Samsung mocks iPhone 14 launch in new ad, touting Galaxy Z Flip 4 and S22 Ultra ‘innovation’

Ben Schoon | Sep 2 2022 - 7:55 am PT

Apple is set to announce the iPhone 14 lineup next week, and Samsung is already taking shots at the device with a new ad that touts the innovation on Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy S22 Ultra “isn’t coming soon to an iPhone near you.”

In its new “Buckle Up” ad, Samsung channels an epic early-2000s narrator with a direct shot at Apple’s next iPhone, the iPhone 14.

The ad kicks off saying that “heads will turn… just not in your direction” while touting the unique design of the Galaxy Z Flip 4. It then goes on to take a shot at cameras, saying that the “highest-resolution camera on a smartphone… will be in someone else’s pocket” while the “epic moon shot that’s getting all the likes won’t be yours.”

Samsung caps off the ad by saying that “this innovation isn’t coming soon to an iPhone near you,” and that it’s rather “already here” on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy S22 Ultra. The ad skips over the Galaxy Z Fold 4, probably to stick with devices in the iPhone’s general price category.

9to5Google’s Take

Really, Samsung isn’t totally wrong here. Rumors have been swirling for some time around a foldable iPhone, but it’s clear that isn’t arriving any time soon. Samsung has a near-monopoly on the foldable market, and a bit of flexing isn’t really unearned – Samsung’s foldables are awesome.

But at the same time, it’s also hard to get on board with Samsung’s argument around cameras. The 108MP camera in the Galaxy S22 Ultra is pretty good, but it’s not as consistently solid as the 50MP camera in the Pixel 6 Pro, or even the 12MP camera in the iPhone 13 series. The moon shot “Space Zoom” on the S22 Ultra is super cool, but it’s not really that useful.

Apple has long taken the approach of waiting to do something right, rather than jump on it early. The long wait for a 120Hz display is a pretty good example of this. While plenty of Android phones did feature 120Hz displays before the iPhone, Apple’s implementation was better out of the gate.

Samsung is right to be proud of what it tries because, ultimately, these are the ideas that push the smartphone industry forward. But this direct mocking is certainly a bold strategy – let’s see if it pays off for them.