For years, Samsung smartphones have been the best-selling devices in South Korea, where the company has been based since 1938. However, the iPhone continues to gain popularity, showing Samsung that its top spot in its home country may not be as solid as one would think. But why is South Korea switching from Samsung smartphones to iPhones?
South Korea is exchanging Samsung smartphones for iPhones
Apple and the iPhone officially surpassed Samsung devices worldwide in 2023. In other words, breaking a 12-year streak maintained by the Korean technology company as the largest smartphone seller in the world. So what's driving this shift in smartphone popularity?
Samsung's leadership in terms of market share in South Korea seems like a given, given that the company has been based in the East Asian country for almost 90 years. Samsung represents 66% of the smartphone market share in South Korea. In other words, almost triple that of Apple, which stands at just 29%.
However, nothing lasts forever. So a recent surge in iPhone sales in South Korea could spell Samsung's long-term doom. A report from the Korea Herald noted that sales of the iPhone 15 lineup – including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max – have increased substantially in the country, jumping 41.9% in the first month since its launch in October 2023 compared to the iPhone 14.
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According to figures from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple is officially the largest smartphone seller in the world.
This surpasses Samsung in 2023 by 8 million units, which is even more worrying for the technology giant. True, while Samsung sold an impressive 26.6 million units. But Apple surpassed it with 234.6 million units sold. This now puts Apple at 20.1 percent of the global smartphone market share, while Samsung drops to a close second with 19.4 percent of the market share.
Why is Samsung losing market share?
There are many reasons why Samsung is losing users in its country and abroad. For starters, the Android market is crowded, so it's increasingly difficult to stay in the fight as competitors become better and better. With Huawei gaining popularity in China, Google setting the value of the Pixel line every year and Xiaomi reducing the price, competition is getting stronger and stronger. This, combined with the fact that your devices are becoming more similar to each other.
Samsung may not be doing enough to compete with a company that has proven its worth when it comes to marketing, particularly when Apple is making moves to finally catch up to the Android way of life.
Will Apple's adoption of USB-C and RCS messaging help?
One of the main reasons why Apple overtook Samsung around the world could be that the iPhone is finally getting some Android features that users have wanted for years. The boom in the iPhone 15 lineup is due, at least in part, to the installation of the USB-C charging port. Something the company was forced to adopt thanks to an EU ruling that requires all devices sold in Europe to adopt the standard by autumn 2024. Apple is also planning to finally include the RCS messaging service for text messages. This between Android and iPhone, again forced by the EU.
But that is not all. Specifically in Korea, carriers helped Apple add call recording to the iPhone, a feature that has been available on Samsung devices for years. Although it may seem innocuous, the ability to record a call has been incredibly popular among Korean users. In fact, it was cited as the main reason why many citizens decided to make the change.