Huawei's forced farewell to international markets is felt: here is who has taken its place in the ranking of the largest smartphone manufacturers.
Giuseppe Croce Journalist
Peppe Croce, journalist since 2008, deals with electronic devices and new technologies applied to the automotive world. He joined Libero Tecnologia in 2018.
The EU telephony market is the fourth largest in the world. In addition to the big names, there are many manufacturers that have managed to carve out a place for themselves among consumer preferences. But who is at the top of the smartphone sales ranking in Europe in the first quarter of 2021? A recent research reveals it.
The ranking was made by the market research company Counterpoint Research and reflects the situation updated to April 2021. Complex, diverse and featuring a handful of top players and several top-tier comprimarios. And yet, the landscape of cell phone sales in the EU is for many the field on which the crucial game is played, where there are still chances to climb to the top and earn a space in the world of international telephony. If China, India and the United States, the triad that records the most sales ever, represent the richest slices of earnings for companies, Europe has become a reference point given the opportunities it offers to try and steal percentage points from the most famous brands.
Smartphone Ranking Europe, who's in the top 3
In the first quarter of 2021, sales grew by 6% compared to the same period in 2020 when, due to the pandemic, there was a drop in consumption still not fully recovered. In spite of this, companies such as Samsung have also placed their flagships at their best, one above all Galaxy S21 Ultra, and some less recent mid-range proposals (Galaxy A50 and A20 in primis), bringing home 35% of total revenue, with an increase of 80% compared to the previous year when, in 12 months, they had sold 253 million units.
In second place is Xiaomi, with 21% of sales. Although the Chinese company's strategies are mainly focused on medium-sized products, the fact that it has focused on Europe is finally paying off (also thanks to Huawei's turnaround, we must admit). Number one in Spain, beating its Korean competitor to the first place, and two in Italy, even surpassing Apple, the Chinese company can be satisfied to have sold one fifth of European cell phones, reporting a growth of 216% compared to the same period in 2020.
Third place, however, goes to Apple with "only" 20% of sales. Not even the increase of 120% was able to bring up the ranking of the bitten apple, in spite of the success of the iPhone 12 series that has brought great satisfaction. To give the boost, the Pro Max version of the apple that in Q2 of 2021 should hold high the flag of Cupertino's receipts.
Smartphone ranking Europe, the revenge of the smaller
In fourth and fifth place are Oppo and Oneplus, respectively with 6% and 2% of the market. The first has marked a sales growth of 314%, going to "steal" a small part of the slice left available by Huawei (which, albeit very little, is still in force in Europe); the second, with 2% takes home a record increase of 749%, recording proportionally the highest gain over the previous year, through the 5G models at low prices.