The EMEA smartphone market shows "some" stability in Q1 2018 in unit terms, IDC reports, while value is not only up has even managed to exceed the previous peak result of Q1 2015.
The total value of Q1 2018 smartphone sales is $29.967 billion, while unit volume is 86.523 million.
"Overall mobile phone shipments in EMEA declined year on year in unit terms, and it may well be that the market is beyond the peak levels registered in 2017," the analyst says. "This is because the resurgence in feature phones in emerging markets, mainly in Africa, seen from the H2 2016, is now beginning to ebb. The Q1 2018 feature phone market was the smallest in six quarters."
The W. European and African smartphone market are both on decline-- W. European sales total 29.213m, an 8.2% Y-o-Y decline. African sales are down by 4.4% Y-o-Y. In comparison the M. East market is up by 1.5% Y-o-Y, and C. Europe is up by 5.6% Y-o-Y.
Samsung continues to lead across all of EMEA, if with smaller share in Africa compared to other regions. The S. Korean giant has a "very stable" position in W. European thanks to a wide product portfolio covering both premium and mid-tier options. Huawei comes second, with rapid gains in CEE and the M. East. IDC describes the company as a "strong rival" to Samsung, with potential to make headway in the more profitable European market.
In 3rd place is Xiaomi-- a possible "serious new rival" currently starting a European expansion with first steps in Ukraine, Poland and Russia. The Chinese company does find it difficult to form relationships with European telcos, but it did manage to form a partnership with UK-based operator 3, giving it the opportunity to push into all W. European channels.
As for the near future, IDC expects the EMEA smartphone market to reach 370m units in 2018, a trimming of previous forecasts. However the analyst increased value to $120bn, a recovery to the highest level in the region, back in 2015. The upcoming array of new smartphone models featuring wider screens should boost the market, not to mention models with bezel-less displays, further promoting a replacement cycle.
Go EMEA Smartphone Markets Hit Record Value Despite Smartphone Slowdown, Says IDC