It was another a rollercoaster year for the European smartphone market. 2021 presented promising early signs that suggested that the market was recovering from a difficult 2020.  while the total European smartphone market managed to grow by 8% in 2021, this was only a partial recovery, still well-below pre-pandemic levels.

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.

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.

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In 2022, Samsung hopes that its latest flagship S22 device launching in early February will perform better than the S21 and S20, and the rumoured iPhone SE should provide Apple with a mid-season boost.

2021: 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.

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For details about other Android vendors, read Counterpoint's full report.

When statistics show that one company led the market by a single point, a secondary report is needed to confirm final leadership status. It'll be interesting to see IDC's Q4-21 report on European smartphone sales later this month.

For now, IDC's Q4-21 Global Smartphone statistics clearly places Apple as the top smartphone vendor.  

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