"If You Needed a Real Phone, You Could Have Just Asked Us"... Samsung Takes a Direct Jab at Rose Holding an iPhone

Seven Years Ago, BLACKPINK’s Rose Promoted the Galaxy
Samsung Official Account 'Provokes' as She Appears with iPhone 18 Pro
Global Shipment Share: Samsung 23%, Apple 21%

On the 10th, ROSE shared a mirror selfie taken with the iPhone 18 Pro on her SNS and the official Apple account. This post is known to be part of a collaborative content between Apple and ROSE. The Samsung Electronics Canada account commented, "If you needed a real phone you could have just asked us," which sparked attention. ROSE Instagram

When Rose, a member of BLACKPINK, recently appeared holding Apple's latest product, the iPhone 18 Pro, the official Samsung Electronics Canada social media account left a comment, drawing widespread attention. In particular, Samsung's official account directly "provoked" the global star for using a rival product, casting a fresh spotlight on the long-standing rivalry between Samsung and Apple.

Previously, on September 10, Rose shared a mirror selfie taken with the iPhone 18 Pro on her social media and the official Apple account. This post was known to be part of collaborative content between Apple and ROSE. The Samsung Electronics Canada account commented, "If you needed a real phone you could have just asked us," sparking discussion. The related post amassed hundreds of thousands of likes and thousands of comments in response.

On the 10th, Rose shared a mirror selfie taken with the iPhone 18 Pro on her social media and Apple's official account. The post is known as part of a collaborative content between Apple and Rose. The Samsung Electronics Canada account commented, "If you needed a real phone you could have just asked us," sparking a lot of attention. Rose Instagram

What attracted even more attention was the history between Rose and Samsung. BLACKPINK served as promotional models for the Samsung Electronics Galaxy A series in 2019. At that time, Samsung launched BLACKPINK limited editions and related packages, focusing on the Galaxy A80, in select markets such as Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Over Ten Years of 'Diss Marketing' Between the Two Companies, Starting With 2014's 'Wall Hugger'

Apple unveiled its new foldable iPhone, the 'iPhone Duo', at a product launch event held on the 9th (local time) at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Photo by Yonhap News

This latest incident coincides with the increasingly fierce social media rivalry between Samsung and Apple. On September 9, Apple unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, thereby entering the foldable market that Samsung Electronics has long led. Apple's CEO, John Turners, during the product announcement, stirred controversy by making remarks seemingly intended to mock existing foldable phones, describing them as if two phones had been awkwardly stuck together.

Samsung responded immediately to this comment. Right after Apple's event, Samsung Mobile USA's official social media posted a message implying, "Let us know when you're done reheating our leftovers," suggesting that Apple was belatedly following Samsung's foldable strategy. Samsung also promoted its own tri-fold technology with a message along the lines of, "We'll be over here folding three times."

Samsung featured a local man named Tim Cook, who shares the same name as Apple's former CEO, in an advertisement, having him use the Galaxy Z Fold8 and creating the impression that Apple's Tim Cook had switched to Galaxy. Samsung

The rivalry escalated even further in New Zealand. Samsung featured a local man named Tim Cook—who shares a name with the former Apple CEO—in an advertisement, showing him using the Galaxy Z Fold8 and creating the impression that Apple's Tim Cook had switched to Galaxy. The companies are even using the names of their competitors' iconic figures as marketing material. The heated "war of words" between the two brands reflects the fierce competition in the actual smartphone market.

Samsung's Justified Confidence in the Foldable Market

When it comes to the foldable market alone, Samsung's confidence is well-founded. Since launching the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, Samsung has continuously released foldable smartphones and expanded the market. The Galaxy Z8 series introduced this year recorded 1.44 million units in domestic pre-orders, setting an all-time pre-order record for Galaxy smartphones. Notably, about 70% of all customers pre-ordered the "passport-style" Galaxy Z Fold8, known for its wide horizontal design. In the U.S., sales of the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra are running approximately 30% higher than the previous model.

Market research firms expect the entry of Apple to spur significant growth in the foldable phone market this year. Some predict that Apple will capture around 25% of the global foldable market in its first year alone. While Samsung is expected to retain its lead, Apple has quickly emerged as a formidable second contender, potentially reshaping the competition in the premium segment.

When looking solely at the foldable market, Samsung's confidence is well-founded. Since launching the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, Samsung has continuously released foldable smartphones, expanding the market. Among these, in December last year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Tri-fold. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

In fact, Samsung's practice of directly targeting Apple with its marketing is nothing new. In 2014, Samsung ran ads featuring users charging their iPhones at airport wall outlets, calling them "Wall Huggers." The campaign openly mocked the iPhone's short battery life while emphasizing the Galaxy S5's replaceable battery and power-saving features.

In 2017, an ad called "Growing Up" depicted a customer who had used the iPhone since 2007 but, after experiencing a lack of storage, water resistance, wireless charging, and the removal of the headphone jack, eventually switched to Galaxy. The ad even included a person with a haircut shaped like the iPhone X's "notch" to satirize Apple's design.

Of course, this "diss marketing" has not always worked in Samsung's favor. For instance, Samsung mocked Apple's removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, but later removed the same jack from the Galaxy Note10, and subsequently deleted related ads. In 2020, Samsung took aim at Apple for not including a charger with the iPhone 12, emphasizing "Galaxy includes a charger." However, Samsung also dropped the charger from the Galaxy S21 onwards, with the corresponding social media posts disappearing and critics firing back in response.

Samsung Leads Shipments at 23%, Apple Follows at 21%... But Apple Dominates With a 49% Revenue Share

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics secured a 23% share of global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of this year, ranking first, while Apple came in second with 21%. This is just a 2 percentage point gap. In the fourth quarter of last year, Apple was well ahead with 25%, whereas Samsung Electronics held 18.1%, but in 2026 Samsung has regained the lead, with the top spot changing hands each quarter. However, during the same period, Apple garnered a commanding 49% share of global smartphone revenue, nearly half, while Samsung Electronics posted 16%. Samsung secures large shipment volumes by offering a broad product range from mid-tier to premium, while Apple continues to generate overwhelming sales centered on its high-end iPhone lineup.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics held the top spot in global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of this year with a 23% market share, while Apple ranked second with 21%. The difference is only 2 percentage points. In the fourth quarter of last year, Apple led significantly with 25%, compared to Samsung Electronics' 18.1%, but Samsung Electronics has regained the lead this year, resulting in the top position changing each quarter. The Asia Business Daily

At the same time, Samsung is adopting a much more aggressive stance in the foldable segment compared to before. Given that Apple entered a market pioneered by Samsung only after watching from the sidelines for years, Samsung is leveraging its status as the "original innovator." Conversely, Apple now faces the challenge of overcoming its latecomer disadvantage through product quality and the strength of its iPhone ecosystem.

In practice, while Apple fiercely competes with Samsung in terms of smartphone shipments, it wields overwhelming dominance in the premium market, accounting for nearly half of global smartphone revenue. The competition between these two companies now extends beyond product specifications or sales numbers to a war of words on social media over who can claim the title of true innovator. As smartphones increasingly resemble one another in design and features, the "battle of wits" between Samsung and Apple to capture consumers' attention is becoming even more intense.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.