New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS): Samsung has retained its top spot in the European smartphone market in the third quarter (Q3) having largely recovered from its supply woes earlier on in the year.

According to a Counterpoint Research report, Xiaomi, Apple and Oppo have gained significant share over the last year in the European market.

Xiaomi continued to grow well across most European markets while Oppo gained well in Western Europe, helped along by its recent merger with OnePlus.

"realme is one of the fastest growing brands in Europe and has firmly established itself as a top five vendor with strong sales in Russia, Spain and Italy. Vivo is also growing fast, albeit from a smaller base," said Research Associate Director Jan Stryjak.

Europe's smartphone market appears to have largely recovered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, although sales are now being impacted by the ongoing chip shortage.

The sales in Q3 2021 were only marginally down (1 per cent) compared to the same period last year.

Apple was boosted by the launch of the iPhone 13 towards the end of the quarter.

The end of the quarter was a mixed bag for Xiaomi and Apple. Xiaomi took a big hit in September due to some significant component constraints.

The iPhone 13 launch was a big success for Apple. Despite going on sale towards the end of September, the iPhone 13 appeared to be more popular than last year's iPhone 12.

"If it can keep up with demand (which seems to be a challenge in some markets), Apple may well be in for a record-breaking Q4 in Europe," the report noted.