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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Mobile & Internet

Has Apple’s iPhone 7 lost its luster in Korea?

  • PUBLISHED :November 02, 2016 - 15:15
  • UPDATED :November 02, 2016 - 16:05
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[THE INVESTOR] Despite the high-profile debut late last month in the Korean market, Apple’s iPhone 7 has seen its popularity waning.

According to industry data compiled from the nation’s top three telecom carriers on Nov. 2, the latest iPhone sold more than 30,000 units per day right after the release on Oct. 21 but the figure has dropped to some 10,000 units recently. 




The number of mobile subscribers who have switched their mobile carriers -- a key indicator to gauge a new phone’s market reaction -- has also halved to 31,566, down from 62,972 during the first weekend of the iPhone 7 release here.

The new iPhone was expected to benefit from the void in the high-end smartphone market left by the discontinued Galaxy Note 7 of Samsung Electronics but the initial popularity now seems to be losing steam on the Korean tech giant’s home turf.

Telecom carriers say less than 10 percent of current Note 7 users are estimated to have switched to the iPhone 7 or its bigger-screen variant iPhone 7 Plus.

Of the 500,000 Note phones subject to the ongoing recall program in Korea, 100,000 have been exchanged with other handsets including those of Samsung.

About 7 percent were replaced with the iPhone 7, while about 15 percent were switched to LG Electronics’ V20.

Industry watchers point out that Samsung’s enhanced marketing efforts for its Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant are also responsible for the lukewarm sales of the iPhone.

In order to further beef up the flagship phone sales, Samsung plans to release a new blue coral model of the S7 and the Gear S3 smartwatch on Nov. 11.

The company is also offering a cash discount for Note users on their future purchase of the Galaxy S8 or the Galaxy Note 8 next year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)

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