Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest smartphone maker, saw its domestic market share exceed 70 percent for the first time in the third quarter on new products, a market research firm said Sunday. For the three months that ended in September, Samsung Electronics produced 3.4 million smartphones to account for 72.3 percent of the local smartphone markets, according to data from Strategy Analytics, Inc. New products such as the Galaxy Note 20 smartphone and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy

Apple Inc. and three South Korean mobile carriers began taking preorders Friday for the iPhone 12 mini and the 12 Pro Max. The US tech giant said the smallest and the largest versions of its latest generation smartphone will go on sale in South Korea starting Nov. 20. The iPhone 12 mini is the smallest of Apple's new smartphones, with a 5.4-inch screen, compared with the standard model's 6.1-inch display. It, however, has the same dual-camera setup on the back as the 12 model. The 12 Pro Max

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong convened a design strategy meeting Thursday in his first business activity since his father's death last month. Lee and high-ranking executives discussed the tech giant's future design plans during the meeting at its research center in Seoul, the company said. It was the first time that the 52-year-old tycoon led a company event since the passing of his father and longtime Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee, who died at age 78 on Oct. 25. Lee, the

With the latest announcement of Micron’s completion of a 176-layer NAND Flash chip, pressure is mounting on market leader Samsung Electronics over its belated new product launch. Up until early this year, it was widely expected that Samsung was going to announce the mass production of its seventh-generation 3D V-NAND Flash this year. However, industry insider s said that the Korean chip giant seems to have changed plans due to technological challenges that it has not yet overcome. Sa

Hanwha Q Cells, South Korea’s leading solar cell and module maker, will build a 41-megawatt floating solar power plant in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, the company said Thursday. According to Hanwha Q Cells, the company received approval from the Korea Water Resources Corporation last week and plans to begin construction of the solar farm within this year. When finished, it will be the largest floating solar power plant built at a dam. It will generate enough electricity for aro

Video game giants Microsoft Corp. and Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. are eyeing an unclaimed territory in their latest battle for global console supremacy: South Korea. South Korea is among the major markets for the launches this week of their new devices -- Microsoft's Xbox Series S and Series X and Sony's PlayStation 5 -- a departure from previous global rollouts when South Korean gamers had to wait months for new consoles. While the e-sports powerhouse is one of the largest video game

Two of the top four televisions of 2020 selected by US Consumer Reports were LG Electronics’ organic light-emitting diode TVs, according to a report on Wednesday. The LG OLED TV 65-inch C9 and CX models received the highest scores in the high definition and ultra-high definition categories, the report said. The three-dimensional sound effect offered by Dolby Atmos was also recognized. The other two best TVs were Sony’s OLED TV and Samsung Electronics’ QLED TV (Q90). Sams

SK Telecom, South Korea‘s leading telecommunications firm, said Tuesday that it has introduced a new subscription service for Microsoft‘s Xbox game console in South Korea. The new subscription service bundle is comprised of the latest edition of Microsoft’s Xbox -- the Xbox Series X or Series S -- and a 5G and cloud-based game streaming service, which offers around 100 games for the game console, as well as computers and mobile devices. According to SKT, Korea is currently

US streaming giant Netflix Inc. is estimated to have brought in record-high paid subscriptions in South Korea last month, industry data showed Tuesday. An estimated 3.62 million viewers in South Korea presumably paid 51.4 billion won ($45.9 million) for subscriptions in October, almost twofold from 26.2 billion won in the same period a year earlier, according to the data from industry tracker WiseApp. The data showed that users in their 20s accounted for 36 percent of last month's paid users,

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless carrier, said Tuesday it released Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox All Access service for the local market, offering gamers the US tech giant's latest game console as well as its cloud gaming service. The new subscription service bundles Microsoft's new console -- the Xbox Series X or Series S -- and its game streaming service -- 5GX Cloud Game -- launched in September for the local market in partnership with SK Telecom. South Korea is the only Asian countr

Samsung Electronics said Monday that its microbiology laboratory unit Eco-Life Lab has been certified by international product testing institute TUV Rheinland for finding new ways to analyze microbial activities in electronic products. Samsung Electronics has recently obtained two different certifications from∙the International Organization for Standardization: ISO 22196 for developing a measurement of antibacterial activity on plastics and other non-porous surfaces and ISO 846 for finding a w

SK Telecom, South Korea‘s top mobile carrier, said on Monday it is ramping up its services for foreign language customers under the slogan “Like a Local” in an effort to help break language barriers in an increasingly multicultural era. In an industry first, the company said it will offer an English language service for its mobile app where users can check their data usage, get discounts and pay mobile bills upfront. The telecoms network will also offer customer service in mu

Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., the two major South Korean tech companies, are expected to continue their upward trajectory in earnings projections amid the coronavirus pandemic, market watchers said Saturday. Quarterly sales of Naver -- South Korea's top internet portal operator -- and Kakao -- the operator of the country's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk -- both jumped twofold in just four and three years, respectively. Naver said its sales for the July-September period reached the highes

Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s largest mobile messenger platform, announced Thursday that the company had posted record-high sales and operating profit in the third quarter this year. The company’s sales in the three-month period reached 1.1 trillion won ($973.38 million), up 41 percent on-year, according to the company’s regulatory filing Thursday. Its operating profit during the same period rose 103 percent on-year to 120.2 billion won, the company added. Kakao&rsqu

“Sammy” is a new wake-up word for Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Home Mini speaker, according to the tech giant on Thursday. Samsung has recently added the new word to wake up its voice-activated artificial intelligence speaker, the Galaxy Home Mini, through a software update. Users can both use “Hi, Bixby” and “Sammy-ya” to activate the speaker. There have been some complaints on inaccuracy and inconvenience from calling the AI assistant Bixby, due t