Samsung phones are crushing rivals in LATAM, nearing a 50% market share

Q2 shipments in the LATAM region increased 8% quarter-on-quarter and 9% year-on-year. And thanks to Samsung being one of the few OEMs to have solved its supply chain issues, the company broke a new record in terms of shipments and market share. (via Counterpoint Research)

Samsung had a market share of a whopping 43.5% in Q2 2022, up from 34.8% in Q2 2021. Meanwhile, the second-largest smartphone vendor in the LATAM region, Motorola, lost a 1.3% market share and dropped to 19.6%, which led to the widest gap between the market leader — Samsung — and the rest of the pack.

The third-largest smartphone vendor was Xiaomi, with 14% of the market. The Chinese brand was followed by Apple (4.9%) and Oppo (2.2%).

Mid and high-end Galaxy smartphones didn't sell as well

Although Samsung maintained the lead with the largest market share, this may have come at a cost. Shipments were at an all-time high, but they didn't quite match consumer demand.

Because of this, Samsung ended up with a high inventory of smartphones, especially across the mid and high-end price brackets. And although shipments for smartphones priced $250 and above more than doubled year-on-year, demand didn't meet expectations.

Time will tell if Samsung will widen the gap between it and Motorola further in Q3 2022. But market watchers state that Q2 is usually the “second biggest quarter” in the LATAM region, thanks to Mother's Day and Father's Day promotions and other limited-time offers and discounts.

Either way, chances for another OEM to outperform Samsung in LATAM anytime soon are now virtually nonexistent. The Korean tech giant has a strong grasp over this market region, and it will take more than a few budget Moto devices to steal Samsung's crown.