[THE INVESTOR] Apple’s iPhone 7 and LG Electronics’ V20 have taken a sizable portion of the Korean smartphone market since their recent launches, which came on the heels of Samsung Electronics’s production halt of the Galaxy Note 7.

The market is expected to see a continuous inflow of undecided customers as Samsung Electronics plans to urge remaining Note 7 owners to change their fire-prone devices.

Since the iPhone 7 was first rolled out on Friday, around 62,000 consumers changed their telecom operators, according to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association on Sunday. The figure is higher than the 57,000 who switched operators when the Galaxy Note 7 launched in August.



Smartphone buyers here commonly change their telecom operators to get more financial benefits from the new operator.

On Friday alone, more than 100,000 units of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus combined were reportedly sold. More than 300,000 units of iPhone 7 were also pre-ordered.

“It is hard to estimate how many Note 7 owners will opt for the iPhone 7. But, it may be difficult for Samsung to win customers back once they transfer to an iPhone (which has a different platform from Android),” said Lee Byung-tae, a professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology’s College of Business.

Another big player taking advantage of the absence of the Note 7 is Samsung Electronics’ local smartphone rival LG Electronics.

LG’s new flagship smartphone V20 has seen around a 20 percent rise in sales since its launch on Sept. 29 after Samsung discontinued the sales of the Note 7. V20 is currently selling around 5,000 units per day, according to industry watchers.

“Some Note 7 users appear to choose V20 as both have the same 5.7-inch screen and similar specifications,” an industry source said.

The local smartphone market may heat up further as Samsung Electronics plans to urge around 450,000 consumers, who still have their Note 7, to change the problematic device. The tech giant, which is in talks with local telecom operators, may announce a new compensation plan as early as this week.

“We are reviewing additional compensation plans to increase the return of the Note 7 (for the safety of consumers),” a Samsung Electronics’ official said.

The new compensation may include a plan to allow Note 7 users, who replace the phones with Samsung smartphones, to again change the devices to the new Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8 which will be rolled out next year with additional discounts, according to several local news reports.

Upon its decision to suspend the Note 7 altogether on Oct. 11, Samsung has been asking its customers to exchange the device with other products or receive a cash refund from the store they purchased the smartphone in. The company has asked mobile carriers to give a cash refund or to replace the phone with a product from other companies upon the request of the customer.

Samsung is currently offering a complimentary voucher worth 30,000 won ($26) for Note users in Korea when they return their phones and a one-time 70,000 won credit on their monthly mobile bill is also given when they replace the phone with other Samsung phones.

But only 10 percent of the some 500,000 Note users here are estimated to have returned the phone as of Friday.

By Shin Ji-hye/ The Korea Herald (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)