Smartphone market in Europe 2021: Samsung takes first but with a decline, Apple is second, Realme grows 500%

A new report from Strategy Analytics (via AppleInsider) is now detailing how the smartphone market in Europe has progressed throughout 2021, with Apple taking second place, and Samsung dominating in the first place. Realme, a relatively newcomer brand, has managed to get into the top five and claim the title of the fastest growing smartphone brand in Europe for 2021.

Samsung keeps the first place, Apple second in Europe for 2021

According to the report, Samsung, which is the market leader in Europe, has maintained its first place for the yea with a total of 29% of the market. Despite that, though, Samsung is the only company in the top five that has experienced a decline (1%, small, but still a decline) in comparison to last year.

On the other hand, Apple has seen an 11% growth year-over-year for the iPhone, and currently has a 23% share of the European market for 2021. Its market share remains relatively steady in comparison to last year.


However, the figures that are the most exciting in this report are actually Realme's growth. It has grown by a staggering 548% since the previous year; however, it still holds a 3% market share for last year. Realme is an India-based manufacturer founded in 2018 that is now starting to get more popular and for the first time, has made it into the top five.

So far, according to Strategy Analytics, Realme has become the fastest-growing smartphone brand in both Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Western Europe. For those of you who are curious, the brand had managed to grow 643% year-over-year in Central and Eastern Europe, and 426% in Western Europe.

According to the analysts, the company managed to pull this out thanks to competent specs at aggressive pricing, as well as a diversified product portfolio and the right marketing strategies.

Apart from that, the entire smartphone market has seen growth in Europe for 2021, and to be more precise, a 3% growth. Keep in mind that Apple doesn't report individual product shipments anymore, so its numbers are based on estimates from the analytical firm.