Flattery or all out of ideas? Samsung borrows from Apple, Oura, and Nothing

Samsung finally held its second Unpacked event of the year yesterday, peeling the curtain back on a variety of products. Between new foldable phones, new earbuds, and new smartwatches, there was no shortage of gadgets on offer.

We don’t blame you if you think some of these products look very similar to rival gadgets or older Samsung products, though. Here are a few things Samsung copied from rivals and itself.

Perhaps the most notable copying claim is that the Galaxy Watch Ultra is an Apple Watch Ultra 2 clone. That’s largely due to Samsung’s watch featuring an orange strap that looks extremely similar to Apple’s strap (save for more holes). Samsung’s new watch also features a rotating quick button that bears a striking resemblance to the crown on Apple’s device, although rotating the button doesn’t do anything here. Both inputs even feature orange accents, albeit in different ways.

A Redditor also posted an image (seen above) highlighting other similarities between the latest Samsung and Apple products. We’d dismiss the Galaxy Z Flip 6 colors as the actual design is original (well, more on that in a bit), but it’s tough to argue that the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro don’t look similar to AirPods and the AirPods Pro line. This is despite Samsung’s use of so-called Blade Lights and more angular stems. These earbuds also feature pinch controls as popularized by AirPods Pro in 2019, although Samsung isn’t alone in cribbing this feature. Brands like Nothing, Xiaomi, and others have all jumped on this bandwagon.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds bear a strong resemblance to Apple’s AirPods line, but it’s also clear that the company was influenced by Nothing. This is most apparent when looking at the charging case, which features a transparent lid, much like Nothing’s charging cases. We think it’s a good idea too, because you’ll always know if your buds are inside or not when you’re picking them up.

Nothing doesn’t own transparency in the tech space (hello, Apple and Nintendo in the 1990s), and the actual shape of the charging cases are different. But it’s still clear (heh) that Samsung has been taking notes from another brand’s products.

Samsung also launched the Galaxy Ring this week, marking the brand’s first entry into the smart ring space. But the company’s debut smart ring looks extremely similar to the Oura Ring. Colleague Rita El Khoury noted the similarities back at MWC in February, pointing to the wedding band style, plastic inner parts, transparent design on the inside that also features three bumps, and your choice of metal or gold finishes. It’s not all copy/pasting on Samsung’s part, as the Galaxy Ring features a concave design, though. But that’s one of the few deviations from the Oura formula.

Hang on. Samsung copied Samsung? Yep, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 brings almost exactly the same design as last year’s foldable, with the exception of colored accents on the rear cameras. Otherwise, it’s the same boxy design with flat edges and a folder-shaped cover display. At least Samsung upgraded the main camera and battery capacity, so it’s not a copy/paste job from a feature perspective.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 sees a more substantial visual upgrade, bringing completely flat edges, sharper corners, and a slightly wider cover screen than last year. However, as far as hardware features are concerned, it’s effectively a retread of the Z Fold 5. The Z Fold 6 has the same cameras, battery capacity, and charging speeds as the Z Fold 5, which was derived from the Z Fold 4. It is a real shame to see Samsung resting on its laurels when foldables from OnePlus, Google, HONOR, and others bring bigger batteries, periscope cameras, and other perks.