The smartphone market grew 26% year-on-year in Latin America in the first quarter of 2024; This is a very good figure that contrasts with the 9% decline globally, according to the same consultancy Canalys.

This is the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in the region; an inertia caused by the lower-mid range at the brink of the market for more expensive mobile phones powered by productive AI functions.

Why is it important?. Latin America is emerging as an important market for manufacturers: There is a lot of growth potential there while sales are falling in the rest of the world. There are also manufacturers who are already showing what they can achieve in other price-sensitive markets.

Like Spain.

important figures.

• Samsung and Motorola (including Lenovo) continue to dominate the market with 32% and 17% market shares respectively…
• …but there was a decrease in sales compared to the same quarter in 2023.
• Those that grew were Xiaomi (+45%), Transsion (+215%) and Honor (+293%).
• 82% of smartphones sold cost less than $400. Only 7% exceeded $800.

Xiaomi is closing a podium where it is increasingly close to Transsion and Honor, which are growing phenomenally. Transsion is a Chinese conglomerate that owns brands such as Tecno, iTel and Infinix.

And they did this, above all, at the expense of Samsung and Motorola/Lenovo, the two leaders in the region, which fell several points from one year to the next.

As we said, it remains a market marked by the low and lower-mid range: more than a fifth of smartphones sold cost under $400.

Wearable devices, opportunity. As Canalys emphasizes, many manufacturers are expanding their ecosystems with body devices such as smartwatches, activity wristbands or TWS headphones to differentiate themselves, build customer loyalty and increase revenues.

This is an opportunity we’ve been more aware of for several years in other regions, but may be less well-established in Latin America, where the adoption rate of these devices per smartphone sold remains low.

The challenge of artificial intelligence. The AI ​​functions that determine high range and star pacing in marketing campaigns are not currently designed to reach these lower ranges.

• This can lead to consumer disappointment as they discover through marketing features on their devices that they cannot use.

Strong sales growth in Latin America shows a desire to innovate smartphones, but to make this potential profitable, advances in generative AI will need to be transferred to entry-level models.

Featured image | Xataka

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