Apple is copying Samsung — and Samsung’s none too happy about it.
No, this isn’t some alternate universe timeline, but the narrative according to Samsung’s latest ad for the Galaxy Note 4.
Taking viewers back to 2011, when Samsung first launched its 5.3-inch “phablet” smartphone, the ad cites various tech journals and websites who dismissed it at the time. Most notably singled out is the Wall Street Journal, which hilariously suggested the device made users look like they were “talking into a piece of toast.”
“Naturally when things are new and different, sometimes people aren’t ready for them,” says the narrator of Samsung’s ad.
Jump forward to 2014, and Apple has now finally announced its long-awaited 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhone 6, which Samsung sees as a clear copy of its own strategy. (There are, for the record, upwards of 550 million examples of Samsung “copying” Apple.)
Although Samsung is no stranger to mocking Apple in its ads, if there’s an extra reason why it’s being a bit tetchy currently it may come down to the fact that Apple’s iPhone 6 goes on sale September 19, while Samsung users are going to have to wait until the first half of October to get their hands on the Galaxy Note 4.
The fact that Apple’s latest handset looks set to become the company’s most popular one yet, with a record number of preorders, can’t be doing much to calm nerves at Samsung HQ either.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
27 responses to “Samsung’s latest ad cries that Apple is copying them”
I guess what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander?
It’s mainly that the goose keeps suing the gander for “copying”, while the goose is actively copying the gander with each new product release. The goose is a bleeding hypocrite. lol
Really? Copying the size of a phone is something to get nuts over?
Meh.. Apple wasn’t first in anything, and they even admit it.. Wasn’t the first MP3 player, PDA, tablet.. digital watch.. They don’t succeed by being first.. Attack ads really just speak to Samsung’s desperation..
Samsung’s loosing market in China to smaller android OEM’s.. and loosing in the US market to Apple. It’s crunch time and they are p***’ing into the wind about it. /shrug
Wonder where Samsung will be in the next few years..
Apple may not be the first in anything, but they make everything better. Samsung can thank Apple for bringing NFC Tap to Pay terminals back into the market of a hot commodity soon enough.
And if Apple wanted a larger display , they could’ve made it ten years ago.
True but with Apple it’s all about Quality. Samsung revised revised revised revised…revised. Five revisions of the same product within a year’s time.
Except that Apple’s coveted “Retina” display was made by Samsung.
The differentiator for Apple’s implementation will be security and how Samsung, and Google for that matter, will address how secure the data will be versus Apple Pay. If Google is storing the credit card data in the cloud that’ll be strike one against Google Wallet.
SIDE NOTE: even though it wasn’t Google that got hacked storing sensitive information in the cloud is on everyone’s minds after the nude picture scandal. It won’t matter how safe people perceive Google to be, having credit card data stored in the cloud will likely give any potential Google Wallet user pause.
Based on how clumsy the authentication method is on Samsung devices it won’t be nearly as simple, effective or compelling as TouchID. That’s to say nothing of the countless Android phones that decided that removing the Home button was a good idea. Those phones are all but screwed as they’ll never been as fast or accurate as using TouchID and Passbook.
Some phones do have a authentication button on the back but then there’s the matter of the Google Wallet cloud data issue.
This is so stupid. So most Android users don’t like Apple or iPhone because Apples ecosystem is more closed off and they don’t really listen to the public. They finally do something that a lot of people asked for and now they are copying. Christ haha
“Hello pot… this is kettle…”
Hi Kettle… can you stop sending your army of Lawyers after us for “copying”? It’s getting really old. kthnks. Nice new phablet btw. So innovative. How do you keep doing it?
I actually am loving these commercials from Samsung. This is nothing but free advertising for Apple. Let Samsung spend the millions of dollars on tv ads…it just goes to show how much Samsung actually cares about competing against Apple. You never see a Samsung ad about HTC or Sony…because Samsung doesn’t care about them.
Well that and the whole constant barrage of lawsuits Apple keeps throwing at Samsung. We’ll just ignore that, shall we?
Amusing given that the Note 4 has “ripped off” the iPhone 5’s innovative metal-frame-as-antenna design as well as the shiny chamfered edges (no Apple didn’t invent chamfered edges, but Samsung could have done anything else). As usual, Samsung is a total hypocrite in marketing.
Except it’s actually made of plastic. :P
Can Samsung ever make an Ad without mentioning Apple?
Ooooh how lovely.. Samsung pretty much declared their failure. Why didn’t they just say: “Hey, we was Samsung.. Yeah, we’re shutting down.. Bye”
I didnt realize Samsung invented 5.5 inches.. ?
and the samsung galaxy note 4 looks like an iPhone 4 from 2010.
adios samsung. this is the last year you’ll be in the smart phone market lol.
They are putting words into the publics mouth. That is what they are doing. Now when you go over to grandmas she will say apple is copying Samsung.
So because Samsung did it first, is it a compelling reason to buy a Samsung over Apple? Samsung is worried that they have just lost the size advantage.
Will people stop being jealous at Apple. In my opinion they’ve done a great job in designing the watch and the new iPhone 6. If Apple wanted to build a phone with a larger display, they would’ve done so 5 years ago. I personally use an Android device made by Htc . And I will tell you another secret why iPhones and MacBooks can save so much battery, they use drivers that can manage the system in power management than sorely rely on the CPU itself which consumes more power. This is where they’ve got it.
Well thanks Samsung. Because of your big phones Apple decided to make a big one so now I don’t have to switch over to your phones. Again thank you.
They wish….
This has likely been said, but it amazes me Samsung even tries to make accusations like this considering how many lawsuits they have lost for patent violations. They have made their smartphone business off of copying Apple products. Yes, they have recently been trying to be more innovative, mainly thanks to Android, but they still got where they are by copying someone else.
Im guessing that Apple sold almost as many Phablets in 1 day as Samsung has since 2011.