Startup players will continue to launch devices with attractive specs at competitive prices, says IDC.

Samsung remains the top smartphone vendor in Western Europe in the smartphone space, despite losing 16.7 percent in volume and value YoY. Apple remained in second place and increased its market share to 17.1 percent. Notably, former niche player Wiko jumped to 6th position in the top smartphone vendors' ranking, reaching 3.2 percent market share. The last is of significant interest to makers and buyers of white box smartphones that want to establish a brand – it is still possible and still likely, especially if Samsung’s struggles continue.

On the other hand, tablets in Europe have not grown significantly in the quarter. "The tablet market reached a plateau, which reflects some maturity for this technology, only four years after the popular introduction of the iPad," said Jorge Ferreira, research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. Nevertheless, there is some good news when it comes to tablets, or at least tablet hybrids. 2-in-1s, tablets that also function as a PC (or vice versa), have had significant growth, 46.4 percent year-over-year. While this is to be expected for a new and growing market, it does remain to be seen if the 2-in-1 computer/tablet market will mimic the cyclical patterns of tablets and PCs; that is, a new purchase every 3-5 years or so as opposed to smartphones, which are typically purchased in a 1-2 year cycle.