Samsung copied Apple to tell you its phones are more original than the iPhone 16

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a great foldable device. It uses the same design as its predecessor but features better specs and a better overall experience (see my Galaxy Z Flip 6 review here). You could say that Samsung pulled an Apple move here. It kept last year’s design while improving key aspects.

But now that the iPhone 16 is here — and now that Apple shipped more iPhones in one day than the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will likely ship in its lifetime — Samsung is back to mocking Apple. This time, Samsung is mocking Apple for using the same iPhone design over and over… but the Korean giant is doing it by copying a campaign that will remind you of Apple’s famous “Think different” campaign for the Mac.

Again, Samsung is mocking Apple for sticking to the same iPhone design it has used for years. Which, by the way, is a design that Samsung clearly copied elements of for the Galaxy Z Flip 6. But it’s even more hilarious that Samsung is doing all of this while copying Apple’s famous ad campaign.

Spotted by Apple Insider, the anti-iPhone 16 campaign features a partially unfolded blue Galaxy Z Flip 6 in a sea of identical white iPhone 15s. Or is it the iPhone 14 or iPhone 13?

You can’t tell because, yes, Apple used an almost identical design for several iPhone generations. Samsung, which reused its Z Flip 5 design on the Z Flip 6, would be correct here. I can tell you it’s either an iPhone 15 or an iPhone 14 because the camera module is slightly larger than the iPhone 13’s.

A clearer look at the port would help us determine whether it’s an iPhone 15 (USB-C) or a previous model (Lightning). But the iPhone 15 did not come in Starlight (white), so we’re back to thinking this has to be an iPhone 14 or iPhone 13 that Samsung used for the ad.

Say that Samsung stopped there; it could have been a great ad. You don’t need anything else to drive home the point that you’re making fun foldable phones while your main competitor still makes boring classic smartphones. They sell like hotcakes, but they’re boring, yes.

But Samsung had to figure out a way to really stick it to Apple. It went for a word and font choice that screams “Apple.” The word “different” with a lowercase “d” followed by a period sits under the Flip 6. It’s not just that. The font is strikingly similar to Apple’s Garamond font used in its original ads.

Samsung ad works if you remember the old “Think different” campaign. If you do, then you’re also old enough to remember how Samsung blatantly copied the original iPhone and many of its successors. You’re also old enough to remember the infamous 132-page internal Samsung document that showed how the company set out to copy the iPhone pixel by pixel back in 2010.

By the way, I think copying the iPhone was the smartest thing Samsung ever did.

If you’re younger and love Samsung’s new anti-iPhone 16 ad, you should remember all the backlash that Samsung got earlier this summer. The company announced the Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Watch Ultra alongside the new foldables. Those wearables are inspired by the AirPods and Apple Watch Ultra, and there’s no question about it.

I defended the design choices then and still do, at least for the wireless earphones. I prefer designs with a stem, and Samsung moving away from the previous Buds design is a win. The Ultra was a bit too much. Samsung copying Apple’s design reportedly angered Samsung’s chairman; that’s how bad things were.

This isn’t Samsung’s first dig at the iPhone 16. Just as the iPhone 16 got underway, the company made fun of Apple, mocking Apple’s practice of reusing the same design lines. That backfired almost immediately, yet Samsung still released its “different” ad.

Hey, it’s just like your phones every year!

— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyLabs) September 9, 2024

While there’s nothing wrong with the Flip 6 resembling the Flip 5, I will remind you that Samsung wants to be different. It thinks of itself as the inventor of the foldable phone, after all.

But the Galaxy Z Flip 6 looks the way it does because Chinese smartphone vendors came up with design tweaks that Samsung used to improve its own phones.

Finally, Samsung is doing all this despite being the biggest smartphone vendor worldwide. It has occupied the top spot for years, and copying the iPhone is what got it there. Even though the iPhone gobbles up most of the profits in the industry, Samsung sells more handsets than Apple every year. Apple used its “Think different” campaign to resurrect itself.

Samsung is in a position where it can afford to create ads that make no mention of the iPhone whatsoever. I’ve been saying this for years, and I can’t believe Samsung is still resorting to these cheap tricks. It’s bordering on embarrassing at this point.

By the way, these ads do not work. Samsung’s foldable sales are down this year, including the Galaxy Z Flip 6. The iPhone 16’s arrival will likely make matters even worse.

But Samsung could very well promote its Flip and Fold phones in ways that highlight their innovations rather than using anti-iPhone campaigns, especially the kind that will backfire immediately. Samsung might want to think different when it comes to marketing its phones.