Samsung has taken another swing at big ol’ Apple. Shortly after the iPhone 16 series launch event, the South Korean major took a sly dig at Apple, saying, it was “still waiting” for the Cupertino-based company to release a foldable iPhone.
This is the not the first time Samsung has pointed out its “superiority” or perhaps the early mover advantage it holds over competing brands—Apple included—in the foldable category. The Fold and Flip are in their sixth-generation now. While a foldable iPhone still eludes the world. The new jibe in fact is a throwback to a 2022 tweet it made, which said and we quote, “Let us know when it folds.”
Two years later, Samsung has reposted the same tweet with the header “Still waiting….”, adding fresh context while reminding everyone why buyers should take note.
Samsung’s obsession with Apple doesn’t end at hardware. The company has playfully made fun of its software—iOS—too. Post WWDC 2024, it took potshots at iPhones finally being able to let users move app icons around freely on the Home Screen. “Moving my icons wherever I want since 2010… isn’t that cool?,” Samsung tweeted about the new iOS 18 feature. In the same way, it had shared its opinion about Apple Intelligence as well, tweeting, “Adding “Apple” doesn’t make it new or groundbreaking. Welcome to AI Apple.”
Not just tweets, Samsung has made advertisements hoping they would hit Apple where it hurts. A promotional ad for the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Flip 4 released a week before Apple’s iPhone 14 launch event boldly mentioned, “Buckle up for Apple’s latest launch as you enter a world where heads will turn, just not in your direction. Where the highest resolution camera on a smartphone will be in someone’s pocket. And that epic moonshot that’s getting all the likes won’t be yours. Because this innovation is not coming soon to an iPhone near you. It’s already here in the galaxy.”
At the same time, there have been instances where Samsung was caught foot in mouth with some of these cheeky remarks. Back in 2017, it had released an ad that mocked Apple for ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone. It had to remove the ad following the launch of the Galaxy Note 10 which also dropped the headphone jack.
Such tongue in cheek banter isn’t new for big tech companies. Even before Samsung, the Microsoft-Apple rivalry is a timeless classic, one that evokes both a sense of nostalgia as well as a 101 on how meticulous marketing also plays a big role in making products successful. If only Apple would start taking Samsung seriously with a proportional response—like it does with Microsoft—things could get even more interesting. We are still waiting….