Huawei records excellent growth in Europe

At the end of Q2 2108, it was revealed that Huawei had overtaken Apple to become the second-largest smartphone brand in the world, just below Samsung. While the company’s strong grip on China—the world’s biggest smartphone market—was undoubtedly a factor, its presence in Europe also had a part to play.

According to data from IDC, the company’s market share grew from 13.50% in Q2 2017 to 24.80% in Q2 2018, with unit sales showing a massive 74% year-on-year growth. This growth also saw the company mirror its rise in the global market, as it overtook Apple to become the second-largest smartphone company in Europe. 

That's impressive, of course, but it’s a title that's unlikely to last for long. Q2 and Q3 are usually the weakest in terms of Apple smartphone sales, since the Cupertino-based OEM launches its new generation of devices around September. That said, having Huawei overtake Apple for six months of the year is still worthy of all the headlines. 

Huawei aside, another big winner in Europe this past year was Xiaomi. The Chinese company began its expansion into that market about 21 months ago, and it's shocking to see just how far it went in that period. Xiaomi ended Q2 2017 with an underwhelming 0.10% market share but grew to a whopping 3.8% by the end of the same quarter in 2018. Unit sales also saw a jump of almost 3000%.