Tumbled 14% year on year to reach seven million in the fourth quarter 2018
Smartphone shipments in the UK dropped by 14% annually to reach seven million units in the fourth quarter of 2018. Huawei was the star performer, while Samsung lost ground, according to figures from Strategy Analytics. Meanwhile, Apple iPhone captured a dominant 41% marketshare.
Rajeev Nair, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said: “UK smartphone shipments declined 14% annually from 8.5 million units in Q4 2017 to 7.3 million in Q4 2018. The UK is the largest smartphone market in Western Europe and it is suffering from weak sales, due to longer replacement rates, a lack of wow designs, and Brexit uncertainty causing consumers to hold off on some new purchases.”
Apple’s smartphone shipments dropped 0.7 million year on year in the quarter, down 19% annually, yet it still held the number one position on the chart, followed by Samsung.
Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, added: “Apple shipped three million smartphones and captured a dominant 41% marketshare in the UK during Q4 2018. Apple has a prestigious brand and extensive retail presence across the UK market. Despite a slight decline from a year ago, Apple’s grip on the UK smartphone market remains fairly tight and the iPhone has two times more marketshare than closest rival Samsung.”
Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics, noted: “Samsung clung on to second place with 19% smartphone marketshare in the UK during Q4 2018, down from 21% a year ago.
“Samsung’s UK smartphone marketshare has more than halved during the past six years,” Oh continued. “Samsung is facing intense competitive pressure from Huawei, who is targeting Samsung’s core segments in the midrange and premium-tier with popular models such as the P20. Huawei’s UK smartphone marketshare has leapt from 8% in Q4 2017 to 12% in Q4 2018. Huawei is growing fast in the UK, due to heavy co-marketing of its models with major carriers like EE.”
