, but not as significant as what’s behind the report: We’re buying more expensive phones than ever. A general photograph of the best-selling models makes this clear to us.

Europe begins to restore shipping speeds. There were 33.1 million units in the first quarter of 2024, according to Canalys. Samsung was the largest European player with a market share of 37%. Apple is next with a 22% share, although the best-selling model in Europe is again the iPhone, as usual.

Xiaomi, Motorola and Honor round out the top five with market shares of 16, 6 and 3%, respectively. Xiaomi’s good data allows it to take a good part of the pie from Samsung, which last year took all the positions in the list among mid-range and entry-level models.

The greatest growth is observed in Honor – 103% in Europe. Next comes Motorola with an important 73%. Both Xiaomi and Samsung rose 2%, while Apple fell 17%, the worst performer on the list. It doesn’t seem to bother them too much.

Apple sells less and more than ever. Last year, the best-selling model was the iPhone 14. In 2024, the best-selling model will be the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple’s most expensive terminal. It’s not just the model itself: the difference in shipments compared to the second most popular model, the iPhone 15 Pro, is significantly higher than last year.

Specifically, the iPhone 15 Pro Max accounted for 2.6 million shipments compared to 1.6 million Pro shipments. Last year, the difference between the first and second best-selling iPhone was only 100,000 units sold. There are a million of them this year.

Samsung continues to be the absolute hero. Samsung is responsible for the fact that there is not a single Xiaomi model in the list of best-selling models. The manufacturer is actively promoting the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the third model with the largest number of shipments in Europe.

Xiaomi managed to place Redmi 13 and Note 13 on the bestseller list, becoming the only manufacturer capable of competing with a list that includes Samsung and Apple. Without going into details, Redmi 13C sold more than the Galaxy A15 itself.

The market is turning towards premium classWith the iPhone 15 Pro Max being the best-selling model, followed by the 15 Pro and the S24 Ultra taking third place on the podium, the conclusion is clear: we are buying more expensive phones.

Canalys notes that the premium segment is increasingly turning towards “ultra-high-end”, with phones costing more than $800 already occupying 32% of the market share. This is the largest participation of premium mobile devices in history. Shipments of the S Series alone increased 58% year-on-year.

The economic models are still alive, and the report says demand for low-cost phones will be “vital” for continued market growth.

Image | Hataka

In Hatak | The cheap mobile phone is dying. The mid-range is increasingly becoming the entry-level range.