It has been widely reported that Apple's market penetration has been waining in Korea, in the face of extreme local competition from Samsung and LG. However, a mobile open market research report from Goodmobile has shown that Apple is perhaps back in favor with Korean consumers.

After the release of the iPhone in Korea Apple enjoyed a sustained period of popularity, but in the last couple of years the US manufacturers favor in Korea has dipped to around 15% or even lower. This has been attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, the gap in perceived quality and brand value has narrowed, as Samsung began to produce premium handsets. Further, the introduction of bigger screens was a particular hit in Korea, and attracted droves of Apple customers.

Now with the release of Apple's own large screens, Korean smartphone consumers seem to be switching back to Apple, at least in  terms of intent to purchase.

The research firm announced the results of its survey, conducted between Sept. 12 to Oct, after interviewing 437 respondent. In a surprise result, 76% of respondents said that they wanted to purchase the iPhone 6+ rather than the Galaxy Note 4.

The iPhone 6+ scored high marks from respondents in questions relating to the Apple's iOS and the App Store, while the Galaxy Note 4 garnered good scores across hardware features.

Preference among respondents for the Galaxy Note 4 were polarised, with some preferring the brand (Samsung), whereas others awarded high points for its separable battery. As expected the iPhone 6+ received poor results for its fixed battery.

Edited from original on Business Korea