Fairphone is the pioneer of smartphone circularity

Fairphone is undoubtably the most sustainable smartphone company in the world, and is a pioneer of smartphone circularity. Through all three stages of the smartphone circular economy – production, use and end of life – Fairphone has developed initiatives that increase the sourcing and use of sustainable materials, maximise the lifespan of its devices and minimise e-waste, while maintaining ethical business practises.

In terms of production, sustainability is at the core of the design, with market leading use of sustainable materials and an innovative modular design. The latter is key to Fairphone’s party piece: the ability for the user to do simple repairs and battery swaps, by themselves at home with some basic tools. This extends the life of the device, helped by a five-year warranty and market leading software support (five years for Fairphone 4, extended to eight years for Fairphone 5). All in all, Fairphone incentivises people to use their phone for longer. And finally, when it comes to the end of a device’s life, Fairphone refurbishes and re-sells old phones, or re-uses/recycles their parts. In addition, Fairphone is e-waste neutral, where for each phone sold, a used phone is given a new life or an equivalent amount of e-waste is recycled).

Circularity summary for Fairphone

Others are taking sustainability seriously, and are catching up

With these initiatives, Fairphone sets the benchmark against which other manufacturers should be compared. In an ideal world, all smartphones would be made the Fairphone way, and indeed, one of Fairphone’s goals is to motivate and encourage other smartphone OEMs to adopt more sustainable business models.

But this is easier said than done. It is one thing to create a sustainable smartphone when you are producing two models at any one time and selling 116,000 of them a year. It is entirely another thing to replicate that when you have hundreds of models in your portfolio and sell hundreds of millions of phones a year.

Nevertheless, consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about their environmental impact, so sustainability amongst smartphone OEMs will become more and more important. By blazing the sustainability trail and showing others what can be achieved, Fairphone can influence larger players, such as Samsung and Apple but especially most Chinese OEMs who are sustainability laggards, to up their game and move the industry in a fairer direction.

Of course, as others improve, Fairphone’s USP may diminish. Fairphone could end up being the architect of its own downfall.

The full report is available here.

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On June 20, Samsung released the 2023 edition of its Sustainability Report, focusing on its strategy and performance in the areas of People, Planet and Principle. The report highlights several achievements, including:

• A 10-million tonne CO₂e reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
• A 31% transition to renewable energy.
• The collection of 600,502 tonnes of e-waste, an increase of 9% from 2021.

All very good. But the most interesting part of the report from a smartphone perspective is the inclusion of an entire sub-chapter on the circular economy. Previous reports also mentioned circularity, but at a much higher level and in a slightly confusing way. For example, the 2022 report had a chapter called “Maximizing Resource Circularity” which, while mentioning smartphones, also covered water management and things like chatbots, sign language services and service skills training (not clear how these fit in this section).

The 2023 report is much more focused and only contains information directly relevant to device circularity. For example, it has sub-sections on the use of recycled/recyclable materials, extending product lifecycles, repairability and e-waste collection/recycling. This is much clearer and in line with Counterpoint Research’s vision of what is needed for the smartphone industry to become truly circular (see chart).

Stages of the Circular Economy

Samsung has made some good strides this year in the three key areas of a circular economy – production, use and end of life. For example:

• Samsung reported a three-fold increase in the use of recycled resin in its devices’ plastic parts in 2022 when compared to 2021.
• The Galaxy S23 series’ volume keys, side key and SIM tray are made with 28% pre-consumer aluminium scrap, and its front screen and back cover contain 22% pre-consumer recycled glass.
• The packaging box for the Galaxy S23 series is 100% recycled paper, while the plastic films which used to be attached to the front and back of the product have been replaced with 100% recycled paper.
• Reclaimed and recycled fishing nets are used in six components in the Galaxy S23 series, up from three in the S22 series.
• The Galaxy S23 series obtained the highest rating in France’s Repairability Index.
• Samsung grew its repairability network in the US.
• All Galaxy S23 series models come with four generations of OS upgrades and five years of security updates.
• 600,000 tonnes of e-waste was collected in 2022, a 9% increase on 2021.
• Samsung was the second largest OEM in the global refurbished smartphone market, accounting for 26% of sales in 2022.

Some of these initiatives are improvements over the competition. For example, Apple’s product packaging still contains 4% plastic (although this is down from 10% in 2018) and most Chinese OEMs like Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo and HONOR still do not use any recycled material in their smartphones at all.

However, Samsung still has a lot of work to do to be seen as a true sustainability pioneer. For a start, its claims around recycled materials and repairability are limited to its flagship Galaxy S series. Samsung makes no mention of any eco-improvements in its A series of smartphones, which account for over 60% of its sales.

Similarly, Samsung’s use of 28% pre-consumer aluminium scrap in various places and 22% pre-consumer recycled glass in the back case of the Galaxy S23 series is on the modest side. By comparison, the Google Pixel 7/7 Pro features an aluminium enclosure made from 100% recycled content, Nokia X30 5G’s body is made with 100% recycled aluminium and 65% recycled plastic, and the Fairphone 4 has a 100% recycled plastic back cover.

Of course, scale is a factor. Samsung shipped 260 million smartphones in 2022, compared to 12 million by HMD (under the Nokia brand), 8 million by Google and 115,000 by Fairphone. It is already difficult making a sustainable smartphone, but it is substantially harder to scale up such achievements when you are the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer. Having said that, a company such as Samsung should be aiming for leadership, not being second best.

Finally, there is Samsung’s famous use of reclaimed old fishing nets and other ocean-bound plastics in the production of its latest smartphones. The recycled materials are only used in a small number of components in each model. Not exactly an impressive achievement. Also, Samsung claims that by the end of 2022, its use of recycled ocean-bound material has prevented more than 50 tonnes of discarded fishing nets from entering the world’s oceans. This is less than 0.01% of the estimated 640,000 tonnes discarded each year. Yes, great initiatives, but are they enough?

Overall, Samsung has made good progress over the last year. Not as much as is needed to become a sustainability leader but, of course, any progress made towards making the smartphone industry less environmentally destructive should be applauded and encouraged. Samsung needs to be careful, though, that its big marketing campaigns, particularly those lauding its recovery of discarded fishing nets, don’t cross into greenwashing territory.

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The post Samsung Sustainability Report: Good Progress Made, a Bit More Needed appeared first on Counterpoint.

Times are tough for most smartphone OEMs but HONOR’s performance thus far is noteworthy. While some are having to carefully manage inventory in the face of weak consumer demand, and as most other Chinese OEMs pivot strategies to be less aggressive in their expansion plans due to uncertain market conditions outside of their home market, HONOR is actually expanding.

In its overseas markets (i.e., outside of China), HONOR’s shipments grew almost four-fold in Q1 2023 versus Q1 2022. The only other major OEM to register growth in the same period was HMD; many others posted double-digit declines.

Yes, HONOR’s growth is from a much smaller base than the others, since it only became an independent brand (separating from Huawei) in November 2020, but the growth trajectory – especially in a declining market, is positive.

So, what are HONOR’s growth prospects could we see it higher up the top 10 non-China rankings list in 2024?

Regional expansion is a work in progress

In terms of HONOR’s key overseas markets, over the last year, HONOR has seen impressive growth in three regions – Europe, Middle East & Africa and Latin America – where its shipments increased by over five-, six- and eight-fold respectively.

Europe

It took a bit of time for HONOR to get started in Europe following its independence in November 2020. After a period of re-grouping, HONOR returned in early 2022 with partnerships with many major retailers and some of region’s biggest operators (including Three UK, Orange and SFR France and Wind Tre Italy). Operators are crucial to future growth prospects as their sales channels account for around 40% of the region’s smartphone sales in Q1 2023 (and around 55% in Western Europe).

HONOR now operates a three-tier strategy in Europe:

• The flagship Magic smartphones, starting with the Magic4 Pro, established HONOR’s premium credentials, and has done well in France, Germany and the UK.
• The mid-tier HONOR 50 and 50 Lite were HONOR’s main sellers in Q1 2022, replaced by the HONOR 70 which was HONOR’s key volume driver in Europe in Q1 2023.
• The budget X series has done well in the more price-conscious markets, for example Italy and Eastern Europe.

This complete portfolio offering has helped HONOR grow quickly in Europe. HONOR is hoping to maintain this momentum with the well-reviewed Magic5 Pro (launched in Q2 2023) and the Magic Vs (HONOR’s foldable launched in Europe).

Latin America

HONOR’s fastest growing overseas region is Latin America, where its shipments grew nearly eight-fold YoY and more than tripled compared to the previous quarter. HONOR is growing share in most of the countries in the region: it entered the top five in Colombia and Peru (where it has double-digit share) and is also seeing success in Panama and Guatemala.

MEA

HONOR identified MEA as a key growth market, especially the Middle East region which has so far weathered the macro headwinds extremely well and is one of the few growing markets in the world. It has entered top five in some key markets such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

HONOR bringing new flagships to global markets

HONOR has so far relied on its Number and X series to grow outside of China. However, it is now looking to its Magic series to help secure its position as a key player, adopting a dual flagship approach with the Magic5 Series and Magic Vs smartphones.

The Magic5 Pro is HONOR’s most ambitious flagship to date and it is getting a positive reception on various review sites as well as ranking top of DXOMARK’s camera ratings when first released.

Starting at $1,200, this device is expensive, placing it in the same price bracket as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. This may cause issues in markets where consumers tend to favour more affordable devices. However, it has an opportunity to gain share in the more premium markets like the UK, France, Germany and the UAE, where high-end smartphones are relatively more popular.

The Magic Vs, meanwhile, is HONOR’s second foldable smartphone, and it’s first to be launched outside China. HONOR is hoping to ride the wave of foldables growth started by Samsung’s Fold and Flip smartphones, and more recent offerings like the OPPO Find N2 Flip and the upcoming Google Pixel Fold.

Although the foldables market is still small, its growth is an industry bright spot. We expect global shipments of foldable smartphones to grow at an annual rate of just under 50% over the next five years, passing 90 million, or 6% of total smartphones, by 2027. Around three-quarters of this will be outside of China, and HONOR is banking on the Magic Vs to establish it as a key challenger to Samsung in the foldables space.

Future prospects

Developing a portfolio approach

As noted above, HONOR is using a three-pronged portfolio approach in the smartphone market with ranges that span the price bands. In key flagship segments, HONOR’s product performance is approaching that of the market leaders. And its flagship products act as heroes that help to build brand momentum that filters down to its mid- and low-end products.

HONOR is also gradually filling out its portfolio with an ecosystem of partner products including wearables, tablets, PCs and more, which will support efforts to build brand awareness.

So, what can we expect?

Counterpoint Research expects HONOR will gradually grow its overseas market position, gaining share from rivals as it achieves increasing distribution across both operator and retail channels, its product portfolio expands and its brand gains awareness.

We do not expect explosive growth, rather a steady increase in strength from which HONOR can build. And we further expect this to occur in some key countries such as UK, France and Germany, Latin American countries including Mexico, Colombia, Peru , and select countries of Middle East and North Africa.

This forecast is the most likely outcome given HONOR’s current position and strategy, but it’s not pre-determined – HONOR can and likely will disrupt it through its own actions.

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Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson 

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

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 London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – May 10, 2023

 The challenging economic climate continued to weigh heavily on the European smartphone market, with shipments declining by 23% year-on-year in Q1 2023, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. Inflation, interest rates and energy prices remained stubbornly high, as did the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, prolonging the cautious approach consumers are taking with their discretionary spending. This protracted shrinking of the European market resulted in Q1 2023 being the region’s worst quarter for smartphone shipments since Q2 2012.

 Europe smartphone shipments and YoY growth

Europe smartphone shipment market share

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “the cost-of-living crisis continued to pour misery onto European consumers, resulting in a tough start to 2023. There were, however, some pieces of good news: Samsung, despite losing share compared to Q1 2022, successfully launched its latest flagship Galaxy 23 series (outperforming both the S22 and S21), while Apple gained share YoY (although this was more to do with it declining less than some other vendors). The biggest winner, though, was Xiaomi, being the only major vendor to register shipment growth as it recovered from a very poor Q1 2022.”

Commenting on the outlook for 2023, Stryjak added “we predicted the difficult conditions would get worse before they got better, and this was borne-out by the worst quarter for smartphone shipments we’ve seen in Europe in over a decade. However, we remain optimistic that the economic pressures should start easing in the next few quarters, boosting consumer confidence and leading to a better end of the year.”

Feedback or a question for the analyst that wrote this note?

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson 

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

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 London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – February 22, 2023

The European smartphone market continued to suffer from a dire economic climate and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty with shipments declining by 24% year-on-year in Q4 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. This made Q4 2022 Europe’s worst fourth quarter since Q4 2011, and 2022 the worst year since 2012. However, Apple’s iPhone 14 launch, despite being its weakest major launch in Europe for a decade, and wider seasonal promotional activity helped shipments to grow by 6% compared to Q3 2022.

Q4 2022 European Smartphone Shipments and Growth

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “there was no let up for European consumers in Q4 as the cost of living remained at record levels. Yes, the traditional Christmas boost meant quarterly shipments increased compared to Q3, but consumer demand remained muted. Apple’s usual strong end to the year was weaker than expected, allowing Samsung to maintain its leadership of the European market. There was relatively good news for some OEMs though. Xiaomi’s YoY decline of ‘only’ 6% indicated a recovery from its troubles in 2021, while OPPO regained ground as realme looked to manage inventory in Eastern Europe.”

Q4 2022 European Smartphone Shipments Share

Commenting on the outlook for 2023, Stryjak added “the challenging macro climate and ongoing geopolitical tensions will continue into 2023 and potentially get worse initially as the cost-of-living crisis deepens through Winter. Some countries are likely to fall into recession, so with weakened consumer demand and high inventory levels for some OEMs, the first half of 2023 will be tough. However, inflation has stabilised and wholesale energy prices have dropped, leading to hopes of interest rate and energy bill cuts later in the year. This should boost consumer confidence and spur demand, leading to a better second half of the year.”

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson 

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

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The post 2022 Worst Year for Europe Smartphone Shipments in a Decade Despite Moderately Merry Christmas appeared first on Counterpoint.

The N2 Flip is OPPO’s first clamshell foldable, following the book-type Find N and N2. And it is also OPPO’s first globally available foldable, since both the Find N and N2 were only launched in China. The clamshell has so far been the most popular of the foldables, as the form factor is more practical (the fold makes the phone smaller, rather than larger) and also cheaper. This is why Samsung’s Flip smartphones have outsold the Fold devices by almost two to one. OPPO has brought some interesting features to its first flip device in the hopes of being just as successful.

WATCH: OPPO Find N2 Flip: First Look

Big cover screen

The OPPO Find N2 Flip has a 3.26-inch cover screen; almost double the 1.9-inch one on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4. This means it can display six notifications, not one or two, allows the toggling of nine settings, not two or three, can show a full preview of a selfie, and offer improved functionality for many apps like the weather, WhatsApp, or Spotify. The screen is impressive and is actually useful compared to the slightly gimmicky interface on the Flip4.

Impressive folding technology

OPPO’s Flexion Hinge is a step up in folding technology, offering no gap and almost zero crease. When folded the phone shuts tight, protecting it from dirt (no IP rating though, which is a shame), and the curved edges feel great. And when open, the crease on the multi-layered, anti-reflection coated screen is almost imperceptible. The overall folding experience is lovely.

Intuitive cameras

The Find N2 Flip has a 50MP main shooter with a 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX980 sensor; the same one as on the flagship Find X5 Pro. There is also an 8MP ultrawide lens on the back, plus a 32MP selfie lens on the main screen. A proper test of the camera’s capabilities will follow soon, but initial thoughts are positive. The combination of the Hasselblad colour palette and OPPO’s own MariSilicon X NPU was impressive on the Find X5 Pro so should be a winner here.

Some mid-range hardware

Possibly in order to keep costs down, OPPO has made some compromises. The Find N2 Flip uses the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+, compared to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in the Galaxy Z Flip4. Though, this is an impressive design win for MediaTek, making the Find N2 Flip the first folding smartphone powered by the company’s chipset.

The Find N2 Flip has a 4300mAh battery, which is an improvement over the Flip4’s 3700mAh battery, but it is only capable of 44W charging (the Find X5 Pro offers 80W), and there are no wireless charging capabilities. It does come with Android 13 and offers four years of OS updates.

Punchy price

We were only given the Find N2 Flip’s UK price, which is £849 (just over $1,000) for the 8GB/256GB version. While this undercuts the Flip4 by around £50, it is still on the expensive side.

Conclusion

The OPPO Find N2 Flip is a solid device, and probably the nicest feeling clamshell smartphone available today. The large cover screen is an excellent addition and improves the user experience hugely, which is absolutely key at a time when consumers are still trying to figure out what foldables are for.

With such a strong all-rounder of a device, OPPO has a big chance of eating into Samsung’s foldables dominance. My only issue is the price. In the current challenging financial climate, it may be a little too far for consumers struggling with the cost of living in many countries around the world.

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The post OPPO Find N2 Flip looks to flip the foldable category on its head appeared first on Counterpoint.

London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – November 15, 2022

The European smartphone market continued to suffer from a deteriorating economic climate and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty with shipments declining by 16% year-on-year in Q3 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. However, Apple’s iPhone 14 launch and a significant push by Xiaomi and realme in Russia helped shipments to grow by 4% compared to Q2 2022.

Q3 2022 European Smartphone Shipments and Growth

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “The overall climate is still bleak in Europe. Weaker consumer demand for expensive devices, exacerbated by China lockdown-related supply issues, meant Apple’s iPhone 14 launch was not as strong as expected, helping Samsung remain on the top spot. There was good news for some vendors though. Xiaomi and realme’s shipments in Eastern Europe increased significantly as they both looked to capitalise on the continued official absence of Apple and Samsung from the Russian market. This growth helped Xiaomi overtake Apple as the Europe’s second smartphone OEM, while realme became the region’s fourth largest smartphone OEM for the first time ever aided by a very difficult quarter for OPPO.”

Q3 2022 European Smartphone Shipments Share

Commenting on the outlook for the rest of the year, Stryjak added, “With the full force of the latest iPhone launch being felt in Q4, further improvements in the coming quarter are likely. However, expectations of a tough winter will constrain consumer demand, and with some OEMs facing the challenge of excess inventory, shipments are unlikely to reach last year’s levels, let alone pre-pandemic.”

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson 

press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Related Posts

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The post Europe Smartphone Market Down 16% YoY in Q3 2022; Sequential Growth Hints at Stabilisation appeared first on Counterpoint.

Let’s take the iPhone 14 Pro as an example. Using Apple’s own words, the iPhone 14 Pro is “designed to minimise its impact on the environment, with 100% recycled rare earth elements used in all magnets, including those used in MagSafe, and 100% recycled tungsten in the Taptic Engine. The model also includes 100% recycled tin in the solder of multiple printed circuit boards, and 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards and in the wire of all cameras. Fiber-based packaging does not use outer plastic wrap, bringing Apple closer to its goal of completely removing plastic from all packaging by 2025”.

Sustainability highlights of the iPhone 14 Pro

All the focus on recycled materials has resulted in a drop in carbon emissions throughout the new devices’ life cycles compared to last years’ iterations. For example, the iPhone 14 has a carbon footprint of 61kg of CO2e, down from 64kg for the iPhone 13, and the iPhone 14 Pro has a carbon footprint of 65kg of CO2e compared to 69kg for the iPhone 13 Pro. This reduction in carbon footprint is mostly down to the increased use of recycled materials and a more efficient supply chain, meaning that the production proportion of the phone’s life cycle has dropped by as much as 10%.

One concerning point, however, was the increase in carbon emissions through the use of the new devices. This is especially true with the iPhone 14 Pro, where carbon emissions through use have increased by 18% compared to the iPhone 13 Pro (9.8kg CO2e versus 8.3kg CO2e). This could be down to the iPhone 14 Pro’s use of the new A16 Bionic chip, although Apple claim the A16 is 15-20% more efficient than the A15. Perhaps then it is due to the slightly upgraded Pro Motion display?

Carbon footprints for current and previous iPhones

Another interesting point is how much of the carbon footprint is accounted for by the manufacturing of the devices (around 80%). Yes, this is on the way down, but still accounts for the vast proportion of the phone’s life cycle. It is heartening, therefore, to see that iPhones are the most popular second-hand phones globally. Refurbished iPhones are a great way to ensure that the significant carbon emissions of producing a new iPhone go towards multiple lives of the device, not just one.

Refurbished smartphone sales, 2021

Apple also reiterated its carbon neutrality goals: by 2030, Apple plans to be 100% carbon neutral across its entire manufacturing supply chain and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will have net-zero climate impact. Setting ambitious goals such as this is vital in creating a sustainable future for the smartphone industry. With Apple’s resources and momentum, its target looks achievable.

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London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – August 2, 2022

The European smartphone market declined by 11% year-on-year in Q2 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service, registering the lowest quarterly total since the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. A deteriorating economic climate and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty continued to hamper both Europe’s and the world’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and chip shortages.

Q2 2022 European Smartphone Shipments and Growth

Source:  Counterpoint Research Quarterly Market Monitor, Q2 2022.

Note:  OPPO includes OnePlus since Q3 2021.

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “it was a mixed bag of results in Q2 2022, and year-on-year comparisons mask complex market dynamics. Much has changed in Europe compared to last year and even last quarter, both from an industry and macro perspective.”

Q2 2022 European Smartphone Shipments Share

Source: Counterpoint Research Quarterly Market Monitor, Q2 2022.

Note:  OPPO includes OnePlus since Q3 2021.

Samsung remained Europe’s number one vendor and grew both shipments and market share over the year, but this was mostly thanks to Q2 2021 being Samsung’s lowest European shipments total in over a decade due to factory shutdowns in Vietnam. Compared to Q1 2022 though, Samsung’s European shipments dropped by almost a quarter due to its withdrawal from Russia.

Apple also grew both shipments and market share year-on-year in Europe – largely due to the launch of the 5G-enabled iPhone SE – but it declined drastically quarter-on-quarter for the same reason as Samsung.

Xiaomi declined from a peak in Q2 2021, which was its best quarter in Europe ever, having been hit particularly hard by supply issues. However, Xiaomi made the most of Samsung and Apple’s Russian withdrawal and gained significantly quarter-on-quarter, especially in Eastern Europe.

Rounding out the top five, OPPO was hit by supply and manufacturing issues in China, while realme continued its impressive performance in Europe with double digit year-on-year shipment growth (although growth has stalled a bit in recent quarters).

Commenting on the outlook for the rest of the year, Stryjak added “the situation in Europe unfortunately remains bleak. Many countries in Europe are slipping closer to recession, and domestic political tensions in numerous countries beyond Russia and Ukraine are rising, for example in France, Germany and the UK. We remain hopeful, though, that the bottom has been reached and the trajectory should turn upwards soon, but the recovery will likely be long and slow.”

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson 

press(at)counterpointresearch.com

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The post Europe Smartphone Shipments Decline 11% YoY in Q2 2022 as Macro Climate Continues to Deteriorate appeared first on Counterpoint.

London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires – July 29, 2022

The global smartphone market took a further dip in Q2 2022, with shipments declining by 9% year-on-year to reach 294.5 million units, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. Deteriorating economic conditions were exacerbated by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, weakening an industry that hadn’t yet fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and chip shortages.

Commenting on the overall market dynamics, Associate Director Jan Stryjak said “the second quarter of 2022 proved challenging for the global smartphone market, with most vendors recording year-on-year shipment declines. Samsung was the only top-five vendor that managed to grow over the year, although this was largely due to Q2 2021 being a particularly poor quarter for Samsung thanks to COVID-related production issues, especially at its Vietnam factory. Nevertheless, Samsung retained the top spot, growing 8% year-on-year and gaining three percentage points of market share to 21%. Apple experienced a relatively small decline of 5% year-on-year due to macroeconomic headwinds, particularly in China. Shipments of Xiaomi, OPPO* and vivo, however, fell by 25%, 15% and 22% respectively.”

These top Chinese brands – facing lockdowns in China on top of a global economic slowdown – were hit particularly hard as the Chinese market fell to its lowest level in almost a decade. At the same time, they are being challenged more aggressively at home by a strengthened HONOR, while Huawei has also begun showing signs of recovery thanks to the trust that it still enjoys among Chinese smartphone users.

Senior Analyst Harmeet Singh Walia noted, “outside the top five, there was also a mixed bag of results. But the clear winner was HONOR, which became the sixth largest smartphone vendor globally (from eighth in Q2 2021) with year-on-year shipment growth of 79% in Q2 2022. This is primarily due to the re-establishment of the brand’s relationships with component players. Transsion Group’s brands TECNO and Infinix also posted shipment growth of 2% and 16% respectively over the year. Offering phones with enhanced design and improved specs paid dividends, as did their strategy to continue incentivising distributors while few other brands are doing so.”

Looking ahead, the challenges are likely to continue for the rest of the year. A pessimistic economic growth outlook with many countries on the brink of recession, ongoing and prolonged geopolitical uncertainty, rising commodity prices and weakening consumer demand for tech products are all impediments to the smartphone industry’s post-COVID recovery.

*OPPO includes OnePlus from Q3 2021

Feel free to reach us at press@counterpointresearch.com for questions regarding our latest research and insights.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech

Analyst Contacts:

Jan Stryjak

Harmeet Singh Walia

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

The post Global Smartphone Shipments Decline 9% YoY in Q2 2022 Amid Deteriorating Economic and Geopolitical Climate appeared first on Counterpoint.

As a UK-based company, Europe will be one of Nothing’s key target markets. But Europe is a notoriously difficult market to crack, so what are Nothing’s chances of success?

The phone

Let’s get something clear straight away…I don’t like the name. There, I’ve said it. I personally think it’s a bit awkward! Nothing phone (1), especially with the brackets, doesn’t flow well, and tends to require further explanation to make someone understand what you are talking about. Even telling colleagues that I was “writing an article about Nothing” was met by initial confusion. It also lends itself a bit too easily to wordplay and puns (as you may notice throughout this article).

The next issue is that the Nothing brand is largely unknown. There is a lot of hype amongst enthusiasts, but Carl Pei is not a household name outside of the tech community. Nothing’s first and only other product, the ear (1) TWS earbuds, has done ok (just under a million units sold globally so far), but this is still leagues behind the market leader Apple that sold 17 million AirPods in Q1 2022 alone. Nothing will therefore need to focus on raising awareness of the brand to grow visibility in the mass market.

To this end, Nothing seems to be trying to do an Apple-esque job with its marketing, and has managed to ratchet up the hype by largely doing nothing (excuse the pun). The problem is that it doesn’t yet have the clout to back it up, and the device certainly isn’t as premium as an iPhone. Overall, the phone is shaping up to be a solid mid-range device; nothing more, nothing less (there’s another one for you).

On the plus side though, it helps that Nothing is a UK-startup (homegrown companies are always well received, especially with the recent rapid growth of the relatively new Chinese vendors), plus its ecosystem approach, including the ability to integrate products from other brands more smoothly, is intriguing.

Nothing is also trying to make the design the differentiating factor. The see-through case and LED lighting is pretty cool and unique, but will this be enough? The UI and overall experience will be vital to grow mindshare and get phone (1) to stand out from the crowd. And there’s a big crowd indeed.

The competition

Europe has seen a mass influx of new smartphone brands over the last few years, with the likes of Xiaomi, OPPO, realme and vivo all launching in the region to try to capitalise on Huawei’s exit. Huawei offshoot HONOR is also now making a play as an independent brand, and then of course we have incumbents Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Motorola and Google rounding out the field.

Xiaomi has lost a bit of ground since its peak in mid-2021, but it looks to have largely recovered from supply issues, while OPPO, realme, HONOR and vivo are all growing steadily. Even Motorola and Nokia HMD are seeing a bit of a resurgence in recent years.

Western Europe is a very crowded market

The strategy

While there isn’t really an ideal number of vendors, this does make for a very crowded market. However, Nothing has one important advantage: the operators. The operators are a key channel in Europe, and vendors that rely on a direct or online-only approach will always have limited growth prospects. Nothing, meanwhile, has forged partnerships with operators O₂ in the UK and Deutsche Telekom in Germany, which will give it an edge over some vendors.

Then there is Nothing’s ‘invite-only’ model. OnePlus found moderate success with this approach in its early days, and Nothing will likely follow a similar trajectory: a cool thing for those in the know, but very niche. Yes, with OnePlus struggling somewhat at the moment, Nothing could potentially capitalise and grab share within the tech-savvy community. But sales will always be limited without mass market availability.

Lastly is the issue of timing. The current economic conditions in Europe are dire, with record inflation levels severely impacting consumer spending. Even if the phone (1) is pitched as an affordable iPhone challenger, many consumers may wait until the macro environment settles down before taking a chance on something new, however affordable it may be. This could leave the high-profile launch as a hiding to nothing (these puns are hard to resist).

The prospects

With a brand new, largely untested product (including the new Nothing OS software that may need to go through multiple updates to get everything ironed out) and stiff competition from numerous Chinese vendors, not to mention Samsung and Apple, Nothing has its work cut out. It may make a bit of a splash initially, but it will take time to gain momentum.

OnePlus reached 5% of smartphone sales in Western Europe at its peak in August 2021, so anything close to that would be a big success for Nothing. But it will likely take a number of years, launches in many more markets (especially France, Italy and Spain) and multiple iterations of the product to reach this level. For the latter, the post-purchase experience and customer feedback will be critical. But with Carl Pei at the helm though, anything is possible. So here goes Nothing (sorry).

The post phone (1) launch: much ado about Nothing appeared first on Counterpoint.

London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – June 15, 2022 

The European smartphone market declined by 12% year-on-year in Q1 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service, 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 Russo-Ukraine war.

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “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, while Samsung and Apple, Russia’s first and third ranked smartphone vendors, halted all shipments into Europe’s largest market in early March 2022.”

Q1 2022 European Smartphone Shipment Market Share and Growth

Stryjak added “the two vendors make up around half of Russian smartphone shipments, but their combined shipments in Russia account for only 6% of total European smartphone shipments. The consequences of their withdrawal are, therefore, still relatively small on a regional scale. However, the impact of the war may develop wider ramifications if it leads to a drop in availability of raw materials, a rise in prices, further inflationary pressure and/or other vendors withdrawing from Russia”.

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. Xiaomi and OPPO, meanwhile, continued to suffer from component shortages, although both are showing early signs of recovery. Bucking the trend in Europe, realme was the only top-five vendor to register an annual growth in shipments in Q1 2022, and it remains one of the region’s fastest growing major brands (only Nokia HMD and Google grew faster, albeit from a much smaller base).

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 realised.

The post Europe Smartphone Market Drops 12% YoY in Q1 2022; Region Braces for Further Challenges Ahead appeared first on Counterpoint.

However, the importance of Samsung’s new mid-range devices should not be underestimated, as they will likely be amongst the best-selling smartphones in Europe this year.

Europe’s smartphone workhorse

The A Series is vital to Samsung’s leadership in Europe. Targeted at people who want flagship-like features but for a non-flagship price, the A Series finds a delicate balance between specs and cost and has seen great success in Europe since its inception in 2014. In 2021, A Series devices accounted for 59% of Samsung’s smartphone sales in Europe, more than double that of its flagship S Series. Spain is an especially important market for the A Series in Europe, where it accounted for 70% of Samsung’s smartphone sales in 2021, and almost a quarter of total sales.

The A Series dominates Samsung’s European smartphone sales

The Samsung Galaxy A12 was the best-selling Android smartphone in Europe in 2021, accounting for 5% of the region’s total Android sales (it was fifth overall when the iPhone 12 and 13 were taken into account). Further, A Series devices accounted for six of the top ten smartphones under $500 (wholesale) in 2021.

Six A Series smartphones in the sub-$500 top ten

The Samsung A Series has also been key in driving 5G down the price tiers: The Galaxy A32 5G and the Galaxy A52s 5G were the two best-selling sub-$500 5G smartphones in Europe in 2021, together accounting for 14% of total 5G sales in this segment. And it is these two devices that Samsung has just updated.

Similar price, mostly boosted specs

Let’s start with the Galaxy A53. Priced at £399 (€470/$525), the A53 will be exactly the same price as the A52 was at launch last year, and the specs are vaguely similar too. The 6.5-inch screen and quad-camera setup are pretty much the same, as is the IP67 water- and dust-resistance rating. The A53, however, is powered by the Exynos 1280 chipset (versus the A53’s Snapdragon 750G), and Samsung says this will deliver a lot of AI features, especially with regards to the camera. There is also a bigger 5000 mAh battery, although Samsung is sticking with its, now slightly old fashioned, 25W charging. Samsung says many of these specs were found in flagship devices from two years ago, so the A53 packs a lot of bang for its buck.

The Galaxy A33 shares many of the same features as the A53, including the same chipset, and as such is a significant upgrade over last year’s A32 5G. The only difference between the A33 and the A53 is a different camera setup and a slightly smaller screen. However, given that, at £329 (€389/$430), the A33 is more expensive than its predecessor (£250/€299/$329 at launch), the A33 is arguably less of a bargain than the A53 which doesn’t cost that much more.

A53 versus iPhone SE…fight!

Overall, these devices look to be very good mid-range smartphones at very competitive prices and are therefore likely to be among the best-selling devices in Europe in 2022. In addition, the price places the Galaxy A53 in direct competition with the new iPhone SE. On paper, the A53 looks miles ahead, with a 120Hz OLED display (double that of the LCD screen on the iPhone SE), four cameras (three more than the iPhone SE), Night Mode (for some reason missing from the iPhone SE), and a much more modern feel when compared to the iPhone SE that feels very dated. Yes, the new iPhone SE contains a very powerful A15 processor, but if Apple was hoping to steal mid-range users away from Android with its latest offering, then Samsung may have given it more than it can chew.

The post Samsung A Series Gets an Unglamourous but Important Update appeared first on Counterpoint.

The European smartphone market is slowly on the road to recovery. With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly in sight, and despite new challenges around component shortages, the market registered a 1% annual rise in smartphone shipments in 2021, a reversal of the 7% annual decline recorded in 2020.

This modest growth, while a positive sign, is nevertheless a reminder that the region’s smartphone market is still not back to full strength, with shipments well below 2019 levels. Having said that, some vendors certainly had a year to celebrate.

Europe smartphone market rebounded in 2021 after a difficult 2020

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said “given the difficulties – both supply- and demand-side – that vendors faced in 2020, it is unsurprising that most posted good growth in Europe in 2021. The pick of the bunch, however, was realme, which had its best year since entering the region and was, by a fair margin, the fastest growing major brand in Europe in 2021. realme has gone from strength to strength in Europe. It entered the market in June 2019 and quickly found favour with its ‘flagship killer’ approach, offering high-spec devices at competitive prices.”

realme’s shipments grew six-fold in 2020 compared to 2019, and realme succeeded in building a European base with its affordable devices, especially in Eastern Europe (most notably Poland and the Czech Republic) and price-conscious Western European markets such as Italy, Greece and Spain.

The success of realme GT series and Number series helped drive realme to new heights in Europe, with 280% annual growth in 2021 as the fastest growing smartphone brand in Europe, overtaking OPPO (70% annual growth in 2021), Xiaomi (43%), Apple (10%) and Samsung (2%).

realme is the fastest growing brand in Europe

Its growth in the last year means realme has established itself as a top five vendor in Europe, climbing five places in 2021 by overtaking Wiko, Motorola, Alcatel, HONOR and Huawei. And things could get even better: realme saw a significant jump in shipments in Europe in Q4 2021, accounting for just under 6% of the region’s total smartphone shipments (up from 2.5% in Q3 2021). So, the trajectory is looking very promising for realme.

realme climbed five places in 2021

Speaking about realme’s short-term strategy, Counterpoint Research’s Senior Analyst, Harmeet Singh Walia said “having established itself as a key affordable brand in Europe, realme’s next goal is to increase its profit margins by further pushing premium devices. The upcoming launch of its GT2 series at MWC22 is a step in this direction, helping boost realme’s differentiation, brand equity and a halo effect to attract users looking to upgrade to high-tier or entry premium-tier devices. Its challenge will be to convince customers who are used to purchasing from established brands, and in this regard, Europe is a tough nut to crack. realme will be up against not just Apple and Samsung, but from fellow Chinese brands like Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo who are all also looking to gain a bigger share of the European pie.”

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Jan Stryjak

Yang Wang

Harmeet Singh Walia

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

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The post Europe’s Fastest Growing Smartphone Brand realme Helping Drive Europe’s COVID Recovery appeared first on Counterpoint.

2021 was another rollercoaster year for the European smartphone market. Promising early signs suggested that the market was recovering from a difficult 2020, during which the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region hard causing both supply- and demand-side issues. However, COVID-19 impacts continued into 2021, and then Europe faced a new challenge: the global component shortage hit the region towards the middle of the year. So, while the total European smartphone market managed to grow by 8% in 2021, this was only a partial recovery.

Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “It is great to see the European smartphone market growing in 2021, but that only tells half the story; COVID-19 impacts resulted in a 14% annual drop in sales in 2020, which means the market is still well-below pre-pandemic levels.”

Full year European Smartphone Sales Market Share and Growth

Stryjak added, “a major factor to consider, though, is the decline of Huawei. Huawei’s sales dropped by almost 90% annually in Europe in 2021, leaving it on less than 1% market share and in 8^th position (down from 4^th in 2020). But while Huawei had another year to forget in Europe, other vendors, especially some of the Chinese challengers, certainly had a year to celebrate.”

A year of ups and downs in Europe

A major theme carried over from 2020 was vendor competition, and 2021 saw the most intense competition yet. Leadership of the European smartphone market changed hands four times throughout the year, while some brands enjoyed their best year for sales in Europe ever.

Market leadership changed hands four times in 2021

Riding the wave of the launch of its first 5G iPhone, Apple started the year on a high with a market leading 34% share. In February, Samsung launched its Galaxy S21 series which, at least initially, sold well, helping Samsung’s sales grow by 24% compared to January and pushing it to the top spot in February 2021. Samsung then suffered significant supply issues starting in May due to COVID-19 related factory shutdowns in Vietnam, which opened the door for Xiaomi to become number one in Europe for the first time, in June 2021 (helped by good growth in Russia, Spain and Italy).

Xiaomi’s leadership was short-lived, though, as Samsung retook the lead in July 2021 off the back of strong A series sales. Samsung then extended its lead with the launch of its popular Galaxy Z foldable smartphones, while Xiaomi was hit badly by component shortages. Samsung continued to lead the market for the next few months, despite the best efforts of Apple, whose iPhone 13 launch stumbled in October 2021. However, a traditionally strong end of the year finally gave Apple the lead in November 2021, a lead which Apple extended to reach it’s highest ever share in Europe in December 2021.

Despite its difficulties in the second half of the year, Xiaomi finished 2021 with its highest annual smartphone sales ever in Europe, a feat shared by other relatively new entrants OPPO (boosted by its merger with OnePlus in June 2021), realme and vivo.

These brands all have big plans for Europe this year, with some impressive flagship devices expected to launch in the region in the next few months. Meanwhile, Samsung will hope its latest flagship S22 device will perform better than the S21 and S20, and the rumoured iPhone SE should give Apple a mid-season boost. And with Motorola, Nokia HMD and HONOR all seeing resurgences in Europe in recent months, 2022 could see the most intense competition in Europe yet.

 Q4 European Smartphone Sales Market Share and Growth

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

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The post Europe Smartphone Market Gains 8% YoY in 2021; But COVID-19 Recovery Comes Up Short appeared first on Counterpoint.

5G moving down the price points in Europe

realme seeing success with affordable 5G smartphones

realme was one of the main drivers of cheaper 5G smartphones in Europe in 2021 (globally too), showcasing impressive growth compared to 2020. realme’s 5G volumes grew 763% between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021, resulting in realme becoming a top-five major Android 5G brand behind Samsung, Xiaomi (including Redmi and POCO), OPPO and OnePlus. It wasn’t even in the top 10 last year.

realme fastest growing major 5G Android brand in Europe

realme’s best-selling 5G smartphone in Europe in Q3 2021 was the realme 8 5G, which accounted for almost 30% of the brand’s total 5G sales. This smartphone is also the cheapest 5G smartphone available in Europe today, retailing at €199 ($225). This has helped push the overall 5G ASP in Europe to below $550 in Q3 2021, down from $620 only two quarters ago.

realme is seeing good growth in some of the key markets of Europe, including the UK, Italy and Poland.

In the UK, realme’s 5G sales have mostly focussed on the more premium end of its portfolio, particularly the GT and X50 series. realme’s smartphones are not carried by the operators, a major reason why realme is still a relatively small brand in the UK with a 1% share of 5G smartphone sales in Q3 2021. However, sales from the realme website or through channels like Amazon are growing strongly, and with 5G moving down the price tiers (accounting for over half of sub-$500 sales in the UK in Q3 2021), realme’s affordable 5G offerings are well-positioned to grow even further in 2022.

Italy, meanwhile, is a much more price-conscious market than the UK, resulting in a more conducive environment for affordable and up-and-coming brands like realme. The 5G ASP in Italy was $519 in Q3 2021, the lowest in Western Europe, and realme, with the lowest 5G ASP among all major brands in Italy ($293 in Q3 2021), is finding favour with its attractive mix of affordability and functionality. In addition, operators Vodafone Italia and TIM both carry realme’s 5G smartphones. Good sales of the realme 7 5G, 8 5G and GT helped the brand capture over 4% share of 5G smartphone sales in Italy in Q3 2021 (up from less than 3% a year ago).

In Poland, 5G smartphone shipments have almost tripled over 2020, and challenger brands are increasingly staking their claim. realme is growing particularly strongly in Poland, with its share of 5G shipments increasing from practically nothing in Q3 2020 to almost 2% in Q3 2021.

2022 should see further growth for realme

Affordable 5G will be a focus area for most smartphone brands this year, and realme should continue to see growth in this area. realme’s latest 5G smartphones, such as the 9/9 Pro and GT2/GT2 Pro, expected to launch in Europe in the next few months, will build on the success of last year’s devices and help realme maintain its position as one of the fastest growing brands in Europe.

New realme smartphones will help drive 5G in Europe

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The post realme Key to Europe’s Affordable 5G Smartphone Growth appeared first on Counterpoint.

Europe’s smartphone market appears to have largely recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, although sales are now being impacted by the ongoing chip shortage. Q3 2021 sales were only marginally down (-1%) compared to the same period last year, but were 4% down versus Q2 2021.

Some vendors have had a great year. Counterpoint Research Associate Director Jan Stryjak said, “Xiaomi, Apple and OPPO have gained significant share over the last year. Xiaomi continued to grow well across most European markets while OPPO gained well in Western Europe, helped along by its recent merger with OnePlus. Apple, meanwhile, was boosted by the launch of the iPhone 13 towards the end of the quarter. The iPhone 12 was launched in early Q4 2020. Samsung retained its top spot having largely recovered from its supply woes earlier on in the year. But it was still down both annually and sequentially. Having said that, it could have been worse had it not been for the popularity of the Galaxy Z Flip 3, particularly in Western Europe.”

Europe Smartphone Sales, Q3 2021

Stryjak added, “realme is one of the fastest growing brands in Europe and has firmly established itself as a top five vendor with strong sales in Russia, Spain and Italy. vivo is also growing fast, albeit from a smaller base, while Motorola and Nokia are staging a comeback. HONOR also has set sights on the European market in the hopes of a reversal of fortunes with its first major launch in the region in over a year in October.”

The end of the quarter was a mixed bag for Xiaomi and Apple. Xiaomi took a big hit in September 2021 due to some significant component constraints. The iPhone 13 launch was a big success for Apple. Despite going on sale towards the end of September, the iPhone 13 appeared to be more popular than last year’s iPhone 12. If it can keep up with demand (which seems to be a challenge in some markets), Apple may well be in for a record-breaking Q4 in Europe.

Samsung Recovered in Q3 2021 While Xiaomi Suffered

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Related Posts

1. CIS Holds Key to Xiaomi’s Q2 2021 Europe Smartphone Success
2. Europe Smartphone Market Gains 8% YoY in 2021; But COVID-19 Recovery Comes Up Short
3. European Smartphone Market Down 14% YoY in 2020; Xiaomi Gains While Huawei and Samsung Lose
4. European Smartphone Market Rebounds in Q1 2021; Competition Continues to Heat Up
5. Europe’s Mid tier smartphone battle rages on
6. Q2 2021: Europe Smartphone Market's Bumpy Road to Recovery
7. Russia Lags Europe in 5G Deployment
8. realme Key to Europe’s Affordable 5G Smartphone Growth

The post Europe Smartphone Market in Q3 2021: Samsung Holds on Despite Challenging Climate appeared first on Counterpoint.

Erratum: this is an update to a previous PR that was based on preliminary data. Our updated analysis shows that Samsung actually remained the number one in Eastern Europe ahead of Xiaomi.

There is no denying Xiaomi’s meteoric rise in Europe. In Q2 2021, Xiaomi overtook Samsung to became the largest smartphone vendor in terms of shipments in Europe, including Russia and CIS countries. This is, of course, a fantastic achievement for Xiaomi, made even more impressive by the fact that Xiaomi only entered the European market in November 2017. However, the story is a little more complex than the headline numbers suggest.

Initially it appeared that Xiaomi had taken the lead in both Eastern Europe and the CIS countries, but closer inspection revealed that Samsung still held on to Eastern Europe. This paints an even more interesting picture. The top three vendors in Europe each took the top spot in the three sub-regions: Apple in Western Europe, Samsung in Eastern Europe, and Xiaomi in Russia and CIS.

Given the size of Russia (it is by far the largest smartphone market in Europe, with almost double the shipments of the second largest, Germany), it skews the data somewhat. With Russia and CIS included, Xiaomi is the new top vendor in Europe; taking Russia out of the equation, Samsung remains number one.

Exhibit: Top smartphone vendors by European sub-region, Q2 2021

Europe is not a one-size-fits-all region

According to Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak, “Europe is an incredibly diverse region, with a mixture of both highly advanced and developing markets. It is therefore important to consider the different sub-regions when assessing market trends, and look at how different vendors have found varying levels of success in different markets.”

• Samsung, which probably has the widest reach and broadest portfolio of all the vendors, is the previous market leader when looking at the region as a whole, and only lost its top spot after Covid-19 related factory shutdowns impacted supply in May and June 2021. Nevertheless, Samsung is still the number one in many European markets, for example Poland, where it accounted for 42% of smartphone shipments in Q2 2021. Samsung was also the number one smartphone vendor in Q2 2021 in countries as diverse as Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Romania.
• Apple, being a high-end brand, tends to do better in Western Europe, and particularly in more premium markets like the UK, where it held 44% share in Q2 2021. Apple was also the top vendor in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and Switzerland.
• Xiaomi has gained the most from Huawei’s decline over the last 12-18 months, and has done well in more price-conscious markets like Spain, where it accounted for 40% of smartphone shipments in Q2 2021. Xiaomi was also number one in Belgium, Denmark, Russia and the Ukraine.

Stryjak added, “Looking forward to Q3, we expect Samsung to recover the top spot in Europe, having resolved its supply issues in Vietnam. Its low- to mid-range A series continues to sell very well across the region, and the launch of its foldable range should give the premium tier a boost too. Having said that, Xiaomi will likely continue to lead in markets like Spain and Russia, while Apple is unlikely to be unseated as market leader in Western Europe. So it is still all to play for, and will make for a very interesting second half to the year.”

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Jan Stryjak

Peter Richardson

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The post CIS Holds Key to Xiaomi’s Q2 2021 Europe Smartphone Success appeared first on Counterpoint.

The Europe Smartphone market continued along its road to recovery in Q2 2021, although the path was beset with challenges. Sales grew by 33% annually in Q2 2021, although Q2 2020 was the worst quarter for smartphone sales in Europe for at least a decade due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Q2 2021 sales were 4% down versus Q1 2021, and the market is yet to return to 2019 levels.

It is not bad news for every one, though. Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director, Jan Stryjak said, “ongoing supply chain issues and lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to take their toll across Europe. Nevertheless, Xiaomi have done very well over the last few months, overtaking Apple – which is midway between launches – in Q2 2021 to become the second largest smartphone vendor in Europe in terms of sales. OPPO continued to grow well, and OnePlus and realme climbed the rankings capitalising on Huawei’s ongoing decline.”

Exhibit 1: Q2 2021 Europe Smartphone Sales Competitive Landscape

Source: Smartphone Monthly Market Pulse, June 2021.

Stryjak added, “Xiaomi’s news gets even better though. Samsung suffered significant supply issues in May and June due to Covid-19 related factory shutdowns in Vietnam, and this has started to impact sales. Samsung’s sales in Europe declined by 20% in June 2021 compared to May 2021, which opened the door for Xiaomi to become Europe’s top-selling smartphone vendor by the end of the quarter. Samsung’s problems should be short-lived, though, so Xiaomi will have its work cut out to hold on to the top spot.”

Exhibit 2: Xiaomi Edged Ahead of Samsung in Europe in June 2021
Source: Smartphone Monthly Market Pulse, June 2021.

Even with the challenges faced by the market, the outlook for upcoming quarters remains positive. In the Premium segment, Apple is expected to build on the success of the iPhone 12, while Samsung’s S series and Foldable devices will be up against flagship offerings from Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus and vivo. In the mid-tier, meanwhile, Samsung will be looking to ramp up the 5G offerings in its A series to hold off competition from devices like the OnePlus Nord 2, the successor to the popular Nord smartphone.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

 Jan Stryjak

jan@counterpointresearch.com

Ankit Malhotra

ankit.malhotra@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson
peter@counterpointresearch.com

The post Q2 2021: Europe Smartphone Market's Bumpy Road to Recovery appeared first on Counterpoint.

Growth moving up the price tiers

Huawei’s sweet spot was affordable devices, with a vast majority of its smartphones selling for less than $250. However, there has not been a like-for-like replacement, but rather a shift up the price tiers. Growth in Europe over the last year has come from devices selling between $250 and $700, a range which encompasses the Mid and Affordable Premium price tiers. This is despite the economic strain many consumers found themselves facing thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Competition in these Mid and Affordable Premium tiers has grown considerably: “new” vendors (i.e., Xiaomi, OPPO and OnePlus) now account for over a third of sales across these segments; a four-fold increase in a year. These “new” vendors are also now giving Samsung worthy competition when it comes to Android flagships. Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus, realme and vivo all released impressive new flagship devices in the first half of 2021.

Mid-tier growth to continue

Growing competition is not only giving consumer more choice, but is also helping bring down the cost of 5G devices: 5G accounted for over half of Mid tier smartphones sold in Europe in Q1 2021, up from a fifth in Q3 2020 and zero a year ago.

We expect the Mid tier to be a key growth area in the medium term as competition continues to intensify. And a growing list of impressive high-end devices – including foldables – launched by challenger brands should start to impact Samsung and Apple’s Premium tier dominance soon.

These insights and more are available in our recently published report “Europe’s competitive landscape: the Mid tier battle rages on.”

Related Posts

1. CIS Holds Key to Xiaomi’s Q2 2021 Europe Smartphone Success
2. Europe Smartphone Market Gains 8% YoY in 2021; But COVID-19 Recovery Comes Up Short
3. Europe Smartphone Market in Q3 2021: Samsung Holds on Despite Challenging Climate
4. European Smartphone Market Down 14% YoY in 2020; Xiaomi Gains While Huawei and Samsung Lose
5. European Smartphone Market Rebounds in Q1 2021; Competition Continues to Heat Up
6. OnePlus, Xiaomi Shine as Finland, Netherlands & Denmark Smartphone Markets Recover in Q1 2021
7. realme Key to Europe’s Affordable 5G Smartphone Growth

The post Europe’s Mid tier smartphone battle rages on appeared first on Counterpoint.