When Apple uploaded promotional images for its new Apple iPad Mini, it reportedly omitted the image showing a hand holding the device between the thumb and index finger exclusively on its South Korean website.
Apple Adjusts iPad Mini Imagery for South Korea
On the 27th (local time), Austrian IT specialist media outlet Notebookcheck reported that Apple is using different promotional images for the newly released iPad Mini depending on the country.
According to the outlet, the official Apple websites in the US and China feature a hand pinching the edges of the iPad Mini between the thumb and index finger. This is intended to emphasize the slim and sleek design, which measures 5.4 mm in thickness.
In contrast, the South Korean website features the exact same compositional image, but without the hand.
Understanding the Pinch-Hand Controversy
The media outlet interpreted this difference as being related to the ‘pinch-hand’ controversy that has sparked debates in South Korea.
This hand gesture, which involves bringing the thumb and index finger together to hold an object, has previously been interpreted by some as demeaning to men, leading to controversy. In fact, in 2023, a ‘pinch-hand’ gesture in a promotional video for the game ‘MapleStory’ caused a major controversy, prompting the developer Nexon to issue a direct apology.
The outlet suggested that “Apple may have modified the images to avoid unnecessary controversy in South Korea.”
Notebookcheck also noted that Apple had previously gone through similar adjustments during the launch of the iPhone Air, interpreting that localization work to remove hand gestures that could become controversial in the South Korean market is becoming a repeated pattern.
