Across the world, rising costs and an uncertain economy mean that smartphone sales are falling, yet Apple's iPhone has still seen a 5% growth in the latest quarter.
The latest figures from Europe recently showed that as the smartphone market continues to contract, the iPhone continues to grow. Now figures for Latin America are saying a similar, but not identical thing.
According to Counterpoint Research, smartphone sales in Latin America for Q2 2026 saw their largest decline in three years. Compared to the same period in 2025, the market shrunk by 10%.
In Europe, Apple still saw its market share rise during that period, but for Latin America, the result is less clear cut. Apple remains behind Samsung, Xiaomi, and Motorola for market share, but it still grew its shipments by 5%.
Only Samsung did better at with a 6% increase. All others saw sales decline, with Xiaomi the worst affected with a 27% drop year over year.
LATAM Smartphone Shipments by OEM, Q2 2025 vs Q2 2026 YoY - image credit: Counterpoint Research.
The price rises from the global chip shortage contributed to the overall drop, with the greatest declines seen by the entry-level and mid-tier brands. Those account for three quarters of all the smartphones sold in the region.
Researchers credit Apple's growth in the premium market in part to the company absorbing price rises, at least for the time being. They also report that there is consistent demand for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
There was also steady demand for older iPhones, while the quarter benefited from the then still quite new iPhone 17e. That had launched midway through March, the last month of the previous quarter.
Apple's fiscal Q2 runs from April to June, and there were no new iPhone launches in that time. The third quarter runs from July to September, so there will be a launch of the iPhone 18 Pro range toward the end of that quarter.
That will probably benefit Apple, but overall the research expects that Latin America smartphone sales will not improve until at least 2028.
