"Endless Refresh Loop" The Intense 'Night of the iPhone' (Summary)

iPhone 12 Pro Max and Mini Sold Out
Coupang Orders Surge, Site Crashes in 10 Minutes
SKT Official Mall Sells Out First Batch in 2 Hours
Samsung Advances Release by a Month, Clashes in Q1

iPhone 12 Pro Max and 12 Mini

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] "I used five devices including a laptop and tablet to refresh for 30 minutes, but it's sold out." "I even took a day off for the iPhone 12, but it's really hard to buy."

Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 Mini and Pro Max models were a 'click war.' Apple fans eager to get their hands on the iPhone quickly stayed up all night, repeatedly refreshing the page.

Second iPhone Click War

At Coupang, both the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Mini models are sold out.

As pre-orders for the iPhone 12 Mini and Pro Max began at midnight on the 13th, sites like Coupang and 11st announced sold-out notices within 30 minutes. The servers crashed within 10 minutes due to a surge in visitors from midnight, and payments were not processed properly for over 30 minutes, leaving Apple fans frustrated. One user said, "I kept entering my password but dozens of sold-out notices popped up, so I couldn't sleep." While orders through mobile carriers were relatively smoother, consumers wanting early morning delivery flocked to TD Direct Mall, where the first batch of pre-orders sold out within two hours.

The iPhone 12 Mini and Pro Max models, released after the iPhone 12 and Pro, are also experiencing unstoppable demand. Consumers who preemptively purchased early, fearing a rush similar to the iPhone 12 Pro, joined the 'second round of frantic clicking.' Positive reviews about the changed design and camera performance continue, and the popularity of the iPhone 12 shows no signs of waning. Overseas, where the release was a week earlier than in Korea, supply shortages of the iPhone 12 Pro Max have delayed deliveries by about three weeks.

Apple launched the iPhone 12 a month later than originally planned, in October. By segmenting models into various price ranges from the 900,000 KRW level to 1.4 million KRW, they are attracting mid-to-low price demand. Although Samsung led the smartphone market in Q3, a fierce counterattack from Apple is expected starting in Q4.

According to market research firm IDC, the Q3 smartphone market share rankings were Samsung (22.7%), Huawei (14.7%), Xiaomi (13.1%), and Apple (11.8%). Apple did not release an iPhone in Q3, resulting in a 10.6% decrease in market share compared to last year, dropping to fourth place. Since Apple launched the new iPhone 12 in October, Apple is expected to dominate market share in Q4.

Samsung Counterattacks a Month Early

Samsung Electronics is also preparing seriously. Samsung plans to hold its Unpacked event in January next year, a month earlier than usual, and launch the 'Galaxy S21' early. This strategy aims to check the expansion of iPhone 12's market share while tapping into pent-up consumer demand suppressed by COVID-19. At the same time, Samsung will reveal new foldable smartphones that are gaining market traction to shift the mood. The Galaxy S21, the first model to integrate with the Note series, will be released in three variants and is expected to support the S Pen. Samsung is also making next year the inaugural year for foldable phone popularization, driving expansion in the foldable market.

The delayed Apple launch and Samsung's early move set the stage for a fierce market share battle in the smartphone market in Q1 next year. This year, the smartphone market shrank by more than 10% due to COVID-19. Next year, the smartphone market is expected to grow double digits for the first time in six years since 2015. Shipments are expected to reach about 1.4 billion units, an increase of about 200 million units from this year (1.26 billion units). 5G smartphone shipments are projected to rise from 278 million units to 544 million units next year. How much Samsung and Apple capture in the revived smartphone market will determine their sales and market share trends.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.