The top brand in this major European market isn't Apple, HUAWEI, or Samsung

The first quarter of 2020 has seen the worst smartphone sales and shipments in history, and it’s only projected to get worse in Q2 2020.

The turbulent smartphone environment has seen one major winner emerge in Western Europe though, as Xiaomi is now listed as the number four brand in the region according to Canalys (h/t: Xiaomi executive on Weibo). The brand was listed ahead of HMD but behind Huawei, Apple, and top-placed Samsung.

The above infographic reveals that Xiaomi accounts for 10% marketshare but saw year-on-year growth of almost 80%. Meanwhile, third-placed HUAWEI had 18% of the pie but experienced a year-on-year decline of 40%. This suggests that Xiaomi could overtake HUAWEI for third place in the region if the respective growth and decline trends persist.

Canalys goes on to say that Xiaomi is actually the number one brand by marketshare in Spain, making for a major shake-up. After all, Apple, HUAWEI, and Samsung are the big three smartphone players in general. These three players all saw a year-on-year decline, but Xiaomi bucked the trend to record 46% year-on-year growth.

The tracking firm reported four-digit growth for OPPO in the region too, but presumably that’s related to OPPO offshoot Realme rather than OPPO itself. Check out the infographic below for a better idea.

Xiaomi was also listed in third place in Italy (recording 306% year-on-year growth) and fourth place in France (+83%). We do wonder about shipments for the rest of the year, especially as the Xiaomi Mi 10 flagship family is far more expensive than ever before. But between the Redmi Note 9 series and the €349 Mi 10 Lite 5G, there are quite a few affordable yet capable Xiaomi devices to choose from.

The marketshare report also illustrates the difference between North America and Europe in terms of smartphone brands. Between HUAWEI, Xiaomi, and OPPO/Realme, it’s clear Europeans are spoiled for choice. But fortunately the likes of Amazon and Gearbest are viable options for US consumers wanting to check out different brands.