The European smartphone market declined by 12% year-on-year in Q1 2022, registering the lowest first quarter shipments for nearly a decade. The decline was caused by a number of factors, including ongoing component shortages, COVID-19 related lockdowns in China, deteriorating economic conditions and the onset of the Russian-Ukraine war.
Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak: “Existing issues such as COVID-19 and component shortages have been exacerbated by new economic and geopolitical challenges. Rising inflation levels across the region are impacting consumer spending.
Both Samsung and Apple shipments declined annually in Q1 2022, despite launches of new devices: Samsung with its latest flagship Galaxy S22 series and Apple with its mid-tier iPhone SE update.”
That being said, the Counterpoint chart below actually shows that Apple grew market share in Q1 2022 by 1% while their competitors Samsung fell 2% and Xiaomi 5%. For Year-over-Year growth, Apple was down 6% while Samsung slipped 16% and Xaiomi crashed by 36%. In that overview, Apple did exceedingly well under the current market circumstances.
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Stryjak added: “Looking forward, the overall situation is expected to get worse before it gets better. Many countries in Europe are perilously close to recession, and the Russo-Ukraine war is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. Annual growth in smartphone shipments is therefore expected to continue to decline for the next few quarters, especially in Q2 as the cost of living across the region hits record highs, and the full impact of Samsung and Apple’s withdrawal from Russia is realized.” Source: Counterpoint Research
