'Reheating our leftovers': Rivals use iPhone Duo buzz in advertising

Samsung and Motorola used Apple's first foldable iPhone to highlight their own experience in the category, but experts warn that building campaigns around a bigger rival carries risks

When Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone last week, its rivals were ready.

 

Samsung had already placed “Welcome to Foldables” advertisements in Seoul, Tokyo and London ahead of Apple’s September 9 event. During the launch, Samsung Mobile US posted: “So far, so same.”

 

After the iPhone Duo was unveiled, it followed up with another dig: “Let us know when you’re done reheating our leftovers.”

 

Motorola joined the conversation too. It released a video featuring different Razr devices with the line: “New in their hands. Iconic in ours.”

 

Both companies were using the attention around Apple’s launch to make a simple point: they had been selling foldable phones long before Apple entered the category.

 

Why Apple’s entry matters to Samsung

Samsung launched its first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and is now on its 8th generation of foldable smartphones.

 

That lead, however, does not guarantee that Samsung will dominate the category as it grows.

 

Counterpoint Research expects Samsung to account for 38 per cent of global foldable smartphone shipments in 2026. Apple, despite entering the segment only this month, is expected to take 25 per cent, while Huawei could account for 22 per cent.

 

Samsung’s response to Apple, therefore, went beyond a few posts during the launch. Its “Welcome to Foldables” campaign began on September 2, a week before Apple’s event. The campaign promoted the Galaxy Z Fold8 while highlighting Samsung’s experience in the category.

 

Price gives Samsung another point of comparison in India. The iPhone Duo starts at Rs 2,99,900, while the Galaxy Z Fold8 starts at Rs 1,79,999.

 

Foldables remain a niche part of India’s smartphone market despite growing sales. More than 650,000 foldable smartphones are expected to be shipped in India in 2026, according to estimates reported earlier by Business Standard. The category is expected to account for around 2 per cent to 3 per cent of the smartphone market by value.

Why rivals use Apple’s attention

Samsung has used Apple announcements in its advertising for years.

 

Its 2017 “Growing Up” campaign mocked several iPhone features, including the iPhone X notch. Samsung has also taken digs at Apple over the removal of the headphone jack and its decision to stop including chargers with new iPhones.

 

Other smartphone makers have followed a similar strategy.

 

In India, Xiaomi has used comparisons with Apple and Samsung to promote its premium phones. In 2025, both companies sent separate cease and desist notices to Xiaomi over advertisements they considered disparaging.

 

One Xiaomi campaign described the iPhone 16 Pro Max camera as “cute”. Another questioned its camera performance as part of an April Fools’ Day advertisement.

 

Dilip Cherian, image guru and co-founder of Perfect Relations, said using a larger competitor’s popularity in this manner can work, but is difficult to sustain.

 

“This is a risky strategy at all times. The idea of trend jacking your bigger competitor is not for novices,” Cherian said.

 The attraction is clear. Apple’s iPhone events already receive wide media coverage and social media attention. Rivals can enter that existing conversation instead of relying only on attention around their own launches.

 

Samsung also had a stronger product argument this time. Apple was launching its first foldable smartphone while Samsung had spent 7 years selling them. Motorola could make a similar claim through the history of the Razr brand.

When the joke stops working

Samsung’s earlier campaigns also show the risks of attacking a rival over individual product decisions.

 

The company mocked Apple for removing the headphone jack, but later removed it from its own flagship phones. It also made fun of Apple for dropping chargers from iPhone boxes before making a similar change.

 

The current campaign is based on something harder to reverse: Samsung entered foldable smartphones years before Apple.

 

But repeatedly using Apple in advertising carries another problem. Every joke about the iPhone Duo also gives Apple’s new product more attention. Too many comparisons can leave the rival responding to Apple rather than building a separate conversation around its own products.

 

Cherian also does not expect such campaigns to remain effective for long.

 

“These are just momentary warrior blips, and it’s unlikely that they will persist beyond a point,” he said, adding that taking on Apple requires “creative ingenuity combined with massive marketing muscle”.

 

For Samsung, the Duo launch offered a clear opening. Apple had entered a category Samsung helped build, and the attention around that entry gave Samsung a chance to remind consumers who had been there earlier.

 

Whether rivals can keep using Apple’s attention once the excitement around the launch fades is a harder question.