European smartphone shipments (including both Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe) dropped sharply -19% YoY to 49.5 million units in Q3 2021, down from 60.9 million units from the same time last year. That ended a recovery period following a Covid-related stagnation of the market from last year. Supply constraints and component shortages affected almost every major vendor, and the situation is unlikely to improve before the middle of 2022.

Samsung reclaimed the top position in Europe from Xiaomi, despite registering volume decline of -19% YoY. The company shipped 15.9 million units in the region, occupying almost a third of the overall European market. Samsung is the undisputed leader in foldables with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 devices, but its foray into the space was halted by component shortages.

Xiaomi dropped to number two in the ranking. Its sharp ascend in Europe came to a standstill, with the company registering a decline of -6% YoY while shipping 10.3 million units in Q3 2021. Xiaomi’s marketshare in Europe also dropped to 21%, down from the all-time high of 25% last quarter.

Apple remained at third place with 18% market share in Europe. It managed to ship 9.1 million units of iPhones in the region this quarter, down -7% YoY. Supply constraints negatively affected the new  iPhone 13 series performance this quarter, but iPhone 12 series sales benefited from aggressive price cuts and promotions.

OPPO (including OnePlus) shipped 3.4 million smartphones in Europe in Q3 2021, for a solid +11% YoY growth, albeit starting from a low base last year. With a 7% marketshare, OPPO is now firmly established as one of the major vendors in Europe.

Completing the top 5 ranking in Europe is HMD (Nokia), which shipped 1.5 million units in Q3 2021, growing +31% YoY for 3% marketshare in the region. HMD (Nokia) just managed to nudge in front of Realme in Q3 2021, displacing it at number five.