Apple Inc. began receiving pre-orders for its latest iPhone 8 series in South Korea on Friday, but the new series sold out at a slower pace compared to the predecessor iPhone 7 series, underscoring the phone’s tepid reception worldwide.

KT Corp., the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier, said on Friday that all 50,000 units of the iPhone 8 that were allocated for pre-order online and offline sold out in 30 minutes after its pre-order reception began. It was slower than the iPhone 7 series that sold out in 15 minutes when the same amount of pre-order was put up for sale last year.

A salesperson from a mobile phone store in central Seoul said he has taken fewer inquiries or pre-orders of the iPhone 8 series compared to the previous iPhone series - only half of last year’s level. An unnamed official from the mobile industry also said the sluggish demand for the iPhone 8 seemed to suggest that people are wanting to wait for the launch of the premium iPhone X with better features that was unveiled on the same day with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. A series of reports about a swelling battery issue with the new iPhone devices in other countries have also made consumers being reluctant to buy the iPhone 8 series, some industry observers said.

The lukewarm response to the iPhone 8 series in Korea is in line with weak sales of the new device in other countries in the launch month. Some industry experts expected the iPhone sales would pick up following the launch of the more expensive iPhone X in Korea. In the U.K., the iPhone X sold out in less than 10 minutes since its pre-order began in the morning on Friday, raising hopes that the iPhone may restore its fame, according to a news report from The Guardian.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in Korea will be officially launched a week later.

The 64 gigabyte (GB) iPhone 8 is priced at 946,000 won ($838.2) and the 256GB model at 1,142,900 won. The 64GB iPhone 8 Plus has a price tag of 1,076,900 won and 256GB model of 1,283,700 won. Mobile carriers are expected to provide similar subsidies for the iPhone 8 device as to its predecessor - from 34,000 won to 122,000 won depending on a payment plan. Subscribers can also choose to receive a 25 percent discount on each device as part of the government’s latest measures to help cut mobile costs.

The 4.7-inch-screen 64GB iPhone 8 and the larger 5.5-inch-screen 256GB iPhone 8 Plus models were the most popular models in Korea during the pre-order sale. Among the three colors available for the device - space grey, silver, and gold - gold was picked the most.

By Cho Hee-young and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]