Brazilian consumers favor smartphones over PCs

The number of smartphones in use in Brazil continues to surpass the base of personal computers in the country, representing 52% of active devices, according to new research.

There are 242 million smartphones currently in use in Brazil, while personal computers — desktops, notebooks and tablets — represented 210 million devices. The numbers were unveiled in the 33rd edition of an annual study on corporate use of IT in Brazil, which was carried out by the Applied Technology Center of business school Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). 

“Smartphones are the object of desire of all social classes and are the personal computer for the vast majority of the population,” according to the FGV professor leading the research, Fernando Meirelles. He noted that in the PC segment, tablets sales remained flat in the corporate space, while notebooks are more sought after than desktops in the end consumer segment.

Three smartphones are sold for every TV in Brazil, according to the research. When it comes to portable devices (smartphones, tablets, and notebooks combined), Brazil has 352 million devices in use.

The study consulted 2,650 Brazilian firms and reveals 2021 was a good year for the sector, with the PC segment seeing a 27% uplift with 14 million units sold.

The FGV research forecasts a 10% growth rate for the PC market in Brazil for 2022. According to the survey, Brazil will reach one computer per person by 2023, with 216 million units in use.

In terms of the broader performance of the Brazilian tech sector, separate research from the Brazilian Association of Information technology and Communication Companies (Brasscom) reported double-digit growth in 2021, driven by internal market demand for hardware, software, and services.

According to the trade body, in 2021, the Brazilian ICT sector generated revenues of 597.8 billion Brazilian reais — up 18.3% in relation to the previous year. The association also noted that the sector accounts for 6.9% of Brazil’s GDP.