Ahead of the scheduled October 31 launch, carriers in South Korea have managed to collect 100,000 pre-orders for Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones, three times the amount of pre-orders for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 in the country, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Carriers KT Corp., LG Uplus Corp. and SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest mobile carrier, started accepting pre-orders for the new devices this past Friday, October 24.
KT Corp. said pre-orders for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus topped 10,000 units in one minute, and 50,000 units in thirty minutes. LG Uplus Corp. confirmed taking 20,000 orders for the new iPhones within 20 minutes, which isn’t too shabby given the carriers is selling the iconic smartphone for the first time.
“South Korea’s largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom Co., declined to comment on specific figures but confirmed that the first and second batch of presale orders for the new iPhones have been fully booked,” reports the publication, adding that SK opened up its third round this morning.
The numbers indicate that the latest iPhones are about to hit the ground running on Samsung’s home turf this coming Friday. Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 4 was released in South Korea last month.
At any rate, Samsung’s large-screen advantage over the iPhone no longer applies so it will be interesting seeing how the South Korean conglomerate will adjust its mobile business strategy going forward.