The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were launched earlier this month and as at the time of this writing, the two are only available in a handful of markets.
As the demand for the phones keeps growing, the tech giant has now made it known that fans in South Korea – Samsung’s backyard – can start buying the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as from October 14th. Despite the issues facing Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Apple will still trail the South Korean tech giant by two weeks when it comes to availing the latest flagships in the country. Apparently, the recalled Galaxy Note 7 will resume sells as from October 1 after being stopped for close to a month now. The competition will be even tougher considering that LG will also be launching its own V20 this Thursday.
Those who use local carriers SK Telecom and KT should be guaranteed of getting an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus as the two companies are almost done with testing the phones’ network compatibility. As for the AirPods, they have already been approved for distribution by the country’s authorities. While the price of the two phones has not been confirmed for the Korean market, there might not be major differences with last year’s version, which came in starting from 869K won. Nonetheless, pricing the iPhone 7 at this figure would make it slightly cheaper than the likes of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 as well as the LG V20.
The global recall of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has meant the likes of LG and Apple have found some new breathing space as far as the V20 and iPhone 7 are concerned, respectively. Given that Samsung controls over 70% of the local market, this is a huge chance for LG and Apple to make their mark in the market. In fact, there is talk that in case the Galaxy Note 7 does not live up to its expectations following the recall saga, Apple might push more iPhone 7, 7 Plus units not just to the Korean market, but also in other markets across the globe.