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Korea leads world in most expensive phones

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  • Published KST
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Many Korean consumers jump at the opportunity to purchase the newset and latest smartphone models.

By Isaac Kim

Korea has the highest cellphone prices in the world.

According to a report by America’s Strategy Analytic on July 29, the ASP (average selling price) for mobile phones in Korea was the world’s highest at $415.

Compared to the worldwide $166 ASP, Korea’s ASP was 2.5 times higher than the world average.

The other countries that followed were Japan ($390), Canada ($350), the United States ($323), Norway ($281), Denmark/Germany ($278), Luxembourg / Sweden ($275), and Australia ($270).

The report predicted the ASP for each country until 2017, and Korea still had the highest ASP.

Korea’s mobile phone ASP was expected to be $452 in 2013, $419 in 2014, $415 in 2015, $411 in 2016, and $416 in 2017, showing that Korea will continue to keep its ASP above $400.

The ASP was based solely on wholesale market prices with no regards to business or marketing fees. However, ASP does not reflect the sales of phones.

The report shows Korea has the highest ASP because the price of smartphones was the most expensive. Also, there were many people called early adaptors who quickly switch phones to purchase the most recent smartphone.

“Korea and Japan have the highest ASP because compared to other countries, the cost of smartphones is very high,” the report said. “There are many early adapters willing to pay exorbitant prices for the latest in smartphone technology advances such as LTE Advanced and new screen displays.”

The number of consumers willing to pay top price for phones was so high, those that opted for low or mid quality phones ($190 or below) was about one percent.

In contrast, those seeking premium phones ($300 or above) reached 72.3 percent. The remaining 26.7 percent settled for high quality phones ($191-$299).

The report stated, “Smartphone producers should test drive their prototypes in Korea. How early adapters respond to new products may give constructive feedback on the product.”