iPhone 12 May Launch Earlier Than Usual in South Korea

[MacRumors]

The upcoming iPhone 12 lineup may launch earlier than usual in South Korea, reports The Korea Herald.

South Korean telecoms firms speaking to The Korea Herald have said that the iPhone 12 lineup will launch ahead of its usual schedule. Normally, the release of new iPhones in South Korea comes about one month after launch in the United States. Last year, the iPhone 11 arrived in South Korea on October 25, considerably later than its September 20 launch in the U.S.

South Korea was the first to commercialize 5G telecommunications in April 2019, and as of July this year, the country already has almost eight million 5G users. South Korea is expected to be a key market for Apple since the iPhone 12 lineup will be the first with 5G, so this may explain the earlier launch. Crucially, the iPhone 12 Pro Max may be the first smartphone available in South Korea to support the high-frequency 28GHz band for 5G communications, making it considerably more appealing to those with access to the frequency.

Apple is also likely looking to expand its South Korean market share, where it currently owns just 19 percent of the market. Samsung dominates the South Korean smartphone market at 67 percent. An earlier launch, in alignment with other key regions such as the United Kingdom and Germany, may help the company gain more of a foothold in South Korea, and indicates how the country is increasingly important to Apple.

The sources added that South Korean telecoms operators are preparing for the launch of iPhone 12 models in late October or early November. Rumors now seem to be pointing toward the iPhone 12 being unveiled on Tuesday, October 13, followed by a launch on October 23.

Article Link: iPhone 12 May Launch Earlier Than Usual in South Korea

 

[Aston441]

In Soviet Korea, iPhone launches you!

 

[Nautilus007]

What a stupid article.

 

[one more]

“An earlier launch, in alignment with other key regions such as the United Kingdom and Germany, may help the company gain more of a foothold in South Korea...”

Surprising, as Germany is actually very far from a “key region”, as it is
currently dominated by Android:

South Korea is quite similar:

 

[itsmilo]

if its delayed everywhere else, its gonna be on time in South Korea no?

 

[Veinticinco]

Ooh a whole month earlier than the usual month late release. And this alone will help Apple “gain a foothold” in Samsung’s South Korea because technically Seoul has mmwave? What a complete load of nonsense this “story” is. MR is rapidly becoming the Daily Mail of tech news.

 

[HeavenDynamic]

“An earlier launch, in alignment with other key regions such as the United Kingdom and Germany, may help the company gain more of a foothold in South Korea...”

Surprising, as Germany is actually very far from a “key region”, as it is
currently dominated by Android:

View attachment 960550

South Korea is quite similar:

View attachment 960551

France is also hugely dominated by Android and we have always been in the first launch wave of new Apple products. I don't think market share is the only data to look at to define a key region.

 

[Spock]

This just in, Apple will release the iPhone 12

 

[PickUrPoison]

Ooh a whole month earlier than the usual month late release. And this alone will help Apple “gain a foothold” in Samsung’s South Korea because technically Seoul has mmwave? What a complete load of nonsense this “story” is. MR is rapidly becoming the Daily Mail of tech news.

As much as the story may trigger you, MacRumors is reporting on a story that was published by The Korea Herald, which they attribute to South Korea telecom companies. Presumably, they are well aware of the launch schedule.

Is it possibly a bogus story? Sure. Is it something MacRumors should publish? Why the hell wouldn’t they?

You’ve been here for over a decade. Is it actually possible that you’re still confused as to which articles are appropriate for publication here? The MR analysis seems sound 🤷‍♂️

 

[iamPro]

In Soviet Korea, iPhone launches you!

Thats no different than saying on an article about New York saying,

“In confederate New York, iPhones are made in cotton fields!”

or pre unification,

“In Soviet West Germany, iPhone launches you!”


Maybe this is funny to some.

 

[syklee26]

Prioritizing Korea after bullying Korea's 3 big telcos for years (and getting fined for hundreds of millions of dollars)? Good luck with that.

 

[apparatchik]

“An earlier launch, in alignment with other key regions such as the United Kingdom and Germany, may help the company gain more of a foothold in South Korea...”

Surprising, as Germany is actually very far from a “key region”, as it is
currently dominated by Android:

View attachment 960550

South Korea is quite similar:

View attachment 960551

Well, iOS doesnt compete within the massive sub €300 market which is dominated by Android devices, if you take the market brackets where Apple does compete €400 and up, the numbers switch, which is to say Apple dominates the brackets it competes in, they also take home 90% of the industry’s profits, in that light Im pretty sure Germany is among top 10 markets for Apple.

 

[ian87w]

Meanwhile, my country is just getting the 2020 SE next month...

 

[Grey Area]

Well, iOS doesnt compete within the massive sub €300 market which is dominated by Android devices, if you take the market brackets where Apple does compete €400 and up, the numbers switch, which is to say Apple dominates the brackets it competes in, they also take home 90% of the industry’s profits, in that light Im pretty sure Germany is among top 10 markets for Apple.

Also, Germany is the largest EU country and the largest European country after Russia. Having ~30% market share in Germany is likely worth more than ~50% in Norway or Switzerland, and growing the German 30% to 50% would mean way more additional profit than growing to 70% in those smaller countries.

 

[stringParameter]

What a stupid article.

I know right? Too granular. Like covering a new type of adaptor for a specific country... ...it’s a thing that’s happened but is it news-worthy?

 

[JPack]

In short, if your country has widely adopted 5G, you’ll probably see higher allocation of iPhone 12 units to your region. There are over 100 million 5G subscribers globally.

Since last year, some countries have more than doubled their mobile download speeds according the Speedtest Global Index.

 

[ss2cire]

“An earlier launch, in alignment with other key regions such as the United Kingdom and Germany, may help the company gain more of a foothold in South Korea...”

Surprising, as Germany is actually very far from a “key region”, as it is
currently dominated by Android:

View attachment 960550

South Korea is quite similar:

View attachment 960551

isnt that kind of the idea? launch earlier and try and gain more share?

 

[SamRyouji]

Meanwhile, my country is just getting the 2020 SE next month...

I see you're living in the same country as me: a third world country that has always been overlooked by manufacturers.

 

[bbdani]

Also, Germany is the largest EU country and the largest European country after Russia. Having ~30% market share in Germany is likely worth more than ~50% in Norway or Switzerland, and growing the German 30% to 50% would mean way more additional profit than growing to 70% in those smaller countries.

Agree on the last part. But Germany ranks 4th in size in Europe. Russia does not even belong to europe. And if you mean whole Eurasia than Ukraine is bigger than Germany (ranks 6th) as well.

 

[Brandhouse]

The problem with Americans capitialising every word is that when you read a headline such as, 'iPhone 12 May Launch Earlier Than Usual in South Korea', is that on first reading it sounds like an iPhone is launching on 12 May. So you have read a second time to understand the headline. Why Yanks capitialise every word, then for some reason choose not to capitalise one word in the headline makes little sence.

Love Yanks barstardising the English language and grammar.

 

[Grey Area]

Agree on the last part. But Germany ranks 4th in size in Europe. Russia does not even belong to europe. And if you mean whole Eurasia than Ukraine is bigger than Germany (ranks 6th) as well.

I was referring to population sizes, and there Germany is 1st in the EU and 2nd in Europe. Area has little relevance for OS market share and profits. The eastern boundary of Europe is a bit arbitrary, as is its whole continent status actually, but the most densely populated western part of Russia (including Moscow) is most definitely in Europe. I could have limited myself to EU countries, but that would leave out Norway and Switzerland, two of the few iOS-centric European countries.

 

[JPack]

Interesting that this rumor turned out to be wrong. Given the mature 5G deployment in Korea, I wouldn't have expected Apple to lump it with India.

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