Huawei regained second spot in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) smartphone market during the last quarter, overtaking Apple with 1.8 million shipments.

Latest research from Canalys found the Chinese vendor was buoyed by the success of its low-to-mid range products, with the P10 Lite becoming a best seller in the region during Q2.

The company attained a 12 per cent market share, beating Apple by fewer than 50,000 units during the quarter. Both players still lag behind leader Samsung in the region, which shipped 4.9 million units.

Samsung saw strong demand for Galaxy A and J series products, which have both been updated this year.

Canalys added the Galaxy S8 had been a strong seller into carriers and retailers: “but there are signs that some of these channel players have overestimated consumer demand for Samsung’s flagship model”.

In total, 15.6 million smartphones were shipped in the CEE market during the quarter.

Xiaomi strength
Perhaps the best performance came from Xiaomi, which reached fourth place despite only being active in the region for just over a year. The Chinese company took a 7 per cent market share, shipping 1.1 million devices, with strong sales of its budget Redmi range.

Canalys senior analyst Tim Coulling (pictured, left) believes Xiaomi is vying to replicate Huawei’s rapid rise in the region, but noted the two companies operate very differently.

“Huawei has used its networking business to muscle into carrier portfolios. But Xiaomi works differently, relying on a partnership with Polish distributor ABC Data, which has quickly scaled Xiaomi smartphones into Poland’s largest ecommerce platform, Allegro, and major retailers such as Media Markt, Media Expert and Komputronik.”

Couling added: “To continue its global expansion, it must avoid litigation by gaining permission to use appropriate patents. With adequate protection in place, it must then recruit distribution partners that can help it establish the Xiaomi brand in an increasingly commoditised market.”

Lenovo was the fifth largest player in the region during the quarter, with a 5 per cent market share.