European smartphone market falls by 20%

The volume of the European smartphone market in the first quarter of 2019 decreased by 20% compared to the three previous months and by 3% compared with a year ago, according to analysts from Counterpoint Technology Market Research.
 
In Western Europe, smartphone sales fell by 6% over the past year. In Eastern Europe, a slight increase was recorded thanks to the strong sales of smartphones in Russia, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Poland.
 
"The fall of the smartphone market occurred mainly due to the lengthening of the replacement cycle of devices and the lack of innovation in new models. In addition, some people are waiting for 5G services. Operators such as Swisscom and Sunrise in Switzerland launched commercial operation of 5G networks in Europe. However, we believe that the impact of 5G on the smartphone market in 2019 will be insignificant,” said Peter Richardson, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.
 
Samsung, which accounts for about 31% of smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2019, will remain the leader in the region, Dailycomm.ru reports.
 

---