Which phones are the most popular in Switzerland? Online comparison service moneyland.ch found out with a representative survey of 1500 residents.
The iPhone remains the most popular phone in Switzerland. No less than 46 percent of survey participants use a phone from US tech giant Apple. Samsung takes second place, with 33 percent of participants using a smartphone from the South Korean company. Chinese brand Huawei takes third place with 10 percent.
Around 3 percent of participants use phones from Xiaomi, with Nokia following closely behind. Other brands are hardly significant in Switzerland at this time. Phones from Sony, Wiko, Oppo, and LG are only used by around 1 percent of participants. Smartphones from HTC, Honor, Motorola and Google Pixel are even less popular.
Top 5 mobile phone brands in Switzerland
| Phone brand |
User share |
| Apple iPhone |
46% |
| Samsung |
33% |
| Huawei |
10% |
| Xiaomi |
3% |
| Nokia |
3% |
Apple gains in popularity
moneyland.ch already conducted the same survey in 2019. A comparison of 2021 results compared to those in 2019 shows that Apple has been able to further establish its leading position. With 46 percent of participants using iPhones in 2021 compared to 41 percent in 2019, Apple has experienced a substantial gain.
“The iPhone was already the most popular phone in Switzerland by a wide margin back in 2019. But it is still surprising that Apple has gained so much ground over the past two years,” says moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
Samsung continues to play a meaningful role in the Swiss smartphone market, in spite of a slight decline. A higher 35 percent of participants used Samsung phones in 2019, compared to 33 percent in 2021.
Triopoly: Three Brands Dominate
A massive 89 percent of Swiss consumers use a device from one of the three biggest phone makers Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. “All of the other brands compete for the leftovers,” notes Beyeler from moneyland.ch. In 2019, a lower 85 percent of participants used phones from the big three.
“It is a shame that the Swiss smartphone market is concentrated around just three phone makers. Smaller brands have not been able to convince Swiss consumers of the benefits that their products offer,” says Beyeler.
The survey also shows that the big Chinese brands have not been able to displace Apple and Samsung. Only Huawei has been able to take a 10 percent market share. “That is surprising because for many years there has been this expectation that the Chinese with their good and affordable smartphones would be able to dethrone established brands. But Chinese phones are still hardly seen in Switzerland,” observes Ralf Beyeler.
Almost every second smartphone in German-speaking Switzerland is an iPhone
The iPhone is more popular in German-speaking Switzerland (48 percent) than in French-speaking Switzerland (42 percent). “Nearly every second smartphone used in German-speaking Switzerland is now an iPhone,” states Beyeler from moneyland.ch. On the flip side, Samsung is more popular in French-speaking regions (39 percent) than in German-speaking regions (31 percent). Huawei devices are somewhat more widely used in German-speaking Switzerland (11 percent) than in French-speaking Switzerland (9 percent).
iPhones have become more popular with men
iPhones and Samsung smartphones are equally popular with men and women. 46 percent of participants use iPhones, while 33 percent use Samsung devices. The use of Huawei phone too is practically identical across genders. Back in 2019, the iPhone was much more popular with women (44 percent) than men (37 percent).
Age groups
The iPhone is especially popular with young adults. 62 percent of participants between the ages of 18 and 25 use an Apple smartphone. Samsung and Huawei follow, being used by 23 percent and 9 percent of young adults respectively.
The iPhone also leads in the eldest age group comprised of adults between the ages of 50 and 74, but with a much lower 40 percent of users – below the Swiss average for all age groups. Samsung phones, at 37 percent, are more popular in this age group. 10 percent of adults between 50 and 74 use Huawei.
Figures for adults aged 26 to 49 are close to the averages for all age groups.
Popularity by age
| Brand |
18-25 years old |
26-49 years old |
50-74 years old |
| Apple iPhone |
62% |
46% |
40% |
| Samsung |
23% |
33% |
37% |
| Huawei |
9% |
11% |
10% |
| Xiaomi |
3% |
3% |
3% |
| Nokia |
0% |
3% |
3% |
How satisfied are Swiss consumers with their smartphones?
In addition to finding out how popular individual smartphone brands are in Switzerland, moneyland.ch also wanted to discover how satisfied consumers are with their phones. Participants could rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).
The results: Users of phones from the two market leaders are the most satisfied. Both Apple’s iPhone and Samsung smartphones received an average rating of 8.5 out of 10 points. Huawei took third place with 8.2 points. Xiaomi (8.0 points) and Nokia (7.5 points) received somewhat lower ratings. User satisfaction ratings for the remaining brands could not be deduced because too few participants used phones from those makers.
Satisfaction with mobile phones
| Brand |
Satisfaction |
| Apple iPhone |
8.5 points |
| Samsung |
8.5 points |
| Huawei |
8.2 points |
| Xiaomi |
8.0 points |
| Nokia |
7.5 points |
| Average for all brands |
8.4 points |
An evaluation across all brands shows that Swiss consumers rate their satisfaction with their phones at 8.4 out of 10 points, on average. That shows a high level of satisfaction. By comparison, the average customer satisfaction rating for all Swiss mobile service providers is 7.6 out of 10 points. The average rating for residents’ satisfaction with their lives in general is 7.6 points, as the 2021 Swiss contentment survey shows.
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