Smartphone market diversifying across Europe

More rivals than ever for Windows Phone, iOS and Android despite Q1 rally

Android, iOS and Windows smartphone sales all grew in Q1 but the broader European market is beginning to fragment, according to new quarterly stats from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar, said the smartphone market appears to be diversifying and fragmenting across Europe, with smaller brands gaining "real traction".

"Established brands like Motorola and Sony are showing resurgence and newcomers to the European market such as Huawei and Wiko are challenging the established names," Sunnebo said.

"Huawei saw the number of smartphones it sold jump 123 per cent in the big five European markets over the past year. It now holds a three per cent share."

Huawei took five per cent of the smartphone market in Germany and Spain. Wiko holds an eight per cent share in France as of the quarter ending April 2014, he said.

"The GB market has not yet experienced the same levels of fragmentation as its European counterparts, but with Wiko set to make a push in the UK this year it will be interesting to see if it follows suit," Sunnebo noted.

"Increasingly across Europe and the US we are seeing separation of tariffs and handsets, mirroring the dynamic seen in other parts of the world. Consumers are starting to realise the true cost of handsets."

In China, local vendor Xiaomi outsold Samsung for the second time in April; its budget RedMi was the top-selling smartphone in what is the world's largest smartphone market, Sunnebo indicated.

Android leads in Europe still with a 72.4 per cent share of the market, followed by Apple with its 17.5 per cent share. Windows Phone is in third place with 8.4 per cent across Europe.

UK figures

In the UK, the quarter ending April 2014 saw Windows Phone shipments to the UK expand 9.5 per cent.

Apple iOS sales expanded 2.2 per cent in the three months ending April 2014, and Android 1.0 per cent. BlackBerry shipments shrank 3.9 per cent.

Android holds 58.2 per cent of the UK smartphone market; iOS 30.2 per cent; and Windows 9.5 per cent.

The driving Windows Phone brand at the moment is Nokia - recently acquired by OS maker Microsoft - and with Android it remains Samsung.

Kantar market research figures have noted however that emerging markets remain the best opportunities for smartphone sales overall.

The UK, by comparison, had achieved 68 per cent smartphone penetration by the end of Q3 in 2013.