Emir BardakçıThe Latin American smartphone market has recorded its best shipment volume in ten years during the third quarter of 2025. According to reports by Omdia, the market grew 1% year on year with total shipments reaching 35.2 million units. This resurgence highlights the recovering economy in this region, as well as the growing desire among consumers for advanced mobile technology, including the latest Xiaomi smartphones and ecosystem devices.
Xiaomi has consolidated its position in the ranking of the top vendors, reflecting strong brand performance alongside other key industry players in this competitive market.
Market Leadership and Vendor Analysis
The competitive landscape in Latin America remains strong, with established brands holding their turf, while challengers forge ahead. Samsung remained at the top, but Xiaomi posted some incredible growth figures, performing above the general trend of the market with a significant year-on-year increase. A clear consumer preference for devices offering a mix of performance and value seems to be emerging from the data.
According to the latest Omdia report, the specific performance of the top five vendors is as follows:
- Samsung accounted for 33% market share and shipped 11.6 million units, indicating a year-on-year rise of 2%.
- Xiaomi accounted for 6.3 million units shipped, up 9% year on year, to take 18% market share.
- Motorola shipped 5.4 million units, down 11% year-on-year, with a market share of 15%.
- Honor: 2.9 million units shipped, a 75% increase, with an 8% market share.
- Transsion accounted for 2.5 million units shipped, down by 19% YoY, and a 7% market share.
Regional Dynamics and Economic Factors
Recovery did not occur at the same rate across countries in the Latin American market, which was marked by different trends in key countries. Brazil is a major contributor to this growth, accounting for 29% of the total shipment volume with 10.3 million units, up 5% from last year. This in part is due to the strengthening of local manufacturing and strategic partnerships by brands like Realme, OPPO, and Honor.
In contrast, Mexico, the second-largest market, proved difficult. Shipments declined to 7.4 million units, down 11% year over year. It is the fourth consecutive quarter of decline for Mexico, driven by an increasingly conservative inventory strategy regarding devices under US$300. But excluding Mexico, countries like Central America, Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile showed resistance.
In some of these countries, economic improvement, which has kept inflation at bay and boosted investment, has translated into higher consumer spending on technology devices.
