Leading smartphone market share South Korea January 2024, by model
As of January 2024, Samsung was leading the South Korean smartphone market with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra accounting for around 13 percent of all smartphones sold in that month, according to Counterpoint Research. This was followed by the Apple iPhone 15.
South Koreans love using smartphones
South Koreans are extensive users of mobile phones – as of September 2021, nearly one hundred percent of all South Koreans aged between 20 and 59 years old stated that they owned a smartphone. The nation boasts a high rate of smartphone ownership compared to other leading economies around the world. A survey conducted in 2019 showed that over 55 percent of consumers would not be willing to stop using their mobile phones at all, and smartphone overdependence has become increasingly evident among Korean consumers over the past years.
Battle of the giants
Although competition between Samsung, LG and Apple in the smartphone sphere has historically been fierce, Samsung still led the smartphone market in the country. In fact, most South Koreans preferred Samsung smartphones for personal use, followed by LG and Apple respectively. Although Apple has been gaining traction in this market, a survey showed a decrease in the usage of Apple’s iOS among South Korean smartphone users.
What does the future look like?
The future of mobile tech in South Korea has shown no sign of slowing even after the launch of extremely fast 5G networks in April 2019. According to a forecast, around half of the smartphones sold in 2020 were expected to be 5G phones. The 5G population continued to grow in South Korea with more than 20 million 5G subscriptions.