iPhone 14 with Galaxy Z4 and eSIM... Will 5G Subscribers Take Off?

iPhone 14·iPhone 14 Plus. Photo by Apple

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] With major manufacturers releasing new smartphones one after another, the growth rate of 5G subscribers is expected to accelerate. Additionally, the recently introduced eSIM (Embedded SIM) and mid-tier 5G plans are also likely to contribute to this trend.

According to the industry on the 10th, Apple held a special event on the 7th (local time) at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, USA, unveiling new products including the iPhone 14 series.

The newly launched iPhone 14 series attracted attention with the addition of a Plus model and a change in the notch design on the Pro models?commonly referred to as the 'M-shaped hair loss'?to a punch-hole design that only pierces the camera module area. It also featured crash detection and emergency SOS functions for the first time.

Earlier, Samsung Electronics released the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4 last month. During the pre-order period alone, it sold 970,000 units, surpassing the previous model's (920,000 units) performance and achieving the best results in the history of the Galaxy series.

With Samsung Electronics and Apple consecutively launching new products, there are forecasts that the previously slowing growth of 5G subscribers will reignite.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT's 'Wireless Communication Service Statistics,' as of the end of July, the number of 5G subscribers reached 25,132,888, surpassing 25 million for the first time.

However, the growth rate of 5G plan subscribers is gradually slowing down. Since April, the increase has been in the range of 500,000 subscribers per month.

In July, the number increased by 546,390 compared to the previous month, a 2.22% rise, and in June, it increased by 543,860 (2.26%). In May, the increase was 571,513 (2.43%), and in April, 564,912 (2.47%).

This slowdown is attributed to the absence of major flagship smartphone releases from manufacturers between February, when Samsung Electronics launched the Galaxy S22, and August, as well as the impact of economic downturns such as inflation and interest rate hikes, which have dampened consumer spending.

During the release periods of new Galaxy or iPhone models, device replacements become active, leading to a significant jump in 5G subscribers. In August last year, when the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3 were unveiled, 5G subscribers increased by approximately 720,000 compared to the previous month. In October, the domestic launch of the iPhone 13 resulted in an increase of about 980,000, and in November, about 810,000 subscribers were added.

Alongside new devices, the telecommunications industry is closely watching the recently launched eSIM service and mid-tier 5G plans. Although mid-tier 5G plans vary by carrier, they generally offer 24 to 31GB of data per month at prices between 59,000 and 61,000 KRW. Previously, plans were divided between 10-12GB, 110-150GB, and unlimited data tiers. The introduction of plans matching the average 5G data usage (27.2GB as of the end of July) can encourage LTE subscribers to switch to 5G.

Moreover, with the commercialization of the eSIM service on the 1st, users can now use two numbers on a single device. Existing 5G subscribers can open an additional 5G line via eSIM. However, since supported devices are not yet widespread, the impact of eSIM on expanding 5G subscribers is expected to be limited. Apple has supported eSIM since the iPhone XS released in 2018, and Samsung started supporting eSIM with the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4 launched last month.

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