Despite what the critics and detractors say, Apple’s iPhone is a highly desired handset by everyone around the world, even in countries where local smartphone brands are just as strong, such as in South Korea where you have companies such as Samsung and LG who have created equally powerful and highly desired handsets.However it seems that despite Samsung and LG’s best efforts, it looks like Apple is slowly catching up. According to the latest data released by Counterpoint, they have revealed that Apple’s market share in South Korea has climbed from 15% to 33% in the last quarter, which is presumably thanks to the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
At the moment Samsung appears to still be in control of the smartphone market scene in South Korea, but Counterpoint believes that Apple is catching up and what makes things interesting is the fact that Apple would be the first foreign smartphone company to ever surpass the 20% market share in the country, thus nabbing them the number 2 spot.
According to Tom Kang, research director for mobile devices at Counterpoint, “No foreign brand has gone beyond the 20% market share mark in the history of Korea’s smartphone industry. It has always been dominated by the global smartphone leader, Samsung. But iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have made a difference here, denting the competition’s phablet sales.”