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While it might seem that a lot of consumer electronics look so similar from a design perspective these days, there was a point in time when most smartphone manufacturers would go the extra mile to set themselves apart from the competition, especially when it came to brand identity and hardware engineering.
Take for example Samsung – the South Korean brand has made a name for itself thanks to unique standout products such as the Galaxy Note (now Ultra) phones, as well as its Z Flip and Z Fold series devices. It’s safe to say that Samsung’s first-generation Note helped popularize large-screened smartphones, forcing other brands to follow suit.
READ: Renders of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Buds 3 leaked!
With that said though, recent developments seem to indicate that the company has slowed down when it comes to innovative design – take for example the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 Ultra and Galaxy Buds Pro, which bear an overwhelming resemblance to the Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods due to the watch case style (and even the band) and stem on the earbuds.
Now this is probably coming off as very “nitpicky” – after all, tons of different watches and phones look very similar nowadays. But in the context of the Watch Ultra, Samsung’s earlier Galaxy Watch Classic and Pro series wearables had a more unique look to them, especially with the round design and rotating bezel, a feature that’s not commonly seen on the smart wearable market these days.
Of course it would be foolish to say that Samsung has copied every single aspect of the Apple Watch Ultra, as the Galaxy Watch Ultra will run on Google’s Wear OS with One UI on top – it’s an entirely different ecosystem with a different approach to software, after all. One could probably say that the similarities are only skin deep.
One could probably say that the similarities are only skin deep.
But then again, this isn’t the first time that Samsung has been accused of following Apple’s footsteps when it came to its own products – the company was under hot water long ago due to design similarities between the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6, and was even ridiculed for removing bundled chargers and headphone jacks after mocking Apple for doing the same. Even the first Samsung Galaxy S phone was decried by some as an iPhone copycat.
On one hand, this provides Samsung with an opportunity to set itself apart when it comes to software. Over the years we’ve seen some handy and exclusive features from the company such as Samsung DeX and Good Lock, and it’s in aspects like these where the veteran tech company has shown off its strengths, giving users functionality that even Google’s own Android products are missing.
Going back to the new Galaxy Watch design however, one can’t be blamed for looking at both photos side-by-side and thinking that they’re too similar. But in all fairness to Samsung, we still haven’t seen the watch in action – aside from product renders, the company has yet to show off the actual watch and its features. Maybe only then can we form a full opinion of whether or not Samsung has borrowed too much from Apple.
For the time being though, the similarities are too hard to ignore.
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