Apple's slimmest iPhone ever set for release next month, with tariffs casting uncertainty over sales in South Korea

An Apple logo is seen, in this illustration taken on Aug. 25, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap

SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Apple will release a new series of iPhones and other devices next month, including the thinnest iPhone ever, with South Korea among the first batch of launch countries for the second consecutive year.

According to industry sources, the tech giant is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series including a super-slim "Air" model at its headquarters in Cupertino, California on Sept. 9.

Apple, which for years had placed South Korea in the second or later phases of its global rollouts, now includes the country among its first-tier major markets alongside Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, and India, in an apparent bid to diversify its market presence amid slowing sales in China.

Preorders will be available shortly after the release, with sales beginning about a week later in South Korea.

But it remains to be seen whether even loyal iPhone customers here will be swayed by the latest models, which are expected to carry higher price tags due to U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff measures.

Market watchers already expressed concern that the new iPhone's second-half sales may not match those of its predecessors. U.S. investment bank Jefferies recently warned that iPhone sales "may be the toughest ever."

But it added that Apple "still has a chance to recover lost ground in the second half of this year," as the new models' artificial intelligence (AI) features could "drive replacement demand" and outperform market expectations.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com