"Buy Me an iPhone" Trend Worsening... Could the 'Selfie = iPhone' Formula Become Like Celebrities?

Apple equips 'iPhone 16' with top-performance camera
Main lens enlarged by 12% with 48MP sensor

Apple will equip the new iPhone 'iPhone16,' scheduled for release this September, with the highest-performance camera ever.

According to the IT industry on the 15th, Apple is expected to install a custom 48-megapixel latest Sony sensor and a 12% larger main camera lens on the iPhone16 Pro Max. Additionally, the ultra-wide camera will be equipped with an improved 48-megapixel lens, compared to the existing 12-megapixel lens. If the forecast is accurate, the new iPhone16 will be able to capture much clearer, high-resolution photos than before.

Actor Han So-hee's selfie taken with an iPhone [Image source: Han So-hee Instagram capture]

The upgraded resolution further enhances image detail and clarity. The higher the resolution, the better the quality is maintained even when cropping or zooming photos, providing more flexibility in post-processing. The industry views Apple's significant camera upgrade as targeting the younger generation. Especially as famous celebrities post selfies taken with iPhones on social networking services (SNS), the formula 'selfie = iPhone' and 'photo = iPhone' has become firmly established among people in their teens and twenties. In particular, in Korea, there is considerable demand for purchasing iPhones instead of Samsung Electronics products for high-resolution photo shooting. Accordingly, Apple Korea's operating profit last year, as shown in the audit report, increased by as much as 550% compared to the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile, the new iPhone16, scheduled for release this September, is predicted to achieve the highest sales volume in three years. Therefore, the new iPhone is expected to engage in fierce competition with Samsung Electronics' newly launched 'Galaxy Z Fold6' and 'Galaxy Z Flip6.' An industry insider said, "With nearly 300 million iPhones reaching their replacement cycle and the need for device upgrades growing among existing iPhone users due to battery and camera functions, a large-scale replacement demand is expected to continue from the iPhone16 this second half of the year."

Mirror selfie taken by Kim Yuna with an iPhone [Image source=Captured from Kim Yuna's Instagram]

Meanwhile, Yuna Kim, a former national figure skating champion and SK Telecom's Galaxy S24 advertising model, recently posted a selfie taken with an iPhone on her SNS, sparking debate among netizens. When Yuna Kim showed a 'mirror selfie' taken with an iPhone in May, netizens questioned, "Wasn't Yuna Kim the Galaxy S24 model?" and "Isn't the Galaxy S24 camera better?" In response, one netizen said, "Yuna Kim has two phones. She uses the iPhone for selfies and the (Galaxy Z) Flip for daily use," while another said, "These days, many people use old iPhones for photography." In fact, with the recent retro trend, the popularity of older iPhones for photography has been rising alongside film cameras and digital cameras.