Q2 iPhone shipments in Europe fell to 6.4 million from 7.7 million in Q2 2018, says Canalys, accompanied by a reduction in European market share from 17% to 14.1% in 12 months.

Samsung’s unit shipments rose from 15.3 million to 18.3 million between Q2 2018 and Q2 2019 for a 40% market share in Europe.

Samsung has gone for share at the expense of profit.

“Samsung obviously had enough of losing share in Europe,” says Canalys analyst  Ben Stanton. “for years, a focus on operating profit has stifled its product strategy. But this year, the shackles are off, and winning back market share is its clear priority. But its success is not solely due to product strategy. Samsung has been quick to capitalize on Huawei’s US Entity List problems, working behind the scenes to position itself as a stable alternative in conversations with important retailers and operators. A lack of brand loyalty among users of low-end and mid-range Android smartphones, which has blighted Samsung for so long, has become the catalyst for its best performance in years. Europe keeps its reputation as one of the most brand-volatile smartphone markets in the world, rife with danger, but also opportunity.”

Huawei’s shipments fell 16% y-o-y, largely due to US import restrictions on components.

Xiaomi has been the big beneficiary of the US anti-Huawei policy growing its European market share by 48% representing 4.3 million phones.

“Xiaomi is now a major force in Europe,” says Canalys analyst Mo Jia, “its core strength remains price-sensitive countries across Europe, in online and open market channels, but it is increasingly being trusted and ranged by important mobile operators. It is not necessarily in the interests of the channel for Samsung to get stronger. If Samsung consolidates its power against a weakened Huawei, it can negotiate harder on margin. For this reason, distributors, retailers and mobile operators are actively seeking alternative brands to fill the gap and reduce their dependence on Samsung.

“Xiaomi did not initially find favor with operators in Western Europe, due it its low channel margin structure, but as smaller brands fade away, the appetite to work with Xiaomi is growing. It has also benefited from its early foray into 5G, which is helping foster new operator partnerships while the range of available 5G smartphones is limited.”

Q2 was the first quarter that iPhone revenues constituted less than half Apple’s total quarterly revenues – possibly a continuing trend as the company transitions towards services.