- Apple has entered the foldable-phone market with the $1,999 iPhone Duo.
- Samsung mocked the launch, telling Apple to stop “reheating our leftovers.”
- The iPhone Duo arrives more than seven years after Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold.
- Apple says its foldable is a new take on the smartphone, while Samsung says it has seen this before.
September 10 (THEWILL) – Apple finally made the foldable iPhone official on Wednesday, but Samsung was less interested in celebrating the moment than reminding everyone who got there first.
Hours after Apple unveiled the $1,999 iPhone Duo, Samsung Mobile US took to X with a message that was short, sarcastic and very much aimed at its biggest rival.
“Let us know when you’re done reheating our leftovers 😉”
Samsung did not name Apple or the iPhone Duo directly, but the timing left little room for interpretation.
The post came during Apple’s September 9 launch event, where the company introduced its first foldable iPhone after years of staying out of a category Samsung entered in 2019.
The “leftovers” comment was only one part of Samsung’s running commentary during Apple’s event.
Samsung also described the iPhone Duo as “so far, so same” and used the hashtag #ItsTimeToSwitch, taking aim at Apple’s move into a product category where Samsung already has several generations of experience.
The jab has some history behind it.
Samsung launched the original Galaxy Fold in 2019 and has spent years refining its foldable phones.
Its latest Galaxy Z Fold8 is already on the market, putting the two companies in direct competition just as Apple enters the category.
Apple, however, is betting that arriving late gives it an advantage.
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Introducing the Duo, Apple CEO, John Ternus, criticised existing foldables for feeling like “two phones awkwardly stuck together.”
The company designed the Duo to open from a 5.4-inch outer display into a 7.6-inch inner screen, creating a phone that can function more like a small tablet when unfolded.
The device starts at $1,999 and will be available from October 23, with pre-orders opening October 16. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 starts at $1,899 in the US.
Apple Is Late, But That May Be The Point
Apple’s entry changes the foldable-phone race even though Samsung has had years to build the category.
Before the launch that Samsung held about 40% of the global foldable-phone market in 2026, with Huawei at about 30%, according to Reuters.
Foldables remain a relatively small part of the overall smartphone market, but Apple’s arrival could give the category a major boost.
That makes Samsung’s joke more than a social-media punchline. It is also a reminder of the challenge Apple faces.
Samsung spent years convincing consumers that a phone that folds was worth owning.
Apple now gets to enter with a product that has the iPhone name, iOS, the App Store and the company’s enormous existing customer base behind it.
Samsung can claim Apple is reheating an old idea.
Apple can argue that it waited until the technology was good enough to put its own version on the market.
The real fight starts when customers have to choose.
And this time, Samsung has already been waiting at the table.
Joy Onuorah is a business journalist and brand communications specialist covering financial markets, artificial intelligence, digital economy, and the ideas reshaping business across Africa and the global market. Beyond her reporting for TheWill, Joy uses brand strategy, storytelling, copywriting, and high-value SEO to help brands build lasting market authority.
