iPhone 18 draws Korean fans as foldable buzz builds

“Five, four, three, two, one!”

Cheers erupted as Apple Myeongdong opened its doors at 8 a.m. Friday. Employees stood at the entrance, applauding customers as they stepped inside to pick up their newly released iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.

Some had been waiting since the previous evening. One customer arrived at 7 p.m. the night before and spent about 13 hours outside the flagship store before becoming one of the first visitors to enter.

“I usually switch to a new iPhone almost every year,” the customer said. “I’m happy that I was able to enter first.”

By 7:30 a.m., around 150 people had gathered outside Apple Myeongdong in central Seoul. Although Apple restricted first-day purchases to customers with preorders, the store remained crowded throughout the morning, with around 300 customers arriving to pick up reserved devices. Visitors who came to see the new products in person added to the crowd.

South Korea has remained one of Apple’s first-wave launch markets for three consecutive years since the iPhone 16 lineup debuted in 2024.

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at 1.99 million won ($1,440), while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at 2.19 million won in Korea. The Pro models are available in black, silver, glacier and burgundy finishes.

Inside the store, customers gathered around display tables, comparing camera performance, checking colors and asking employees about new features.

Yet many conversations quickly turned to Apple’s first foldable device, the iPhone Duo, set to arrive next month.

Some customers browsing the new Pro models were already discussing whether to wait for Apple’s entry into the foldable market and its first new design direction after years of incremental updates.

A man in his 30s who purchased the iPhone 18 Pro said he had considered waiting for the iPhone Duo but decided to upgrade this time.

“When I looked at the unfolded size of the iPhone Duo, it seemed close to the Pro Max,” he said. “So I didn’t feel the need to wait for the Duo.”

He said the first foldable iPhone remained interesting, but he wanted to see how Apple handled the new form factor.

“I’m curious because it is Apple’s first foldable phone. But I have concerns about durability, and I think the Pro offers more proven performance right now.”

Apple’s launch events in Korea have traditionally drawn devoted iPhone users, and this year was no exception.

A woman in her 30s who previously used Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip said she eventually returned to the iPhone.

“I tried using Galaxy for a while, but I came back to the iPhone,” she said. “For me, the iPhone’s design was the biggest reason.”

Still, not everyone inside Apple Myeongdong was an iPhone user.

Asked whether he used an iPhone or Galaxy, one visitor said he used the latter, but had come to buy an iPhone for his son.

His explanation for why he had not made the switch himself was simple: “I’ve used Galaxy for a long time. I’m used to it. Switching would be inconvenient.”

The answer captured a familiar pattern in Korea’s smartphone market: while Apple continues to attract new users, many longtime Galaxy owners remain attached to the devices and ecosystems they already know.

For customers who chose the iPhone 18 Pro, camera improvements remained one of the biggest attractions.

A customer working in video production said Apple’s variable aperture camera feature was the main reason he upgraded.

“I work with video, so the variable aperture was what interested me,” he said. “I expect it will create more natural results than software-based background blur.”