Apple saw the iPhone’s European market share fall 17% year-over-year in Q2 2019, says data released today by market intelligence firm Canalys. Apple did hold firm to its third-place position, finishing behind Samsung and Huawei, and finishing ahead of Xiaomi and HMD Global.
Canalys says iPhone European shipments fell from 7.7M in Q2 2018 to 6.4M in the same quarter this year. The 17% drop saw Apple’s shares of the European smartphone market fall from 17% to 14.1% during the 12-month period.
Samsung won the European smartphone sweepstakes in Q2, seeing its shipments raise from 15.3M to 18.3M during the period. However, it should be noted that much of Samsung’s sales were not of its flagship phones, but instead were made up of its mid-range A-series phones.
The report notes that Samsung seems willing to sacrifice profits in favor of market share.
“Samsung obviously had enough of losing share in Europe,” said Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Stanton. “For years, a focus on operating profit has stifled its product strategy. But this year, the shackles are off, and winning back market share is its clear priority. But its success is not solely due to product strategy. Samsung has been quick to capitalize on Huawei’s US Entity List problems, working behind the scenes to position itself as a stable alternative in conversations with important retailers and operators. A lack of brand loyalty among users of low-end and mid-range Android smartphones, which has blighted Samsung for so long, has become the catalyst for its best performance in years. Europe keeps its reputation as one of the most brand-volatile smartphone markets in the world, rife with danger, but also opportunity.”
Huawei’s woes continued during the second quarter, as the Chinese device maker saw its shipments fall 16% year-over-year, largely due to U.S. import restrictions. Fellow Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi appears to have been the main beneficiary from Huawei’s woes, seeing its market share jump an impressive 48%, shipping 4.3M phones.
(Via 9to5Mac)
