Report: phone 16 to include Korea as fresh launch country

Apple’s iPhone 16 launch is less than a month away and a new report suggests that the event will bring some good news to Korean consumers. Apple will reportedly bring its iPhone 16 to South Korea for the first time since the iPhone 3GS as part of September’s launch wave. Nam Hyun-woo writes in The Korea Times.
Apple users in Korea are becoming more and more excited as rumors suggest the launch of the iPhone 16 could begin in Korea first.
[…]
Korean mobile carriers have not confirmed whether the country is on the list of countries that receive the first release. Unidentified sources have been cited by several Korean media outlets to confirm the early release.
Normaly, the latest iPhones arrive in Korea a few weeks after their initial release in other countries. The article speculates that Apple’s recent struggles in China could be a factor. In order to boost launch iPhone 16 sales in China, the company may bring the iPhone earlier to its growing customer base in South Korea. Samsung’s headquarters are in Korea, which makes it a particularly challenging market for the iPhone. Samsung is said to have accounted for 75% of all smartphone sales in the first quarter 2024. Apple accounted for 24%. Apple could use a new launch market to boost initial sales if it is worried about the weaker iPhone 16 demand. Apple could then rely on the October launch of Apple Intelligence as a way to sustain demand going into the holiday season. FTC: We use auto-affiliate links that earn us income. You’re reading 9to5Mac – experts who provide daily news about Apple, its ecosystem and related products. Check out our homepage to get the latest news and follow 9to5Mac via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest. You don’t know where you should start? Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive stories, reviews and how-tos.
Featured
9to5Mac
Logo 9to5Mac
Author: 9to5Mac – Apple News on YouTube