Apple's iPhone 16 Pro took home a big trophy in March, followed by the 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 - PhoneArena

Just in case you needed yet another market report to highlight the outstanding popularity of Apple’s iPhone 16 family (yes, even after Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series launch), the latest numbers put together by Counterpoint Research for the old continent speak louder than words.

The European smartphone market podium for the month of March 2025 was incredibly occupied in its entirety by fall 2024-released iPhones, while the newest addition to the industry-leading iOS handset portfolio ranked in ninth place, narrowly beating 2023’s “vanilla” iPhone 15.

Wait, where’s Samsung?

In fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight places, of course. Technically, that means there are five Galaxy devices and five iPhones among the ten best-selling smartphones in Europe, but Samsung can’t possibly be content with seeing the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S25 ranked behind their biggest rivals.

Obviously, Samsung‘s regional defeat is made that much more painful by the more advanced age of the original iPhone 16 quartet compared to the February 2025-released Galaxy S25 trio. The S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra should have reached the peak of their success in March, and if that’s indeed the case here, we’re looking at a pretty low peak.

Top 10 best-selling smartphones in Europe in March 2025

This is most definitely not a draw between Apple and Samsung. | Image Credit — Counterpoint Research

Then again, Samsung still edged out its arch-nemesis in the January-March timeframe, undoubtedly helped by a richer product roster including such popular mid-end models as the Galaxy A55 5G, Galaxy A16 5G, and many others. Interestingly, the March 2024-released A55 failed to make last year’s global top ten best-selling smartphone list, but somehow managed to rank seventh in Europe a full 12 months after its commercial debut.

Is the iPhone 16e a hit or a flop?

As you can imagine, this is not a very easy question to answer, and the answer largely depends on your perspective and terms of comparison. Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and iPhone 16, the lower-cost and lower-end 16e is clearly a flop not as successful.

Compared to the budget-friendly iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone SE (2022) back in their day, the iPhone 16e is… also not a big hit. Specifically, the 2020 generation apparently sold around 20 percent more units in its first month of European availability and the 2022 edition eclipsed the 2025 model by 17 percent.

iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3 vs iPhone SE 2 sales comparison

The iPhone 16e is clearly nowhere near as popular as the iPhone SE 2 and iPhone SE 3. | Image Credit — Counterpoint Research

Those are pretty serious declines for a product Apple clearly believed in quite strongly, and the 16e’s struggles are made even more evident when you compare its number nine position in March 2025 sales with the iPhone SE 3‘s sixth spot three years ago and the iPhone SE 2‘s bronze medal result back in May 2020.

Of course, that’s not an entirely fair comparison given the relatively large gap in retail pricing between the iPhone 16e and its SE-branded forerunners at launch. Because the 16e is a lot costlier, its lower volumes are likely to yield similar profits for Apple, especially in combination with a market-leading iPhone 16 Pro and a 16 Pro Max silver medalist.

The iPhone 16e was apparently significantly more popular in Western Europe (where it ranked seventh) than the Eastern part of the continent, which once again makes sense when you consider the handset’s slightly extravagant price tag… for a so-called “budget flagship.” Interestingly, no device from Xiaomi, Honor, Realme, or any other brand managed to crack Europe’s top ten list in March, making it crystal clear that Apple and Samsung are the only names most smartphone buyers in Europe care about nowadays.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.

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