Latin America’s smartphone market grew 20% in Q2 2024

Canalys' latest research shows Latin America’s smartphone market reached a fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit annual growth in Q2 2024, as shipments rose 20% year-on-year to 33.5 million units. The continued growth has been fueled by the highest share of devices costing less than US$200 since Q2 2021. Samsung maintained its healthy lead in the market, growing 9% year-on-year to 10.2 million units, driven by the budget friendly A-series. Xiaomi was Latin America’s second largest smartphone vendor for the very first time, supported by 35% shipment growth to 6.2 million devices. Q2 also marked Xiaomi’s highest quarterly volume in the region to date, as it surpassed the 6 million units milestone for the first time. Motorola followed in third, shipping 5.7 million units. TRANSSION and HONOR rounded off the top 5, growing 52% and 47%, respectively, to 3.2 million and 1.7 million units.

“Smartphone demand continues to boom in Latin America thanks to an ongoing refresh cycle which has been accelerated by large investments from growth-ambitious vendors,” said Canalys Senior Analyst Miguel Pérez. “Vendors are incentivizing consumers to refresh their devices sooner using strong value-for-money positioning and aggressive pricing. These factors also define the current competitive dynamic between vendors, as most players are focused on launching compelling specs at low prices. This is reflected in the ASP (average-sales-price) declining 12% year-on-year to its lowest value since Q2 2021. Fierce competition among many vendors is making the consumer the current winner in the market. However, vendors must find a balance between short-term volume gains and long-term strength factors such as operational profitability and brand positioning.”

“The number of smartphones shipped in the first half of 2024 is the highest volume ever shipped across two quarters in Latin America,” added Pérez. “Most vendors are flying high with strong growth rates. However, there are growing concerns about market saturation combined with mounting uncertainty in the global economic environment and from the US presidential election, which might impact smartphone demand in the region. If not managed well, the slowdown can compromise both vendors’ and the sales channel’s long-term ambitions. For all industry players, it will be crucial to have effective inventory management, strict replenishment controls and plan resource allocation far in advance. Hard lessons were learned during the market’s slowdown in 2023, and vendors with long-term aspirations in region should already now look beyond their sales-in targets and prioritize strengthening channel partnerships, assuring healthy product margins, and delivering on their roadmaps and targets. Still, in a market slowdown, new vendors can challenge established players as both consumers and the sales channel remain open to new brands and product propositions in search of the best offer.”