The iPhone holds the maximum market share in Samsung's home country
Apple has long been in a tight battle with Samsung in the global smartphone market. For the first time in history, last year Apple shipped more of its iPhones in a year than Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. Thereby surpassing Samsung in sales. Of course the South Korean giant is not very happy about this. And to add to that, Apple's market share has reached an all-time high in Samsung's home country of South Korea.
Here's What We Know
According to a new report from Counterpoint Research, Apple's smartphone market share in South Korea has surpassed the 25 per cent mark for the first time. Its market share has increased by 1% every year since 2020, and in 2023, it grew by 3%. At that time, Samsung's situation is the opposite. Last year, the South Korean company's market share fell by 2%. However, now Samsung still holds 73 % in the South Korean smartphone market.
Apple's growing influence in South Korea is attributed to the MZ generation (people aged 20-30). According to one report, 8 out of 10 pre-orders for the iPhone 15 were made by people in their 20s and 30s. In comparison, more than half of the pre-orders for the Galaxy S24 series were made by people in their 30s and 40s. The most expensive iPhone in Apple's lineup, the iPhone 15 Pro Max 1TB, costs 2.5 million won ($1,864), which is 400,000 won ($300) more than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Despite the higher price, the iPhone is selling faster in the country.
Apple opened its first retail shops in South Korea last year. First, Apple Gangnam opened in an upscale neighbourhood. The company then opened an Apple Hanam shop. Last month, the iPhone maker opened an Apple Hongdae shop. Samsung also opened its flagship Samsung Gangnam retail shop in the same neighbourhood as Apple Gangnam, but experts and industry insiders consider it a failure. But Samsung is hoping to change the game by betting on the introduction of artificial intelligence in its new S24 series of flagships, which is being dubbed the AI phone. After all, the new smartphones set a new record for the Galaxy S series with pre-sales of 1.21 million units.
Source: BusinessKorea
