What’s old is new again: Samsung’s latest products are blatant Apple ripoffs

Android phones bring unique form factors we might never see in an iPhone, like the latest folding phones from Samsung, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6. Unfortunately, the accessories Samsung paired with these new foldables are anything but original.

When I say Samsung’s most recent announcements look like Apple knockoffs, I’m not talking about the phones or the all-new Galaxy Ring. Instead, I’m referring to the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which has the same shape and design as the Apple Watch Ultra, and the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which are nearly a carbon-copy of the AirPods Pro 2. It’s a shame that originality is taking the backseat here, and frankly, it feels like a regression for a company that spent a decade trying to escape its earlier reputation.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is form over function

Sometimes, when one company copies another, it’ll try to be subtle and discreet about it. Not Samsung, though. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is an Apple Watch Ultra ripoff right down to the name — surely Samsung could’ve thought of another adjective to describe this rugged and powerful smartwatch.

Samsung also appears to have taken inspiration from Apple’s squircle design, which has been a staple of the Apple Watch for years, but is more prominent on the Ultra model. It has similar orange accents, too, but I’ll give Samsung a pass on that, because both companies use variants of International Orange, a color established by the aerospace industry used to meaningfully distinguish objects from one another.

It’s much harder to give Samsung a pass for stealing the chassis and band design from the Apple Watch Ultra, though.

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That ‘Ultra’ branding is a little on the nose, though

To be clear, I’m a fan of the squircle shape of the Apple Watch Ultra, and the first-generation model was my daily-driver smartwatch for almost two years. But I don’t like the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s design, and that’s not just because of its lack of originality.

See, Samsung copied the shape of the watch body, but didn’t actually change the size of the display. It’s a circle display inside a mostly-square chassis it calls “cushion design”, which results in massive, odd-looking bezels.

Part of what made the Apple Watch Ultra great was the large screen and tiny bezels. It’s also about as minimalist as a bulky watch can look. By comparison, the Galaxy Watch Ultra has clunky bezels and a cluttered appearance. Samsung copied the design of the Apple Watch Ultra, but forgot to pull the characteristics that made it successful, resulting in an uninspired smartwatch that may have been better if Samsung made something new.

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro don’t even try to look unique

These earbuds look like Aliexpress AirPods, straight up

I’m actually glad Samsung copied Apple’s design here. I find that earbuds shaped like former Galaxy Buds don’t fit as well as AirPods, and that the longer stems help them fit better and make them easier to control. However, it’s still true that Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro take nearly all their inspiration from their respective AirPods pairs . The overall shape, stem, case, and even pricing structure feel eerily similar to what Apple’s offering.

Samsung cleverly calls the Buds 3 stems “blades,” but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re the same stem design as the AirPods. The company is also making the Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro in a variety of different colors, and these hide the fact that the Buds 3 design is little more than a knockoff.

When you look at the Buds 3 in white, they look very similar to AirPods. The chassis, microphone and vent locations, and charging case all seem to borrow Apple’s design cues. It’s hard to blame Samsung for this, because AirPods are incredibly successful. According to Statista, Apple has sold 392 million AirPods units, and that’s almost as many units as it sold iPods (450 million) over a much longer 21-year period.

That’s incredible, and it makes sense that Samsung wants to get a piece of that success. However, rolling over and ripping off Apple’s design is essentially an admittance of failure by Samsung. After years of making Galaxy Buds, it couldn’t do a better job with an original design than Apple.

Be original, Samsung

Samsung in 2024 looks just like Samsung in 2010 all over again

Samsung has proven it can make good, original products. For example, the rotating bezel on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic was one of my favorite features, and it’s something I wish my Apple Watch Ultra had. Samsung found something unique that people loved, but tossed it aside in favor of making an Apple Watch lookalike. Even the rotating crown on the new Galaxy Watch Ultra fails to sync up with what’s on screen.

As someone who likes to try a bit of everything, it’s disappointing. I don’t want a Galaxy Watch to look like an Apple Watch, nor do I want Galaxy Buds to look like AirPods. I want products to be unique, original, and ambitious, so consumers have a choice between materially-different options, and ultimately pick the one they like best. That’s clearly not what we’re getting from Samsung’s recent wearables.

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