Apple held its annual product launch event on the 9th (local time) at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, unveiling the foldable smartphone iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and more. As Apple's event unfolded, rival Samsung Electronics launched "real-time sniping marketing" on social media platform X.
Samsung Electronics, through its Samsung Mobile US account, playfully jabbed at Apple's new products and announcements using phrases like "leftovers" and "Duo."
When Apple revealed the iPhone 18 Pro and more, Samsung Electronics posted on X, "So far, so same." It added the hashtag "#ItsTimeToSwitch." Pointing to Apple's new devices that keep a design not much different from previous iPhones while improving the camera, chip and artificial intelligence (AI), it was a dig that there was no "innovative change." "ItsTimeToSwitch" is a marketing line Samsung Electronics has used before, carrying a message urging iPhone users to switch to Galaxy.
When Apple introduced peripherals and accessories such as Apple Watch and AirPods early in the event, Samsung wrote, "Accessories? It's giving condiments and no food." The expression suggests there's only "sauce," like ketchup or mustard, but no actual "main course," interpreted as a call to reveal the foldable iPhone sooner.
When the foldable iPhone didn't follow, Samsung immediately posted, "Making us wait? Fine. We'll be over here, folding 3 ways." The message highlighted that even before Apple unveiled its first foldable smartphone, Samsung had already introduced a tri-folding foldable.
When Apple finally showed its foldable iPhone, Samsung turned up the heat. It wrote, "Let us know when you're done reheating our leftovers." Since introducing the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, Samsung Electronics has continued to roll out foldable smartphones.
It also said, "It's feeling very familiar. Is this a Sims sequel." By likening it to "The Sims," which releases follow-ups expanding on the original game, it mocked Apple's new product as looking less like something entirely new and more like a feature expansion of existing foldables.
There was also wordplay around the name of Apple's first foldable smartphone, iPhone Duo. Tagging the global language-learning platform Duolingo, Samsung wrote, "I'm so sorry, @Duolingo. They copied us too." It was a joke playing on how the name "Duo" evokes Duolingo. Samsung added #Solidarity, suggesting that Duolingo and Samsung were in the same boat, with Apple taking their names.
Duolingo quickly joined in Samsung's joke. On X, Duolingo wrote, "sorry twin heat of the moment twin. please don't break my app on your phones twin." The back-and-forth between Samsung and Duolingo over Apple turned into a kind of social media exchange.
When Apple introduced a "bedside clock" feature that lets the iPhone Duo stand next to a bed and work like a desk clock, Samsung reacted again. It wrote, "Not the bedside clock. It's giving Groundhog Day." "Groundhog Day" is also the title of a film about the same day repeating. Pointing to features that use a foldable phone's folding and standing form, Samsung mocked Apple for presenting them as new experiences, implying "features we've already seen keep repeating."
Moon Hee-cheol, an executive director at Samsung Electronics, said in a recent interview with tech outlet Wired that he was "proud that the value of the new foldables category we pioneered is being recognized," referring to Apple and others entering the foldables market. He noted, "The key to delivering the highest value to customers in this market is the device's weight," adding, "It's not easy." Apple's foldable iPhone Duo weighs 254g, while Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Fold 8 is 201g.