Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong once joked from a stage in Seoul, asking why so many people around him were carrying iPhones. That line, tossed off almost as a punchline back in October, is now getting flipped on its head.

Data shared by Omdia and reported by Hankyung shows Samsung’s Korean shipments climbed past 5.9 million units in the first half of 2026, pushing its home market share to nearly 79 percent.

Reports note the phone broke pre-order records domestically, with the Ultra variant alone making up a large part of early sales, largely on the strength of AI features and a new privacy display option.

The iPhone still grew shipments by over 15 percent in the same window, helped along by the budget-friendly iPhone 17e landing in March, right around the same time Samsung was releasing the S26 lineup globally.

Apple dominates Korea’s fourth quarter once new iPhones ship, and last year that spike pushed its quarterly share above 40 percent while Samsung dipped. So this early lead for Samsung isn’t guaranteed to hold through December.

• Galaxy Z Fold 8 1.44 million pre-orders break records of Galaxy S26, Note 10, and all others

Analysts point out that Galaxy phones, once dismissed by younger buyers as something their parents used, are now being seen as design-forward and genuinely innovative.

Whether that momentum survives the iPhone 18 launch and Apple’s rumored foldable is the question everyone in Samsung’s home market is now asking instead.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 foldable lineup is paying off in a big way in Southeast Asia and the Oceania region. The pre-order numbers coming out of the region prove it.

The Galaxy Z8 series has just posted its strongest pre-order run yet, with the Fold 8 Ultra and Fold 8 combined pulling in a 60 percent jump over last year’s Fold 7 device, nearly double the pace Samsung saw globally.

Interestingly, it’s the standard Fold 8, not the Ultra, selling like hotcakes. Samsung says (via Yonhap News) 6 out of 10 pre-order buyers in the region went with the Fold 8 over its pricier sibling.

That tracks with how the phone was built this generation, leaning into short-form video, OTT, and gaming with its wider 4:3 display. Notably, Graphite and Lavender came out on top as the go-to colorways.

Roughly 60 percent of customers picking up a Z8 device fall between their teens and 30s, a signal that foldables are finally breaking out of the early-adopter, premium-buyer bracket and into younger, mainstream territory across the region.

Watches ride the wave too

Alongside the phones, Samsung also released the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9 in the region on the same day, pairing an 800mAh outdoor-focused Ultra with a wellness-centric Watch 9.

Samsung is framing all of this under one banner: a connected Galaxy AI ecosystem tying phones, foldables, and wearables together for the region’s consumers.

Samsung SDS’s AI-powered platform, Brity Works, is being adopted by South Korean government ministries. Nine central government organizations have confirmed plans to use the platform for their daily work.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget started the process in April. Seven other government bodies have also decided to use Brity Works. These include the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Financial Services Commission and Overseas Koreans Agency.

This is part of South Korea’s plan to increase the use of artificial intelligence in government offices. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to expand its AI-based OnAI system to more than 40 central government agencies by the end of this year.

Brity Works offers many work tools in one place. It helps employees search for information, write documents, manage knowledge, send messages, hold video meetings and share files.

Government workers can also use the platform on mobile phones. They can send reports, approve documents, join meetings and get AI-made meeting summaries while away from the office. Samsung SDS said the platform uses a highly secure cloud system.

The company plans to improve Brity Works and connect it more closely with OnAI as South Korea expands the use of AI in government work.

Samsung Electronics America and Care New England have partnered to improve the experience of patients, families and medical staff at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. The hospital’s new Labor and Delivery Center uses around 3,500 Samsung displays in different areas.

These displays are used in patient rooms, waiting areas, staff workspaces, training rooms and other parts of the hospital. They help make the hospital more comfortable, connected and efficient.

Around 200 Samsung healthcare TVs are installed in patient rooms and other areas. Patients can use them to watch entertainment, display family photos and connect gaming consoles or streaming devices. This helps patients feel more comfortable during their hospital stay.

Image via Samsung

Large Samsung LED displays are also used in the hospital. A 130-inch display welcomes visitors in the main lobby, while another large LED display recognizes the hospital’s donors and community supporters.

Samsung displays also help doctors, nurses and other hospital staff. Nearly 3,000 business monitors support their daily work. Large 4K displays show patient updates, waiting-room information and other important information. The display system is connected to the hospital’s electronic health record system.

Samsung interactive displays are also used for staff training, education and team meetings. The hospital can also use Samsung QMC displays and a cloud-based system to quickly share announcements, educational content and patient information.

KCON LA 2026 kicks off tomorrow, and if you can’t snag a ticket to Crypto.com Arena, Samsung has you covered. The broadcast will go out to viewers in 17 countries, including the US, UK, India, France, Germany, Thailand, and more.

Samsung TV Plus, the company’s free ad-supported streaming service, will carry live coverage of the festival from August 14 to 16, and the best part is you won’t need a subscription or even a Samsung account to tune in.

Coverage comes through the CJ ENM K-POP channel on Samsung TV Plus, capturing performances from both the Toyota Music Den Stage and the M Countdown Stage.

Since KCON LA has grown into one of the biggest K-culture gatherings anywhere, having a front-row seat from your living room is a solid deal for fans who couldn’t make the trip to Los Angeles this year.

If you own SmartThings-compatible devices, you can sync your lighting and sound to match the concert vibe, basically turning your living room into a mini KCON venue.

So if K-pop is your thing and you’re nowhere near Los Angeles, all you really need is a Samsung Smart TV, Smart Monitor, or even a Galaxy device to catch the action live and for free.

Keep in mind that broadcast timings will shift depending on your region, so it’s worth checking local listings before the festival kicks off so you don’t miss your favorite acts.