Don't Miss

S. Korea iPhone release date confirmed for Oct. 31: Can Apple keep up with demand?

October 14, 2014

Apple will release its iPhone 6 line into 69 countries by the end of the month. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

Apple officially announced Oct. 31 as the release date in South Korea for its latest flagship products, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

It plans to distribute the phones in 69 countries and territories by the end of the month, resulting in its fastest iPhone rollout ever.

Part of the strategy is to capitalize on the latest iPhone lines’ record success after selling 10 million units after its first weekend post-U.S. release.

The only concern is whether Apple will be able to keep up its supply with global demand. Foxconn, its Chinese assembly factory, is struggling to put together enough labor resources for the iPhone product line alone and has even gone so far as to push back its large screen iPad release date into 2015.

Besides keeping pace with hardware production, Apple’s software is also receiving scrutiny and criticism over its latest mobile operating system iOS 8. With a hard release date of Sept. 17, some analysts believed that the company was not necessarily ready to debut iOS 8 to the world.

Speed is a valuable commodity in the tech landscape with rapid and competitive developments, but only when it is delicately balanced with quality.

With an unprecedented release rate in the coming months, public opinion will decide how well Apple has planned its immediate future with iOS 8, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.