The iPhone 16 series was officially released on the 20th, and it was found that people in their 20s and 30s accounted for the largest proportion among pre-order customers. In particular, reservations for the iPhone 16 Pro model exceeded half of all pre-orders.

The three major mobile carriers, SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, began activating devices for pre-order customers starting this day. According to SK Telecom's pre-order results, consumers in their 20s and 30s made up the largest group, with those in their 20s accounting for about 35% of all pre-orders. By model, the iPhone 16 Pro was the most popular, making up about 65% of all reservations, followed by the Pro Max, the standard, and the Plus models in that order.

On the 20th, when Apple's first artificial intelligence (AI) smartphone, the iPhone 16, was released in South Korea, buyers lined up at the Apple Store in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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In terms of color preference, the standard and Plus models saw the white color account for about 50% of reservations, while for the Pro models, the newly released Desert Titanium color was chosen by about 25% of customers and gained popularity.

According to LG Uplus, the iPhone 16 Pro 256GB model accounted for 55% of pre-orders, the highest share, and White Titanium was the most popular color with 34% of selections.

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The three mobile carriers held various offline events to celebrate the official launch and activation of the iPhone 16.

SKT held the "iPhone 16 Early Pick Party with Team SK" event from 8 a.m. at the ICT complex cultural space "T Factory" in Hongdae. The event featured SK's French Olympic fencing gold medalists Koo Bon-gil, Park Sang-won, Do Kyung-dong, and Olympic weightlifting silver medalist Park Hye-jeong, who participated in commemorative photo sessions, autograph signings, talk shows, and OX quizzes. All participants received limited-edition "Netflix Watch Kit" goods produced in collaboration with Netflix, a 100,000 KRW Apple Store gift card, and a Belkin charger. There was also a "Daily Lucky Draw" event, where prizes such as LG Electronics StanbyME TVs and CineBeam projectors were given away through a raffle.

KT invited 200 winners among customers who pre-ordered on its official online mall, KT.com, to the Andaz Hotel for an event. The first customer to activate their device received an Andaz Hotel accommodation voucher as a prize, and all attendees were provided with Andaz Hotel catering refreshments and a tempered glass film application service.

The iPhone 16 series consists of the 6.1-inch (15.4 cm) standard model, the 6.7-inch (17.0 cm) Plus, and the premium models: the 6.3-inch (15.9 cm) Pro and the 6.9-inch (17.4 cm) Pro Max.

The prices remain at the same level as last year in US dollars. The iPhone standard model starts at $799 (128GB), the Plus at $899 (128GB), the Pro at $999 (128GB), and the Pro Max starts at $1,199 (256GB).

LG Uplus had broadcaster Um Ji-yoon personally deliver the iPhone 16 Pro 256GB model to pre-order customer Kim Min-sun in Seocho-gu, Seoul, through the "Morning Delivery" service. In addition, at the complex cultural space "Ilsangbiilsanguitteum by U+" in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, influencers such as Gajeonjubu, Heo Sisters (Kara Lee Young-ji and announcer Heo Song-yeon), Bae Hye-ji (weathercaster), and Bulletari (Instagrammer) attended a live activation event. The influencers will take photos of the space with the iPhone 16 in line with the "Capture the Moment" space concept and review LG Uplus's iPhone-specialized service "IXIO," which offers features such as call recording and will be released next month.