Latin America smartphone shipments rose 2% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest Market Monitor. And it was good news for Apple; more on that in a sec.
During the quarter, smartphone manufacturers in the region placed orders to lock in current pricing driven by rising demand ahead of expected price hikes stemming from the global memory shortage, according to Counterpoint. The region’s shipments were also boosted by double-digit percentage gains in Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, as well as rising demand in Argentina, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean. This helped offset the contraction across Latin America’s two largest markets, Mexico and Brazil.
But back to Apple: the iPhone maker’s Latin America smartphone shipments grew 8% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026. The brand was already on an uptrend driven by the strengthening momentum of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which was reinforced by the iPhone 17e launch during the last month of the quarter, according to Counterpoint.
Samsung maintained its overall leadership in the region in quarter one but posted a slight 3% year-over-year shipment decline. Samsung now has 31% of the Latin American smartphone market.
Apple has 19% of the market. That’s up from 18% in the first quarter of 2025.
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