Samsung Mocks iPhone's Camera, Lack of Headphone Jack, and More in Latest Galaxy S9 Ads

[DevNull0]

When there is nothing exciting to note about your own product...

I don't know. A headphone jack is a more exciting feature than anything the X has to offer.

That being said, the primary design objective of Android is to siphon as much personal information as possible from the people ignorant enough to use Android and deliver it to google and anyone willing to pay google. It is just scary how bad Android is.

So for that reason alone, at this point I don't see myself leaving iPhone ever. But aside from privacy issues, iPhones really are boring, lacklustre products. Especially next to the features Samsung is rightfully bragging about.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

These adverts are embarrassing. Why doesn't Samsung focus on showcasing their products instead of bashing the competition? Are they trying to be Microsoft or something?!

"Are they trying to be Microsoft or something?!"

Nope just Apple in the Mac vs PC ads that went on for years. You know back when they cared about the Mac.

 

[Juicy Box]

Everyone here clearly forgot the "I'm a mac, I'm a pc" commercial campaign. Lol

They were already mentioned many times, so not forgotten, but definitely not the same thing as the Samsung ads.

 

[geoff5093]

I never understood the lack of headphone jack issue. My “dongle” is attached to my cable for my Senheisser cans. It stays there. I only need it for when I’m on a plane and Bluetooth isn’t allowed. Can’t see the problem with that. Not even on a 20 hour flight to Australia I needed to charge. To me this is purely a theoretical issue in my opinion.

The charger as well. Battery life is good, charging is fast enough. USB ports are everywhere, why carry the whole charger with you. It’s again a highly theoretical issue if you want to make it one.

Camera, so both are excellent. The difference is so small that it isn’t measurable outside lab conditions. Ultimately it then comes down to personal preference.

Samsung are rather desperate if they resort to this kind of negative advertising. It was obvious though as since launch the phone was discounted and they even invited trade in from an iPhone 4.

Ultimately they are both good phones, and it comes down to whether you prefer Android in Samsung’s flavour or iOS.

Try watching a movie on a long flight, you'll either have a dead phone part way through or a nearly dead one at best when you land. And that's fine if you only have one pair of headphones, but if you have earbuds, cans, and a travel set you'll need to either buy 3 adapters or always shuffle it between them and make sure you bring it with you.

 

[jjohnstonjr]

I can't lie I was recently thinking of jumping ship to see what Samsung had to offer with the Note 9 when it comes out. However when I see ads like this it makes me question the belief in the product by the company. I'll be sticking with Apple.

 

[lkrupp]

The S9 has been declared an unmitigated flop by Wall Street with Samsung shipping/selling significantly fewer of the S9 than they expected to. Desperate times call for desperate measures now that Samsung has become beleaguered.

 

[inkswamp]

I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC...
Wasn’t that long ago.

At that time, Apple was the underdog in the computer market. There has always been an unspoken rule in advertising that it's okay for the underdog to take shots at the big guys. I always think back to how fondly people embraced the "Where's the beef" ads from Wendy's.

If sales numbers are to be believed, Samsung sells way more phones than Apple. They are not an underdog in the smartphone market. Ads like this come off as insecure and bullying. The dongle one is actually pretty funny but overall, I think it's a bad idea.

 

[invisibleshoes]

I can't lie I was recently thinking of jumping ship to see what Samsung had to offer with the Note 9 when it comes out. However when I see ads like this it makes me question the belief in the product by the company. I'll be sticking with Apple.

The S9 has been declared an unmitigated flop by Wall Street with Samsung shipping/selling significantly fewer of the S9 than they expected to. Desperate times call for desperate measures now that Samsung has become beleaguered.

Lmao. You people are too much.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

At that time, Apple was the underdog in the computer market. There has always been an unspoken rule in advertising that it's okay for the underdog to take shots at the big guys. I always think back to how fondly people embraced the "Where's the beef" ads from Wendy's.

If sales numbers are to be believed, Samsung sells way more phones than Apple. They are not an underdog in the smartphone market. Ads like this come off as insecure and bullying. The dongle one is actually pretty funny but overall, I think it's a bad idea.

"There has always been an unspoken rule in advertising that it's okay for the underdog to take shots at the big guys."

Oh yeah I forgot about that! #notfangirlapologist

 

[JGIGS]

These adverts are embarrassing. Why doesn't Samsung focus on showcasing their products instead of bashing the competition? Are they trying to be Microsoft or something?!

Don't they kinda do both? I think it's clever marketing just like the mac vs pc ads. Guess we all of a sudden have forgotten about that campaign? At least 2 of the 3 are pretty valid. I think there is more to cameras then this DXO score stuff.

Not including a fast charger on a $1000 USD phone that has fast charging as a feature is pretty darn insulting from a customers point of view IMO.

 

[FrenchRoasted]

If that is the only reason you are switching phones, then that does not make sense. You will spend between 700 to 900 on a phone instead of replacing headphones for wireless ones which cost much less? the headphone jack is antiquated anyway and the future is wireless, I still don't understand why this is a big deal. Do you still use a floppy disk on your computer too or CD-Rom.

Never understood the immediate jump to "antiquated" for the headphone jack. It's simple, universal, works, doesn't need batteries or charging, inexpensive, robust...Don't care what the hive mind lords say, this was not courageous or smart. I'm hoping they refresh an SE version with the jack.

 

[jimothyGator]

Maybe they will bring more snarky and smug people to Samsung? Or maybe they're making sure everyone that hates Apple got the message that Samsung is the goto company for Apple haters?

You may be onto something there, and maybe that’s a good marketing strategy: turn people who are too cool for Apple into customers. Good point.

 

[JGIGS]

I can't lie I was recently thinking of jumping ship to see what Samsung had to offer with the Note 9 when it comes out. However when I see ads like this it makes me question the belief in the product by the company. I'll be sticking with Apple.

You forget the Mac vs PC commercials already? Better go sell all your Apple products now!!

Also you know there other Android makers saaaay like I don't know the Google Pixel 2/XL with pure android, better camera than both phones, fast charging? Just saying you don't have to buy a Samsung device to jump ship. I'd actually suggest ship jumpers to get a pixel vs a Samsung anyway. Just wish they would have made the small version with the same screen format as the XL. I'd probably rocking that right now if they did.

iOS 12 new notifications system and hopefully ios 13 new spring board redesign could put ios back in the driver's seat for me though. We'll see

 

[Guy Clark]

No different to I'm a Mac and I'm a PC there were no complaints from the Cult Of Apple squad then.

 

[kahkityoong]

I get it, but don't just say this is the only reason why to switch phones. How much time are you spending a day in an environment where you can listen and obtain maximum quality using your super duper headphones with your iphone.

Actually I didn’t even say it was a reason to switch phones at all. I just wanted to point out the headphone jack being outdated is not correct; just because Apple dropped it doesn’t make it antiquated. I only work half a year so have plenty of time to listen to my gear.

 

[az431]

To be fair, those are two very valid complaints about the iPhone X. Let's hope at least the fast charger is included in this years iPhone.

They're not because the lack of a headphone jack is a non-issue (there's this thing called bluetooth now), and choosing a Samsung phone over an iPhone because the fast charger is not included is just plain silly.

 

[teknikal90]

And they're doing it wrong. That ad is their product vs ALL the competition...not a single company.

completely irrelevant....

the point of the ad is why your product is better than the de-facto gold standard.
at the time, that gold standard was the PC, which was made by multiple companies...
today..it's the iPhone, which is made by a single company.

Point of the ad still valid.

 

[az431]

Actually I didn’t even say it was a reason to switch phones at all. I just wanted to point out the headphone jack being outdated is not correct; just because Apple dropped it doesn’t make it antiquated. I only work half a year so have plenty of time to listen to my gear.

Yes wires are antiquated, as are horse drawn carriages and the CD player.

 

[Mikep976]

Should do an ad about not having to worry about those pesky software updates. Surely won’t get any more than one year of subpar updates, followed by another year of “when we get around to it” mentality. (This coming from a former Note 4 owner).

Seriously though, these ads are just “reminder” ads, a way to market to those that already like Samsung, and other fans, as a way to cement themselves in their customer’s minds. It’s the same way with the Mac & PC ads. They aren’t meant to specifically sway other OS users, just reinforce their products in the minds of those that already like them or are considering switching already.

 

[bluespark]

The first of these may cross the line from "puffery" (which is legal) and misrepresentation (which is not). While the ad is careful to qualify "you'll need a dongle" with the admission that one is included, it states that a second dongle is needed to charge the phone, which is untrue given the phone's wireless charging capability.

I doubt Apple will sue, because a suit all about dongles isn't necessarily in its best interest, but it probably would win if it did.

 

[teknikal90]

At that time, Apple was the underdog in the computer market. There has always been an unspoken rule in advertising that it's okay for the underdog to take shots at the big guys. I always think back to how fondly people embraced the "Where's the beef" ads from Wendy's.

If sales numbers are to be believed, Samsung sells way more phones than Apple. They are not an underdog in the smartphone market. Ads like this come off as insecure and bullying. The dongle one is actually pretty funny but overall, I think it's a bad idea.

sales numbers or not, iPhone is still king of the high end smartphone. Profits tell a better story of customers' perception (they're willing to pay a premium on the perceived better product)

Samsung is the underdog here. These ads if anything, are a complete rip off of the mac vs pc ad.
Baffling how Apple fans don't see this.

Samsung is doing a great job.

 

[Shanghaichica]

these don't really count, as the 'make a switch' ads don't really harm people.... the ones who mock other companies, do.

Even the PC vs Mac ads didn't really make a dent...it was more 'fun' than anything. so it balances it out

Apple doesn't care if you go over. or don't . But these mock Samsung ads are more personal attacks on Apple's own products they make. Therefore, would have much more of an effect when people see them.

How does an advert harm people, it wasn’t using offensive language and wasn’t homophobic or racist. It’s just an advert. I don’t know why some people are getting so worked up about it.

 

[dukebound85]

When your main sales argument is to discredit others, it is that your company is not doing well....

yet I think they are doing very well as a company....hmmm...

 

[DNichter]

Yes apparently it’s supposed to have a completely bezeless display, triple lens camera and a fingerprint sensor under the display.

I think they are in the position that Apple were in in 2016. Apple knew they were bringing out the X the next year so didn’t put too much into the 7 series. I think Samsung didn’t do much with the S9 this year because they are putting everything into next years phones. However I agree Apple can get away with it but Samsung can’t. I think Samsung’s problem also is that they tend to modify the design of their phones gradually over several years (this year being an exception). So even last year when they brought out the infinity display it didn’t create as much fanfare as the X design because it was more evolutionary than revolutionary. It’s not that much different to the X, in fact the screen to body ratio is higher than on the X but as Apple hasn’t done anything to the bezels since the iPhones inception it was seen as more revolutionary.

Makes sense. So you mention completely bezel-less. Were Samsung able to put the front facing camera tech under the screen? I hadn't seen anything about it, but to do that and a fingerprint scanner under the screen would be quite the accomplishment.

 

[panjandrum]

So true

Oh dear, don't call out the fanboys (fanpersons? fanpeeps?) on their lack of critical-thinking skills, you'll start a war. Much better to just let them stop thinking, suck on Apple's corporate dongles, and believe that when Apple does anything at all it is "good" and when other companies do exactly the same thing it is "bad."