When Your Biggest Rival Becomes Your Best Marketing Agency

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

In what might go down as the most expensive social media whoopsie of 2025, Apple just handed Samsung the kind of publicity money can't buy. When Apple's official Weibo account accidentally posted a slick promotional trailer for Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip7, it wasn't just embarrassing—it was accidentally genius marketing for the Korean tech giant.

Here's what you need to know: The mix-up happened on China's Weibo platform, where Apple's support account posted Samsung's promotional content instead of their own. The post was quickly deleted, but not before screenshots went viral across social media. Industry experts suggest an outsourced agency handling marketing for both companies likely caused the confusion.

But this wasn't just any random mix-up—it highlighted exactly why Samsung's foldables are worth accidentally promoting. The irony runs deeper than just a simple mistake, happening precisely as Samsung is absolutely crushing it in the foldable market while Apple scrambles to catch up.

Samsung's foldable dominance is no accident

While Apple fumbles social media posts, Samsung's crushing the actual competition. The numbers tell the story: foldable panel shipments hit a record high in Q2 2024, rising 151% quarter-over-quarter and 126% year-over-year to nearly 10 million panels. And guess who's driving that surge?

Samsung dominated Q2 2024 with a 48% share of foldable panel procurement, flipping positions with Huawei who held 53% in Q1. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 led individual model sales with a 32% share, while the Z Fold 6 grabbed 15%. That's not just market leadership—that's market domination.

Here's the kicker: Samsung got over 210,000 pre-orders for the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 combined in India in just two days. The company itself called the response "more than they expected."

These market-leading numbers aren't just about shipment volume—they represent years of real-world user feedback driving actual improvements. Samsung's sixth attempt at making a foldable phone shows in refined experiences like the Galaxy Z Fold 6's phenomenal 19+ hour battery life, sturdy hinges, and the kind of real-world durability that comes from years of iteration. When you're setting records before your phones even ship, accidental Apple endorsements are just icing on the cake.

Apple's foldable timeline keeps slipping (and everyone knows it)

The timing of this mix-up is particularly brutal because everyone knows Apple's foldable story. TrendForce reports that 2027 is the earliest Apple will likely launch a folding iPhone, and even that feels optimistic. The research firm describes earlier predictions as "unlikely."

Apple's perfectionist streak is showing: the company reportedly told suppliers to go back to the drawing board about a year ago because they weren't satisfied with the visible crease in competitor models. While Samsung Display finally produced samples meeting Apple's approval, neither LG nor BOE could match those quality requirements.

Real talk: while Apple obsesses over crease visibility, Samsung's already shipping generation six of the Galaxy Z Fold. That's the difference between perfectionism and actually building the market.

TrendForce also notes that folding phones represent just 1.5% of smartphone sales in 2024, with forecasts reaching only 4.8% penetration by 2028. But here's what Apple's missing: that seemingly tiny percentage represents Samsung writing the playbook while Apple watches from the sidelines. When Apple finally arrives, they'll be competing against established user expectations and refined experiences that Samsung has been perfecting for years.

The accidental marketing playbook Samsung should probably trademark

This isn't Samsung's first rodeo with Apple-adjacent viral moments. Remember the "UnCrush" response to Apple's controversial iPad ad? Samsung's marketing team created a beautiful counter-narrative showing creativity surviving where Apple's hydraulic press left off.

The "UnCrush" campaign garnered millions of views and thousands of interactions, with the tagline "Creativity cannot be crushed" becoming a perfect example of newsjacking done right. Samsung's marketing department used to specialize in finding weak points in Apple's armor, though they seemed to run out of steam after the charging adapter debates.

Samsung's been perfecting this opportunistic approach for years, but this latest incident represents an evolution—they've moved beyond reactive campaigns to creating products so compelling that competitors accidentally showcase them. That's not just marketing success; it's product validation.

What this means for the foldable future

The accidental endorsement highlights Samsung's strategic advantages that extend far beyond marketing mishaps. Samsung's stronger market position became clear in Q1 2024 data, where they reclaimed the top smartphone spot with 20.8% market share despite Apple's holiday surge. While both companies saw some decline, Samsung's foldable leadership gives them unique leverage in premium segments where margins actually matter.

But here's where it gets fascinating: Samsung doesn't just compete with Apple's future foldable—they literally enable it. Apple has chosen Samsung Display as the exclusive supplier for their first foldable iPhone displays, creating a remarkable dynamic where Samsung wins either way. Every iPhone fold sold will still generate revenue for Samsung Display, creating multiple paths to victory in a market they're currently defining alone.

The real question isn't whether Apple will eventually join the foldable party—it's whether Samsung will have already defined what that party looks like by the time they show up. With foldable market projections showing 30.59% compound annual growth through 2030, Samsung's head start becomes increasingly valuable with each quarter of market education and user experience refinement.

The million-dollar mistake that wasn't really a mistake at all

Look, accidents happen. But when your rival's official account accidentally becomes your promotional platform, that's the universe telling you something. Samsung's foldables are so compelling that even Apple's marketing apparatus can't help but showcase them.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7's anticipated upgrades—including a 4-inch cover display, 6.85-inch internal screen, and improved hinge design—represent the iterative advantage of actually being in market. These aren't just spec improvements—they represent the kind of real-world learning that you can't get from lab testing alone. While Apple accumulates patents and perfects prototypes, Samsung accumulates user insights and market feedback that inform each generation.

PRO TIP: Keep watching how this plays out. When Apple finally enters foldables, they'll likely depend on Samsung Display's technology anyway—making this accidental promotion oddly prophetic.

Sometimes the best marketing is the kind you never planned for.