The Latin America smartphone market posted another quarter of growth in Q1 2026, according to a new Omdia report. Regional smartphone shipments reached 34.8 million units, up 3% year over year, extending the momentum that followed record results in the fourth quarter and across full-year 2025.
Omdia said the quarter benefited from several overlapping factors. Channel partners built inventory earlier than usual, OEMs simplified product mixes by leaning toward lower-storage variants to deal with cost pressure, and the impact of rising DRAM and NAND costs had not yet fully flowed through to retail pricing.
The report also points to a split in demand across price bands. Premium phones priced above $500 continued to show resilience, while value-focused and entry-level segments faced tighter spending conditions as consumer purchasing power remained under pressure.
Among vendors, Samsung Xiaomi Motorola remained at the center of the regional rankings.
Samsung held first place with 12.9 million units shipped and a 37% market share, up 9% from a year earlier. Omdia said that gave Samsung its highest quarterly share in the region since the first quarter of 2023. The gain was largely driven by strong performance from Galaxy A-series models in both the low-end and upper midrange portions of the market.
Xiaomi ranked second after recording its sixth straight quarter of growth. The company shipped 6 million units for a 17% market share. Omdia attributed that performance to double-digit growth in Central America and Peru, along with steady traction for the Redmi Note 15 series in the midrange and upper-midrange tiers.
Motorola came in third with 4.9 million units shipped, down 5% year over year, for a 14% market share. The decline was tied mainly to a steep 37% drop in shipments in the $100 to $200 price bracket, where models such as the G06 and G17 were key volume drivers.
Honor placed fourth with 3.4 million units shipped, up 30% year over year, and reached a 10% market share. Omdia said the company was helped by strong entry-level demand, especially for the Play 10 in the sub-$100 segment, where that model came close to 500,000 unit sales for the quarter.
Apple finished fifth and posted 31% year-over-year growth. The report linked that increase to especially strong results in Mexico, where shipments rose 80%, along with a solid response to the iPhone 17 series.
Overall, the latest Omdia data suggests the region is still expanding, but the growth pattern is becoming more uneven. Premium demand remains relatively stable, while more affordable segments are feeling greater pressure from price sensitivity and softer consumer buying power.
