Handset prices to top 1.5 million won

By Kang Seung-woo

Samsung Electronics and its archrival Apple are expected to unveil their new flagship smartphones with prices exceeding the psychologically important 1 million won ($879) mark.

However, it remains to be seen if the price factor will hurt sales because the phones are likely to offer further advanced features.

Samsung is scheduled to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 on Aug. 23, while Apple’s iPhone 8 is anticipated in September.

According to the telecom industry, Monday, the Note 8’s price is likely to range from 1 million won to 1.1 million won, with a larger display and improved features.

VentureBeat, a U.S. technology website, said the jumbo phone would cost $900, citing noted mobile phone leaker Evan Blass.

Prices of the Galaxy Note series have been rising steadily.

The Note 5 was priced at 899,800 won in 2015, followed by the Note 7 at 988,900 won last year.

In addition, a variant of the Galaxy S8 Plus that doubled the 64 GB baseline storage to 128 GB was also available for 1.15 million won in the first half of the year, but it sold out.

Its sales allegedly accounted for about 20 percent of the S8 smartphones, suggesting keeping the price tag under 1 million won is not the most important deciding factor. The Galaxy S is Samsung’s other flagship offering.

Samsung’s new flagship smartphone may look somewhat expensive compared with previous phones, but it does not mean that the new phone will lose price competitiveness against other upcoming phones.

According to foreign media outlets, prices of the new iPhone to mark its 10th anniversary will start at $1,100, $450 higher than the iPhone 7 at $649, and go up to $1,400 because of rumored features such as a dual camera system and a 3D sensor module to enable augmented reality applications.

It would be the first time the California-based company’s smartphone has cost in the region of 1 million won here.

Despite the high prices, sales of the latest smartphones are less likely to be affected, according to the telecom sector, because the law to restrict subsidies to 330,000 won will be abolished in October.

“If the handset subsidy cap is abolished in October, consumers will benefit from more subsidies, which will help them purchase high-end phones,” an industry official said.