South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. remained the top smartphone seller in Latin America for a 15th consecutive quarter in the first quarter despite a significant drop in its market share, a report showed Wednesday.
Samsung registered a market share of 29.5 percent in Central and South America in the January-March period, down from 38.4 percent during the same period a year earlier, according to the latest report by Counterpoint Technology Market Research.
Samsung had been the leading smartphone seller in the region since the third quarter of 2011.
The report attributed Samsung’s top status to robust demand for its low-end models, such as the Galaxy A5 and A3.
LG Electronics Inc., Samsung’s home turf rival, came next with a 10.9 percent market share in the first quarter, which was also down from 14 percent a year earlier.
The combined market share of Samsung and LG tumbled to 40.4 percent in the first quarter of this year from 52.4 percent a year earlier.
In contrast, Apple Inc. saw its market share in Latin America surge to 10.1 percent from 5.4 percent over the cited period.
Chinese makers placed fourth and fifth in the region in the first quarter, with Motorola Mobility, acquired last year by Lenovo, posting 8.6 percent and TCL Corp.’s subsidiary Alcatel Onetouch garnering 8.3 percent.
Latin America is considered the third-biggest market for smartphone producers by continent, after North America and Europe. Its smartphone market grew 25 percent on-year in the first quarter, according to the report. (Yonhap)
