This graphic shows the winners and losers of Europe’s smartphone war
Want to know what’s really going on in the world of smartphones? Well a new graphic gives us a pretty good idea.
Tweeted by Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at analysts Kantar World Panel, it shows which Android smartphone makers are gaining or losing customers in Europe and where they’re coming from.
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Lead image: Eric Fischer
The graphic, which shows the customer flows during 2015, shows established brands such as Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony are losing customers to upstarts such as BQ, Wiko and Huawei.
Motorola is the only “big name” that gained more customers in Europe, no doubt on the strength of an excellent lineup that includes the budget-friendly Moto E and Moto G handsets.
Here’s what else we’ve learned from this handy graphic.
HTC loses to everyone
Woe unto HTC, which lost customers to everyone, most of all Samsung. 2015 was a dreadful year for HTC. The One M9 flopped and revenue declined 40% year-on-year. A great deal rides on the success of the HTC Vive and upcoming HTC One M10.
Huawei stealing customers from Samsung
Huawei is the big winner from 2015, leaching customers from everyone, but especially Samsung. Huawei chose to have a low-key MWC this year as it plans to launch its next flagship smartphone, the Huawei P9, in the next couple of months.
People spending less and upgrading less often
The success of budget brands such as BQ and Wiko shows that people are looking for good value and finding it. We’re also upgrading far less frequently. According to the same report, people in the UK waited 23.5 months between upgrades in 2015, three and a half months longer than they did in 2013.