Honor Tops Samsung In Western Europe Foldables

Matthew Broersma,
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The Honor Magic v3 foldable. Image credit: Honor

Honor overtakes Samsung for top spot in Western European foldable smartphone market as region becomes competitive flash point

Honor overtook Samsung to become the top foldable smartphone brand in Western Europe in the second quarter, according to new figures from research firm Counterpoint.

China led in foldable shipments for the quarter, accounting for more than half of the market, which grew 48 percent globally compared with the same period a year earlier.

But Western Europe was the second-biggest market and has emerged as a key arena of competition, with rapid expansion and entries from Honor, Samsung, Motorola, Oppo, OnePlus and Google vying for share, Counterpoint said.

Honor’s success in the market is part of a broader strategy that has seen it aggressively expanding into Europe and Asia-Pacific, according to the research firm.

Honor chief executive George Zhao. Image credit: Honor
Honor chief executive George Zhao. Image credit: Honor

Growth surge

Honor is a spin-off of Huawei, and its former parent company still dominates in the domestic Chinese market.

Honor’s global foldable shipments grew 455 percent year-over-year in the quarter, the top growth of all brands, driven by the ultra-slim Magic V2 book-type model.

The Magic V2 was the most-shipped book-type foldable across all regions excluding china in the second quarter, Counterpoint said.

Motorola, meanwhile, had the largest market share in North and Latin America, with the latter region showing 458 percent growth year-on-year.

Motorola experienced triple-digit global shipment growth in the quarter, driven by the success of its Razr 40 clamshell-type foldable.

The company has launched a Razr 50 model, while Honor is launching the Magic V3 internationally this week.

Motorola's Razr 40 foldable. Image credit: Motorola
Motorola’s Razr 40 foldable. Image credit: Motorola

Intense competition

The Magic V3, which launched in China in July, measures 9.8mm thick when folded and Honor says it’s the world’s slimmest foldable.

Huawei remained the world’s biggest foldable brand for the second consecutive quarter based on its strong performance domestically in China, Counterpoint said.

Xiaomi and Vivo have also begun launching foldables outside of China.

Samsung, which once dominated global foldables, is expected to regain the worldwide top spot with the third-quarter launch of the Galaxy Z6 Series, but greater competition could see a year-on-year decline in its market share, Counterpoint analysts said.

The Motorola Razr 50 foldable smartphone. Image credit: Motorola
The Motorola Razr 50 foldable smartphone. Image credit: Motorola