Latin America smartphone market fell 10% in the second quarter
By Alexander SchekGo-to-market and sales leadership in Latin America
1 min readLatin America's smartphone market fell 10% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung grew 6% and Apple 5%, while Motorola, Xiaomi and Honor fell. Memory shortages and chip prices hit entry and mid-priced phones hardest, where there is little room to absorb costs.
Latin America's smartphone market fell 10% year over year in the second quarter, according to figures Counterpoint Research published on August 20.
Samsung increased shipments by 6% and held 38% of the market. Apple grew 5%. Motorola fell 14%, Xiaomi 27%, and Honor 8%.
Smartphone shipments by brand, second quarter
Tina Lu, the principal analyst on the report, linked much of the decline to memory shortages and rising chip prices, with entry and mid-priced phones taking the hardest hit.
The premium segment held up differently. Above $600, Apple had around 51% of the market and Samsung around 40%.
I saw this price sensitivity while putting consumer audio brands into retail across Latin America. When component costs increased on lower-priced products, there was little room to absorb them without making the product harder to sell. Premium products gave us more room to discuss features, quality, and brand.
Benjamín Corona López, PhD, the report's other author, noted that Xiaomi prioritized China when allocating limited components during the quarter.
Sources: Counterpoint Research, Samsung and Apple the only key brands to grow in a declining LATAM market in Q2 2026; Developing Telecoms, Latin America smartphone shipments fall 10% as memory shortage hits market, August 21, 2026
Publication: Originally published on my professional LinkedIn on September 3, 2026.