Korean tech giant flaunts seven-year head start as $1,999 iPhone Duo enters foldable market
Samsung Electronics greeted Apple’s long-awaited entry into foldable smartphones with a playful publicity campaign highlighting the Korean company’s seven-year head start in the category.
Minutes after Apple unveiled its $1,999 iPhone Duo on Wednesday, Samsung’s US mobile account posted a series of tongue-in-cheek messages on X.
“Let us know when you’re done reheating our leftovers,” one read. Another declared: “So far, so same.”
Samsung also teased Apple for introducing the foldable late in its launch presentation.
“Making us wait? That’s fine. We’ll be over here folding three times,” it wrote, referring to the Galaxy Z TriFold, which folds twice to form three panels.
Samsung launched its first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and has since released eight generations of book-style foldables. Apple’s Duo adopts a similar passport-shaped format to the Galaxy Z Fold 8, introduced in July at $1,899.
The first foldable iPhone starts at 3.29 million won ($2,460) in Korea.
Samsung also found humor in the product’s name. It tagged language-learning app Duolingo and wrote, “So sorry, Duolingo. They copied us, too,” adding the hashtag #Solidarity.
Duolingo joined the exchange after the unveiling, asking: “iPhone what?”
The campaign extended beyond social media. Samsung installed billboards in Seoul, Tokyo and London carrying slogans including “Welcome to Foldables” and “The World’s Lightest Fold,” emphasizing its longer history in foldable hardware.
Its Canadian unit posted a Galaxy Z Fold 8 video featuring reality television personality Kourtney Kardashian accusing her mother of copying her style. The caption read, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Some of Samsung’s posts attracted millions of views, with one exceeding 10 million. Online responses were mixed. Supporters praised the campaign’s speed and humor, while others questioned whether the attention given to Apple reflected concern about a new rival in the foldable market.
Apple’s arrival could significantly reshape the category.
Counterpoint Research expects Apple to capture 25 percent of the foldable smartphone market, compared with a projected 38 percent for Samsung. Apple brings a vast customer base to a segment that has remained relatively small despite years of investment by Samsung and Chinese manufacturers including Huawei.
Apple hardware engineering chief John Ternus presented the Duo as a more refined interpretation of a form factor he said had previously felt like “two phones awkwardly stuck together.”
For Samsung, Apple’s debut presents both a competitive challenge and validation of a market it began developing years earlier. Its social media campaign sought to reinforce that head start while welcoming greater attention to foldable smartphones.
Samsung summed up its reaction in one final post:
“Was there range? No. Was it exciting? No. Did it happen? Yes.”
By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)
