A new report from Canalys says that the European market outpaced other regions in Q3 2019. It saw an 8-percent increase in smartphone sales compared to the year-ago quarter. Compared to Q3 2018, Xiaomi actually displayed the best performance. However, looking strictly at the numbers from the July-September, Samsung had a strong three months.
Canalys Credits Samsung In Part For The Growth
In all, 52.5 million smartphones were sold in Europe in Q3, making it the continent’s best third quarter ever. And this is attributed in part to Samsung. The South Korean giant performed better in Europe than in any other market in the last quarter.
Shipments touched 18.7 units, a year-over-year increase of 26-percent. We can assume that the growth was propelled by the latest Note family flagships and A-series handsets.
And of course, it’s also entirely possible that Samsung benefited from the misfortunes of Huawei. The Chinese giant’s latest premium handsets come without the official version of Android, which might have caused some European users to sit them out.
That’s not to say the company’s performance was dismal in the last quarter. It managed to sell 11.6 million handsets, down slightly from 11.7 million phones in Q3 2018, but up from 8.5 million smartphones in Q2 2019.
Apple, which according to Canalys sold 9.8 million iPhones in Q3, saw its shipments go down by 4-percent when compared to the same time last year. Although the company still has a lead over Xiaomi, at this rate we can see the Chinese company overtake Apple.
Xiaomi Displayed Explosive Growth
With sales of 5.5 million units, Xiaomi had the fourth-highest market share in Europe in Q3. What’s worth noting is that it grew its shipments by a staggering 73 percent in the last quarter.
Canalys says Xiaomi is aggressively pursuing Europe and its strong portfolio is helping the cause. Apparently, the channel balance in Europe allows for better margins and improved opportunities to scale. Thus, the region seems attractive to smartphone vendors.
And as Huawei has increased its focus on China in the face of the trade ban, local players are struggling. Thus, they are trying to consolidate their position in Europe. Canalys says that OPPO, Realme, OnePlus, and Vivo are all trying to increase brand awareness in the region. Moreover, there is also an opportunity for companies to team up with operators as they roll out their 5G networks. Thus, the market is full of opportunities and will probably get more competitive in 2020.
Going back to the Q3 smartphone shipments, HMD Global also retained its spot in the top five vendors. However, the company only managed to sell 0.9 million handsets, down 21 percent when compared to Q3 2018. If this pace continues, we will probably see a Chinese company overtake it soon.
As we enter the holiday season, we can only expect the sales to get a further boost, thanks to various discounts and deals. Thus, the European market will potentially grow even more this quarter. Overall, it seems like the smartphone market is finally out of the lull and on its way to recovery again.