Samsung Smartphone Share in Europe Jumps as Huawei Feels Entity List Impact

Samsung’s share of the European smartphone market jumped to 41 percent in Q2, with 18.3 million shipments, from the year-ago quarter, as its main rival Huawei “suffered the impact of political restrictions” in the U.S., Canalys reported Monday. Huawei’s shipments fell 16 percent to 8.5 million units, giving it 19 percent share, while Apple shipments dropped 17 percent to 6.4 million iPhones for 14 percent share, it said. Xiaomi grew 48 percent to 4.3 million units, for 10 percent share. Samsung has been “quick to capitalize on Huawei’s US Entity List problems, working behind the scenes to position itself as a stable alternative in conversations with important retailers and operators,” said analyst Ben Stanton: Lack of brand loyalty among low-end and mid-range Android smartphone buyers drove Samsung’s “best performance in years.” Europe, said the analyst, remains “one of the most brand-volatile smartphone markets.”