All I needed was a minute with Samsung’s new products in Paris last month to realize how similar the Galaxy Buds 3, Galaxy Buds Pro, and Galaxy Watch Ultra were to their Apple counterparts. They’re not identical copies, but the inspiration is clear. While I think the Galaxy Buds 3 stem design is better than the previous Buds form factor, there’s no question Samsung’s Ultra watch mimics the Apple Watch Ultra series.
Everyone noticed the similarities, making it difficult for Samsung to defend itself against copycat claims. Samsung has blatantly copied Apple so many times before, especially in the early years of Galaxy phones. In hindsight, it was a brilliant move that set Samsung on course to dominate the industry. But nearly 20 years after the first iPhone, continuing to copy other Apple products isn’t a good look for a tech giant that could just as easily develop its own design language for wireless earphones and smartwatches.
It’s not just the media and consumers who are noticing Samsung’s choice to copy the AirPods and Apple Watch Ultra designs. A report from Korea says that Samsung’s big boss, chairman Lee Jae-yong, actually got angry at Samsung’s mobile division that develops Galaxy products. Lee is supposedly upset with TM Roh, the head of the MX group.
According to a machine translation of an AjuNews report, Lee is well-known within Samsung for his “gentle disposition.” The chairman doesn’t usually get angry. However, the launch of the Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Watch Ultra did not go unnoticed. As if copying Apple wasn’t enough, Samsung also had to deal with several quality issues with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. The issues forced the company to delay the release of its new Pro earbuds.
These events supposedly made Lee angry with the mobile division. The report says the chairman gave Samsung MX a stern statement. Some measures might have been taken against Samsung personnel, including the head of the MX division group.
Tensions rose despite Samsung’s mobile division’s success, especially this year. Galaxy AI helped Samsung sell more phones this year, and AjuNews notes that the mobile division received the most performance bonuses this year.
A source at Samsung Electronics told AjuNews that Chairman Lee stepped in after the plagiarism and quality control controversies emerged. Currently, the atmosphere at Samsung is supposedly “very bad.”
Don’t expect anyone at Samsung to confirm such internal disagreements. I hope they’re real and that Lee will help steer the ship in a different direction. I’ve always believed Samsung can thrive without copying Apple or mocking the iPhone at every step of the way. I’m still waiting for that to happen.
However, if Lee is indeed upset with the mobile division, we’ll see the ripples of this purported anger in the coming months and years. If Samsung moves on from copying Apple, it’ll mean there was an internal reshuffle of priorities following this summer’s Unpacked event.
We won’t even have to wait that long to see some results. Samsung is supposed to launch One UI 7 on top of Android 15 soon. Some leaks already say Samsung is taking cues from iOS design for the One UI 7 interface. Given Lee’s purported anger with Samsung copying Apple, it’ll be interesting to see what the end result will actually be.
Copy claims aside, the new Samsung products are good. Here are our reviews for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and Galaxy Watch Ultra. The only concern right now is the actual quality of the Buds 3 Pro rather than the earbuds looking and behaving like AirPods.
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