Samsung, Apple and Realme emerge relatively unscathed from the "worst" second quarter for the European smartphone market in 2 years

Counterpoint Research has concluded that all the smartphone brands that operate in Europe shipped no more than 40.3 million units in 2Q2022: a new 2-year low, especially compared to the 46.6 million and 45 million unit figures from 1Q2022 and 2Q2021 respectively.

This decline in market conditions did not stop Samsung and Apple from retaining their #1 and #2 positions in Europe, however, with 13 million and 9.6 million of all shipments respectively. Realme's shipments dropped by 0.4 million units quarter-on-quarter (QoQ); nevertheless, its share of the market grew by no less than 21% compared to 1Q2021.

The news was not all good for the top brands in the space, thanks to some rather unavoidable factors: for example, Samsung's shipments actually dropped by ~3.7 million, or nearly 25% QoQ, due to its exit from the Russian market.

In addition, Xiaomi and OPPO, 2 OEMs that normally do well in Europe, declined by 39% and 26% YoY respectively due to the most recent lockdowns in Shenzhen. On the other hand, the latter just might be able to turn things around in 3Q2022, with OnePlus (now counted as part of OPPO's business in the region) primed for an imminent release of its next 10T flagship in the region.