By Yoon Sung-won
The launch of new flagship smartphones ― Apple’s iPhone 7 and LG Electronics’ V20 ― are heating up the premium handset market, with Samsung Electronics seeking to rejoin it soon with Galaxy Note 7 replacements.
Expectations are high over the winner of the market competition slated for next month as all three models have their own pros and cons.
“It is likely that the launch of new iPhones in October will intensify competition of premium handsets,” an industry source said. “As of now, the result may vary because all three smartphones have their clear strengths and weaknesses.”
LG Electronics will roll out its V20 on Sept. 29.
The nation’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer launched the V10 in October last year and was expected to release the V20 in the market a year later. But the company has moved up the launch date of the new handset, aiming at securing market presence with an early debut.
LG Electronics has stressed that the V20 is focused on multimedia features such as audio and camera. It has collaborated again with Danish premium audio brand B&O Play to introduce an advanced digital-to-analog converter and sound tuning technologies, and adopted wide-view cameras both in the front and rear for the first time in the world.
Globally, the company said it will concentrate on certain markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States to meet the demand for large-screen models.
V20’s price ― 899,800 won ($815) in Korea ― is likely to be a sticking point for its success. The price has clearly gone up from its predecessor’s 799,700 won.
Apple is likely to launch the iPhone 7 series here early next month.
Though the U.S. smartphone giant has not officially announced when it will ship the iPhone 7 and larger iPhone 7 Plus to the Korean market, expectations are its success will be the key point in the competition of the three flagship handsets here.
When Apple unveiled the new iPhones on Sept. 16 in the United States, it was criticized that the new handset was “not innovative.”
Its bold challenge to remove the 3.5-millimeter analog socket for wired earphones has drawn doubts both from critics and users. The new handsets have even been embroiled in controversies over hardware defects after multiple reports about the inadequate waterproof feature and a “hissing” sound when the handset is overloaded.
Despite all the negative issues, the iPhone 7 series is selling well, especially in the U.S. market. Major U.S. telecom companies such as T Mobile and Verizon said they have received four times more pre-sales orders compared to those for the iPhone 6 series. In particular, they said there is a shortage of iPhones with the new Jet Black finish. Samsung Electronics is seeking to make a challenging comeback by providing the Note 7 with its battery problem fixed.
The world’s largest smartphone company said it plans to complete shipment of some 400,000 replacement Note 7s for the domestic market and restart selling Note 7s here, Oct. 1.
According to a telecom industry sources, Sunday, more than 200,000 customers have participated in the recall program to replace the Note 7 from Sept. 19 to 24.
Though Samsung Electronics has not officially released the number of customers who have requested a refund, around 5 percent of buyers have chosen it, according to sources. About 429,000 Note 7s have been sold in the Korean market.
Meanwhile, the electronics company said about 50 to 60 percent of customers have participated in the recall program in the United States, and some 10 percent of the participants chose refunds instead of replacements.