"Made in Europe": Europe creates its own smartphone with an independent operating system

At a time erstwhile technology became a tool for geopolitics, Europe was trying to rebuild digital sovereignty. The latest symbol of these ambitions is the smartphone “Made in Europe” – a joint task of German Gigaset and Swiss Point, which is to be an alternate to Apple, Google and Chinese giants' dominance. However, does the European smartphone have a chance to compete in the global marketplace in reality, or is it just a symbol of well-packed incapacity?

DF, thefad.pl / AI

Europe corresponds to Trump

Donald Trump's announcement of the creation of the smartphone "Made in USA" saw a fast reaction across the Atlantic. 2 European companies – Gigaset and Point – have joined forces to present their own device to be produced in Germany and operate on an independent Apostropha strategy developed in Switzerland.

Against the background of this initiative is simply a trend which is becoming increasingly crucial in public debate: technological sovereignty. Europe – dominated by American operating systems and Asian component production – is beginning to look for its own way. The Made in Europe task is 1 of the first symbolic steps towards this independence.

What precisely is Apostrophy?

The Apostrophy OS operating system, which is intended to drive a European smartphone, is based on the Android Open origin task (AOSP), but is designed to operate without Google services. The maker boasts, among others, a segmented architecture that isolates external applications from delicate user data.

An additional asset is the European jurisdiction – data is stored on servers in Switzerland, distant from American surveillance. The strategy has its own message client, calendar and address book. At CES 2024, he was awarded by the magazine Wired as 1 of the best software innovations.

Production in Europe. Are you sure?

Gigaset produces smartphones in Bocholt, Germany. The mill is distinguished by its advanced automation and, as the company states in authoritative materials, 90% little return than the marketplace average. Production is to be full powered by renewable energy, which is part of the EU's sustainable improvement priorities.

But reality is more complex. Gigaset belongs to the Hong Kong VTech group and the Apostropha strategy is based on an Android code developed by Google. Therefore, while assembly takes place in Europe, overall independency remains partial and mostly declarative.

USA and Europe: parallels with Trump Phone

The Gigaset–Punkt task recalls in many aspects the announcement Trump Mobile – smartphone promoted as "Made in USA". However, it turned out that the T1 8002 has almost identical specifications as the Chinese Revvl 7 Pro 5G. After a wave of criticism, Trump Organization's website stopped claiming that the telephone was being made in the US – alternatively it was written that it was "designed for American values".

As Ryan Reith of IDC noted in his interview with CNN, concepts specified as ‘designed’ is ‘built’ They're highly fluid today. Even Apple designs its devices in California, but assembles them in China and India. The European smartphone so repeats the same definitional ambiguity.

China is already independent

While Europe and the US are just declaring to be independent of technology, China's already doing it. Local brands – Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo – dominate their market, and sales of abroad smartphones, according to the Chinese Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT), dropped by nearly 10% a year in May 2025.

China not only restricts interior competition, but besides exports its own technology – from smartphones to chips and artificial intelligence. Huawei, with its own HarmonyOS strategy and national supply chain, present is simply a symbol of technological sovereignty in practice.

Digital Decade and EU sovereignty

Draft Made in Europe This is not just a gadget – it is part of a broader EU strategy, referred to as "digital decade 2020-2030". Within its framework The European Commission aims to increase EU participation in global chip production to 20%, make European cloud computing and reduce dependence on abroad large techs.

Initiatives specified as the EU Chips Act or the AI Act are intended to supply the basis for digital independence. But reality is difficult: inactive more than 75% of the European cloud is controlled by non-EU companies and 99% of smartphone systems are Android or iOS.

Will Europeans buy this narrative?

The MC02 Point device, a prototype of the project, costs EUR 599 – much more than Chinese competitors with akin specifications. The ecosystem of the Apostrophy app is inactive poor, and access to popular platforms frequently requires bypassing standard solutions.

The task can thus gain interest among informed users and companies who value privacy, but not necessarily gain a mass market.

As Max Weinbach of Creative Strategies notes, "Complete technological independency is utopia today". However, the ability to opt for digital solutions and to store data in the EU is simply a real step towards digital subjectivity.

Sovereignty starts with a decision

"Made in Europe" smartphone is not a revolution but a symbol. Even if it does not break the dominance of Apple and Google, it shows that Europe is beginning to make its own digital solutions – even if they are inactive imperfect. And this is the first step to change.

DF, thefad.pl / Source: Politics Europe♪ Oh, yeah ♪CNN, Reuters