The smartphone market in Latin America experienced rapid growth in the first quarter of 2024, Canalys reveals. According to the latest market analysis, shipments are up 26% year over year.
This is the third quarter in a row to see a year-on-year increase, following a huge decline in 2022. The region saw 34.9 million units shipped, and Canalys revealed that nine of the top ten companies saw an increase in sales.
Particularly striking is the strong performance in the low to mid-range segment, according to the analysts. This includes the cheaper Galaxy A series, Xiaomi Redmi devices and Moto G phones.
| Supplier | Shipments in the first quarter of 2024 (million) |
Q1 2024 market share |
Shipments in the first quarter of 2023 (million) |
Q1 2023 market share |
Grow |
| Samsung | 11.1 | 32% | 10.5 | 38% | 6% |
| Lenovo and Motorola | 5.9 | 17% | 5.9 | 21% | 1% |
| Xiaomi | 5.3 | 15% | 3.7 | 13% | 45% |
| Transition | 3.4 | 10% | 1.1 | 4% | 215% |
| Honor | 2.6 | 7% | 0.7 | 2% | 293% |
| Others | 6.5 | 19% | 5.9 | 21% | 10% |
| Total | 34.9 | 100% | 27.7 | 100% | 26% |
Latin America is yet another market where customers want to experience the benefits of AI features, but given the dominance of cheaper phones, companies face a unique challenge, Perez said. Only 7% of smartphones cost $800 or more, while 82% cost less than $400. These AI features will take longer to reach low-end devices, so companies will need to realistically adapt to “avoid consumer disillusionment,” Canalys suggests.
