Latin America Smartphone Shipments Rise 4% in Q2 2025 Despite Adverse Economic Conditions
- Latin America’s smartphone shipments grew 4% YoY in Q2 2025 as intensive competition in price and promotions among the brands outweighed the region’s adverse economic conditions.
- 5G penetration increased 6% YoY to reach 42% in Latin America. Chinese brands continue to drive the sales of 4G smartphones.
- Samsung remained the market leader with a 33% share. The brand’s volumes grew 8% YoY helped by heavy discounts and a massive advertising campaign, which strengthened its leadership position in the region.
Buenos Aires, Beijing, Berlin, Fort Collins, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo – September 17, 2025
Latin America (LATAM) smartphone shipments grew 4% YoY in Q2 2025, as price competition and promotions helped maintain demand, despite adverse economic conditions in the region, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest Q2 2025 Smartphone Market Monitor. Furthermore, the region also had lower bases last year.
Commenting on the market performance, Senior Analyst Tina Lu said, “Shipments also increased QoQ due to seasonality. This is the region’s second biggest sales season of the year. Mother’s Day occurs in May in most Latin America countries, except Argentina. Furthermore, Father’s Day promotions that go on till mid-June also supported demand in most Latin America markets. Meanwhile, Brazil and Mexico suffered the biggest hit. The Mexican economy depends substantially on the remittances sent by relatives from the US. However, the unstable immigration situation is posing as a hurdle to remittances. On the growth side, Argentina, Chile and Peru all saw extraordinary growth. Argentina, in particular, doubled its shipments as it had a low base last year. Peru's growth was driven by higher consumer demand and aggressive Chinese brand competition.”
Commenting on the Brazilian market, Lu added, “Several top-tier Chinese brands have entered the Brazilian market since last year. But Motorola and Samsung still account for more than 70% of the market. This is because it takes time for the new entrants to build branding, and they face problems with device production ramp up. These new OEMs face similar issues in Argentina.”
Commenting on 5G penetration in Latin America, Senior Analyst Benjamin Corona said, “5G penetration reached 42% in the region in Q2 2025. 5G technology has not been a priority for the Latin America consumer as the average regional consumer would rather spend less or get a phone with a better camera, bigger screen size, or more memory. Chinese brands continue to drive 4G-smartphone sales mainly to increase their participation in the region. However, they are slowly increasing the number of 5G models. OPPO leads in terms of 5G share among Chinese brands. Apple, Samsung and OPPO lead in terms of 5G smartphone share in the region.”
Latin America Smartphone Shipments Share (%), Q2 2024 vs Q2 2025
- Samsung’s volume grew 8% YoY on refreshed models in its A series. The brand also reduced prices and offered heavy discounts on mid-tier models to accelerate demand. This, along with a massive advertising campaign, strengthened its leadership position in the region.
- Motorola continued to fall YoY, hurt by a near 64% YoY decline in volume in Mexico. The OEM has been facing tight competition, especially from Samsung and Xiaomi. However, the brand’s shipments improved by the end of the quarter.
- Xiaomi’s shipments registered double-digit YoY percentage growth in Q2 2025, helping the brand solidify its position in Chile, Colombia, and other Latin American markets. Meanwhile, its grey market continued to decline, with Brazil registering shrinking volumes. However, the Mexican market helped the brand offset some of this decline. Xiaomi has been bundling its phones with smartwatches in Brazil to differentiate from the grey market ones. In other markets, it bundled its devices with headphones.
- Apple’s shipments declined 10% YoY during the quarter hurt by cooling demand in Brazil. The country has been impacted by high inflation that has been around since Q4 2024. Apple’s shipment also decreased, impacted by carried-over inventory from Q1 2025.
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Counterpoint Research is a global market research firm specializing in products across the technology ecosystem. We advise a diverse range of clients – from smartphone OEMs to chipmakers and channel players to Big Tech – through our offices located in the world's major innovation hubs, manufacturing clusters and commercial centers. Our analyst team, led by seasoned experts, engages with stakeholders across the enterprise – from the C-suite to professionals in strategy, analyst relations (AR), market intelligence (MI), business intelligence (BI), product and marketing – to deliver services spanning market data, industry thought leadership and consulting. Our core areas of coverage include AI, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Displays, eSIM, IoT, Location Platforms, Macroeconomics, Manufacturing, Networks and Infrastructure, Semiconductors, Smartphones and Wearables. Visit our Insights page to explore our publicly available market data, insights and thought leadership, and to understand our focus, meet our analysts and start a conversation.
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Author
Tina Lu
Tina has extensive consulting and analysis experience across a number of industry sectors including more than 14 years in the technology industry. Before Counterpoint, Tina spent more than 9 years in Nokia working in multiple roles and geographic regions. Tina also worked in brand and product marketing for Bestfoods-Unilever and BGH. Tina holds an MBA degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.