Apple Unveils First Foldable Phone Priced 1 Million Won Higher Than Galaxy Fold

[Anchor]

Apple has officially unveiled its very first foldable smartphone. While boasting advanced technology that makes the crease barely visible, its hefty price tag of over 3 million won poses a hurdle. As Chinese manufacturers pour out new products, a three-way competition among South Korea, the United States, and China is kicking off in the foldable phone market, which Samsung has led for the past 7 years.

Reporter Kwon Ran has the story.

[Reporter]

A passport-sized smartphone that fits comfortably in one hand transforms into a tablet PC when opened.

This is iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone released 19 years after the launch of the original iPhone.

Measuring 13.7 cm when folded and 19.3 cm when unfolded, its size and shape are similar to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Fold 8, which was released last July.

More than 100 precision parts were used in the hinge, a core component of the foldable phone, and fingerprint recognition was applied instead of facial recognition to unlock the device.

The iPhone Duo weighs 254g, making it about 50g heavier than the Fold 8, and is also thicker.

Priced at 1,999 dollars for the 256GB base model, the price difference is not significant compared to Samsung in the United States, but in South Korea, factors like exchange rates result in a price gap of more than 1 million won.

Pre-orders are scheduled to begin on October 16, with the official launch slated for the 23rd.

The arrival of the iPhone Duo is considered the biggest variable in the foldable phone market, which has been dominated by Android manufacturers.

Samsung pioneered the market by releasing its first foldable phone 7 years ago and has already introduced up to the 8th generation, while Google entered the market in 2023 and has already released up to its 4th-generation product.

Chinese companies are also fiercely chasing behind, with Huawei commercializing a trifold phone that folds twice starting two years ago.

Instead, Apple is emphasizing its differentiation as a "device tailored for the AI era," targeting its massive base of iPhone users and the iOS ecosystem.

[John Ternus / Apple CEO: Other foldable phones often felt like two phones awkwardly glued together.]

[Shim Woo-jung / Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade: People within the iPhone and Apple ecosystem now have a foldable phone option to choose from, so I think the market will grow.]

With Apple throwing its hat into the global foldable phone market—expected to surpass 100 million units this year—the fierce battle among Samsung, Apple, and Huawei is projected to intensify.

(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae, Design: Park Taeyoung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.