Vertu, Motorola, Xiaomi eye Korean smartphone market as LG exits

South Korea’s smartphone market is notoriously hard for foreign mobile phone makers to crack. So hard that some people call it the “graveyard for foreign phone makers.”

In the Korean market, many global mobile phone makers, including Motorola, have come and gone, succumbing to powerful local rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. One exception is Apple Inc.’s iPhones, which find loyal users in Korea as easily as in other countries.

With LG exiting the smartphone market last year after amassing 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) in operating losses, however, overseas phone makers are looking for a niche market left vacant by the Korean company.

One of those foreign companies challenging Samsung’s Galaxy line of smartphones and Apple’s iPhones in Korea is Vertu, a UK smartphone manufacturer.

According to industry officials on Friday, the company’s smartphones, including the Metavertu, its Web3-focused device, are available to Korean consumers via the brand's own webstore.

Launched as a subsidiary of Nokia in 2002, Vertu became independent in 2012, rebranding itself as a super-high-end mobile device manufacturer.

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Its latest luxury model, the Metavertu, is a Web3 phone that can run its own blockchain node and turn photos and videos into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with a single click.

Targeting the higher end of the smartphone market, all Metavertu models sport a ceramic frame and Vertu’s signature sapphire glass screen, powered by a Qualcomm SnapDragon 8 Gen 1 CPU.

The entry-level model comes with a carbon fiber finish at prices starting from 4 million won ($2,985). The top-of-the-line model, meanwhile, comes wrapped in Himalaya Alligator leather, 18k gold and diamonds, with a price tag of as much as $41,000.

A British startup smartphone manufacturer, Nothing, also tapped the Korean market by launching its signature Nothing Phone 1 with a transparent case in June.

Motorola, which withdrew from the Korean market in 2013, recently unveiled mid-priced smartphones for Korean users.

China’s Xiaomi Inc. is also aggressively launching new smartphones in the Korean market to appeal to low- and medium-end consumers.

“After LG pulled out of the smartphone market, it’s been a duel between Samsung’s Galaxy and Apple’s iPhone in Korea. Foreign phone makers now will actively look for a niche market in Korea,” said an industry official.

Write to Sungsu Bae at baebae@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.