Samsung Galaxy Note 4 beats iPhone 6 to stores in China and South Korea, launching September 26

Samsung (005930:KS) today confirmed that its newest flagship, the Galaxy Note 4, will launch in South Korea this week, on September 26. The AP adds that the phone hits China on the same day. However, the rest of the world needs to wait a month longer for the Note 4 as it rolls out to 140 countries, Samsung says, “by the end of October.” (Hat-tip to The Next Web for spotting this).

The early Note 4 launch for China means that Samsung beats Apple to the punch in the world’s biggest smartphone market. The iPhone 6 hasn’t yet launched in mainland China due to apparent regulatory issues.

But the month-long wait in most countries still leaves Samsung defenseless against the iPhone 6 Plus in much of the world. The larger of the two iPhone 6 variants packs a 5.5-inch screen. The Note 4 has a 5.7-inch screen (which is QHD, much more pixel-intense than the 6 Plus’ 1080p HD screen).

Apple sold a record 10 million of the two iPhone 6 models in the first weekend. But the larger iPhone 6 Plus is going viral in all the wrong ways today as a handful of early buyers report accidentally bending the large phone in their pant pocket. Nearly every slim smartphone can be bent with enough pressure, so it remains to be seen how much of that is hysteria – and how much Samsung can benefit from that with early and preferential launches for the Note 4 in Korea and mainland China.

See: 15 new Asian smartphone makers hoping to crush Samsung and Apple

(Source: AP)