iPhone 18 Pro Glitches Prompt 1,500 Exchanges in South Korea
About 1,500 iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max units were exchanged and 50 refunded in South Korea during their first 11 days on sale, as buyers reported freezing and unexpected restarts.
Apple’s newly released iPhone 18 Pro lineup has generated an unusual wave of exchanges in South Korea after buyers reported devices freezing, shutting down and restarting without warning.
About 1,500 iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max units were exchanged and 50 were refunded through AppleCare between Sept. 18, when the phones went on sale in Korea, and Sept. 28, according to information Apple Korea provided to People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jang-kyom. Kim serves on the National Assembly committee overseeing science, information technology, broadcasting and communications.
The reported malfunction is commonly described as “panic full,” a term associated with system crashes that can cause a phone to freeze or reboot unexpectedly. The figures cover the first 11 days after the Korean launch, a period when demand for new iPhone models is typically concentrated. Apple does not disclose model-level sales in Korea, so the share of affected devices among all units sold could not be established.
Apple released iOS 27.0.1 on Sept. 29. The update addressed an issue that could make the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max restart unexpectedly when Face ID authentication failed. Apple says the software update resolved the panic full problem. However, some users have continued to report unexpected restarts after installing the update, along with other symptoms such as apps closing abruptly.
The company’s position is that defects reported after the update cannot automatically be classified as the same problem and should instead be handled under general consumer dispute resolution standards. The distinction matters for customers seeking remedies on premium devices. In Korea, the 256-gigabyte iPhone 18 Pro carries a factory price of 1.99 million won, while the equivalent Pro Max costs 2.19 million won.
Exchange and refund procedures differ by sales channel. Customers who bought directly from Apple’s online store or physical stores can request a return or exchange within 14 days of purchase, even for a change of mind. Carrier purchases can also be exchanged relatively easily, but refunds require a work authorization document from a service center confirming a device defect.
Kim called on Apple to determine the precise cause of the malfunctions and give Korean consumers a full explanation of its follow-up measures. The case puts pressure on Apple Korea to show whether the software fix has comprehensively addressed the launch-period failures and how it will handle customers who continue to experience problems.