SEOUL, KOREA - Once being beaten by Samsung’s Galaxy series, Apple’s iPhone is now fighting back in Korea.The pre-order sales of Apple’s new iPhone models—iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus—which are slated to be launched on October 31 through three major telecom companies in Korea, gained hot popularity, signaling a head-on crash with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4.

 

The iPhone, which landed in Korea first in November 2009, brought about a smartphone fever here. The Apple-developed phone, however, was overtaken by Samsung’s Galaxy series which, thereafter, have dominated Korea’s smartphone market.

The situation looks different this year. Since the introduction of the Handset Retail Structure Improvement Act, Korea’s mobile phone distribution structure changed, with the smartphone prices of domestic manufacturers becoming similar to those of new iPhone models.

In other words, the price competitiveness of domestic smartphone makers was weakened compared to the past.Some market experts predict that Apple’s market share in Korea could move up to more than 10 percent compared to the current 5-7 percent.

 

Source by : The Korea Economic Daily