AIRLINK 75.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-0.24%)
BOP 5.11 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.79%)
CNERGY 4.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-3.16%)
DFML 32.53 Increased By ▲ 2.43 (8.07%)
DGKC 90.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.14%)
FCCL 22.98 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.35%)
FFBL 33.57 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (1.88%)
FFL 10.04 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.1%)
GGL 11.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-2.56%)
HBL 114.90 Increased By ▲ 1.41 (1.24%)
HUBC 137.34 Increased By ▲ 0.83 (0.61%)
HUMNL 9.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.37 (-3.74%)
KEL 4.66 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
KOSM 4.70 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.21%)
MLCF 40.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.56 (-1.36%)
OGDC 139.75 Increased By ▲ 4.95 (3.67%)
PAEL 27.65 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.14%)
PIAA 24.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.07 (-4.2%)
PIBTL 6.92 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PPL 125.30 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (0.68%)
PRL 27.55 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.55%)
PTC 14.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-2.41%)
SEARL 61.85 Increased By ▲ 1.65 (2.74%)
SNGP 72.98 Increased By ▲ 2.43 (3.44%)
SSGC 10.59 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.28%)
TELE 8.78 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.24%)
TPLP 11.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.42%)
TRG 66.60 Decreased By ▼ -1.06 (-1.57%)
UNITY 25.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.08%)
WTL 1.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-2.7%)
BR100 7,806 Increased By 81.8 (1.06%)
BR30 25,828 Increased By 227.1 (0.89%)
KSE100 74,531 Increased By 732.1 (0.99%)
KSE30 23,954 Increased By 330.7 (1.4%)

imageSEOUL: The Apple iPhone 7 went on sale in South Korea on Friday, seeking to fill a void left by arch-rival Samsung on its home turf following a damaging recall fiasco over the Note 7 smartphone.

The South Korean electronics giant discontinued the Note 7 -- one of its key iPhone challengers -- on October 11 following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire.

The decision is set to cost Samsung billions in lost profits, and there are already signs that Apple is reaping some of the benefits.

An official at mobile carrier Korea Telecom (KT) said the first batch of 50,000 iPhone 7s they put up for pre-order a week ago sold out in 15 minutes.

"I would attribute part of that to the Note 7 effect," said the official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

Customer defection is one of Samsung's biggest concerns, especially as the Note 7 was specifically aimed at taking on the iPhone in the premium handset market.

In the hope of retaining customer loyalty, Samsung had offered Note 7 users a 70,000 won ($60) phone bill credit if they swapped their faulty phones with another Samsung handset.

The half-dozen customers buying the new iPhone at a KT store in central Seoul on Friday were all long-time Apple users who had pre-ordered their handsets.

Office worker Lee Kyung-Hee, 34, said she had moved fast when the pre-order service opened, fearing a surge of interest from unhappy Note 7 owners.

"I set an alarm and was very quick," Lee said.

In South Korea, retail prices for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus start from 869,000 won and 1.02 million won respectively, for their basic 32GB models.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2016

Comments

Comments are closed.