The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine caused the European smartphone market to shrink significantly in the past quarter. According to calculations by the market research company Canalys, sales fell by ten percent year-on-year to 41.7 million devices. Most of the decline is due to the slump in sales in Ukraine and Russia, stressed analyst Runar Bjørhovde.

According to Canalys figures, sales in Ukraine in the first quarter fell by 51 percent and in Russia by 31 percent. The sales before the Russian invasion on February 24 are still included in these values. While the smartphone business in Ukraine has been disrupted by the war, the two global market leaders Samsung and Apple withdrew from Russia.

In the rest of Europe, smartphone sales fell by 3.5 percent, according to Canalys, partly because the war in Ukraine boosted inflation. Samsung remained number one in Europe with a market share of 35 percent and 14.6 million smartphones sold. Apple was able to increase its market share with 8.9 million iPhones from 19 percent a year earlier to 21 percent. The Chinese supplier Xiaomi was just behind with a 20 percent market share – after 23 percent in the same quarter of the previous year. (dpa)