Samsung Electronics is successfully overcoming its unflattering “ajeossi phone” reputation among younger consumers with improved artificial intelligence features and slimmer designs helping Galaxy smartphones gain significant traction with users in their teens, 20s, and 30s.

The transformation is evident in viral social media content, including a YouTube video featuring a female singer that accumulated over one million views in a month with lyrics praising Galaxy phones.

The video includes lines like “You call me tteulttak (oldie), but I like the 16:9 cinema screen,” directly addressing the outdated image perception.

Recent polling data from Gallup Korea supports Samsung’s improving appeal among younger demographics.

In a survey of 1,002 respondents aged 18-29, 46% said they would choose Galaxy as their next smartphone compared to 50% preferring iPhone, marking a dramatic improvement from 2024 when only 36% favoured Galaxy while 60% preferred iPhone.

Samsung’s momentum extends beyond perception changes to concrete market results.

Counterpoint Research reported that Samsung captured 82% of accumulated smartphone sales in South Korea from January to July, representing a 4 percentage point increase year-on-year and marking the first time the company exceeded 80% market share.

Apple’s share declined to 18%.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 achieved record-breaking preorders of 1.04 million units, while the Galaxy S25 series surpassed 3 million units sold faster than any previous S series launch.

At Samsung’s Galaxy Unfolders hands-on experience event, over 75% of participants were aged 18-39.

Design improvements have been crucial to Samsung’s image transformation.

The latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures just 8.9 millimetres when folded and 4.2mm when unfolded, addressing previous criticism about bulky designs that contributed to the “ajeossi phone” stereotype.

Samsung’s aggressive AI integration, including partnerships with Google’s Gemini, has strengthened its competitive position.

The company offers comprehensive AI-powered features spanning conversation translation, search capabilities, and advanced image editing tools.

A viral YouTube Shorts video by Custom Adventurist comparing AI eraser features across Galaxy, Apple, and Xiaomi devices garnered 88.3 million views, with Galaxy delivering superior image restoration results while competitors distorted images.

This demonstrates Samsung’s practical AI advantages over rivals.

Apple’s cautious approach to external AI partnerships and focus on developing proprietary models has left the company struggling to match Samsung’s AI feature set, according to industry observers.

Samsung’s momentum faces testing with Apple’s iPhone 17 series launch in September.

Apple has included South Korea among the first-wave launch markets, intensifying efforts to target local consumers directly.

Counterpoint Research noted that “Apple’s customer loyalty remains strong, so Samsung’s lead may slow once Apple launches its new products in September,” highlighting the ongoing competitive dynamics in South Korea’s smartphone market despite Samsung’s recent gains among younger users.