Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, officially launched domestically on Friday, and the first round of pre-orders from the three major mobile carriers sold out in just one minute. Buyers showed a preference for Star White among the two available colors, while buyers in their 30s accounted for the largest share by age group.
SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus announced the results of the pre-orders conducted over the past week, starting from the 16th, as they marked the launch of the iPhone Duo on this day.
First, SK Telecom stated that its first-round pre-order, which guaranteed delivery on the first day of release, ended in one minute. It reported that “Star White” was more preferred than “Night Sky” among the two colors, and that 256GB (gigabyte) and 512GB models accounted for 60% of total reservations. By customer age group, those in their 30s were the most numerous at 36%, followed by △those in their 40s at 35% and △those in their 20s at 13.9%.
KT also stated that the first- and second-round stock of 256GB and 512GB models sold out in one minute through pre-orders on KT Direct Shop. By color, seven out of every 10 purchasing customers chose Star White.
At LG Uplus’s official online store as well, the Star White color accounted for 69.4% of total reservations. Reservations for the 256GB model exceeded half at 51.8%. Reservations for the 512GB model were 40.7%.
In line with the popularity of the iPhone Duo, the promotional competition among the three major mobile carriers also intensified. SKT is providing all customers who activate an iPhone Duo with a two-month subscription to T Universe’s Google AI Plus (400GB) and a six-month subscription to TVING Ad-supported Standard. It will give away prizes to 1,210 customers selected by lottery: △a package of professional baseball player memorabilia (210 people), △iPhone Duo cases featuring retro sensibilities utilizing the “Speed 011” and “TTL” brands (500 people), and △T1 special edition cases (500 people).
KT is offering up to a 32% rate discount by adding a 7% Direct Shop-exclusive rate discount to the 25th% discount under the voluntary contract plan via KT Direct Shop. Customers purchasing the iPhone Duo at KT Direct Shop will receive a four-item accessory package and a free 12-month usage pass for iCloud+ 200GB.
LG Uplus lowered the burden of the device price for the iPhone Duo through its compensation program. It operates the “70% Compensation Pass” program, which compensates up to 70% of the original retail price in points depending on conditions such as the time of return and device status if customers return the iPhone Duo from the sixth month after activation and switch to a new iPhone, and the “50% Compensation Pass,” which compensates up to 50% of the original retail price after 24 months of use.
Customers subscribing to plans of “Apple Device Plus Plan 105” or higher will receive a full discount on the 24th-month installment payments for the AirPods 5 wireless charging model, and can also choose installment payment discounts for Apple devices such as △AirPods Pro 3, △Apple Watch SE 3, and △AirPods Max 2 depending on their subscribed plan and selected device. It is also conducting a monthly fee discount promotion targeting customers who subscribe to the online-exclusive Nugget plans.
In addition, they launched customized repair insurance products for the iPhone Duo that can alleviate the burden of high repair costs. SK Telecom partnered with Apple to offer “T iPhone Care” as a damage compensation product, while KT introduced the iPhone Duo-exclusive “PhoneCare_iDuo” and “PhoneChange_iDuo” services.
in TECH
