[News Today] RAPID RISE OF CHINESE SMARTPHONES

[LEAD]
'Made in China'...this term often suggests cheap goods. Well that's up till now. Chinese technology has rapidly caught up and some of them now even surpasses Korean products. High-end Chinese goods are now making inroads into the Korean market.

[REPORT]
Thinner than Samsung phones...

"We now present the industry's first 8.93mm foldable phone."

More folding panels than Samsung phones.

"It is the world's first tri-fold smartphone."

Ha Nu-ri / KBS reporter
This Chinese brand claims it has a more superior camera function than Samsung
phones. It claims it can even replace Apple and Samsung.
Let's look at the chips.

Shahram Mokhtari / Huawei smartphone teardown technician
It's now produced by a Chinese manufacturer.

That sets it apart from Samsung, which uses U.S. Qualcomm chips in the latest model of its Galaxy smartphones.

Samsung has lowered the price of its new products, whereas the Chinese maker is selling its products at higher prices.

Techmong / YouTuber
Nowadays we have to compare against Chinese smartphones and benchmark them.

In terms of global shipments, Chinese smartphones are ranked third, fourth and fifth trailing Samsung and Apple.

The newest models of Chinese smartphones have recently been released in Korea.

Domestic user of Chinese smartphone/
I'm curious about new things. Chinese phones have larger battery capacity. More
and more people want to buy officially released Chinese phones.

While privacy leak concerns still remain, if exports of Chinese phones to Korea are expanded to avoid U.S. tariffs, there's no telling how things will change in the domestic market.

Cho Young-moo / LG Economic Research Institute
Just like how Korea surpassed Japan, China is catching up. Once recognized in Korea, consumers in other countries will be drawn to the Chinese products.

Chinese products appear to be ready to dominate even Korea's high-end market.

Concerns are rising that Korean products may lag behind their Chinese rivals both in terms of price and performance.