Apple’s first foldable iPhone was supposed to own the conversation after its September 9 hardware event. Instead, part of the spotlight quickly shifted to an unlikely three-way exchange involving Apple, Samsung and Duolingo.
The catalyst was the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable smartphone, priced from $1,999. Within minutes of the unveiling, Samsung Mobile US began posting a series of sarcastic reactions on X, leaning heavily into the fact that Samsung has been selling foldable smartphones since the introduction of the Galaxy Fold in 2019.
But Samsung’s sharpest move had little to do with hinges, displays or specifications.
The joke played on Duo, the name of Duolingo’s well-known green owl mascot, while allowing Samsung to repeat its broader argument that Apple was arriving late to a product category already familiar to Galaxy users.
Duolingo did not leave Samsung waiting for long.
Its account joined the exchange with a line that immediately shifted the joke from Samsung versus Apple to the iPhone Duo’s name itself:
“they named a phone after me and made it bend over”
Duolingo followed that with another post built around the phone’s price:
“iPhone Duo: $1999 Duo on your iPhone: free.”
The second post referenced the iPhone Duo’s $1,999 starting price while contrasting it with access to Duolingo on an iPhone.
And when Samsung’s “#Solidarity” message tried to frame the two brands as fellow victims of imitation, Duolingo had another response ready.
“when an ugly stranger calls you twin, No Brand”
That reply ensured Duolingo was not simply playing Samsung’s side of the rivalry. It was willing to make both companies part of the punchline.
Samsung turns Apple’s biggest hardware moment into a familiar rivalry
Samsung’s posts went beyond the Duo name.
One message read:
“Let us know when you’re done reheating our leftovers”
Another said:
“Not the bed side clock. It’s giving groundhog day”
Samsung also posted:
“It’s feeling very familiar. Is this a Sims sequel…”
The tone was unmistakable. Rather than challenge Apple through a conventional product comparison, Samsung used Apple’s own launch event as material for a running social media commentary.
That strategy works particularly well around the iPhone Duo because Apple is entering a category where Samsung already has years of experience.
Apple officially unveiled the device on September 9. The handset folds open to reveal a 7.6-inch display, while an exterior screen allows it to function like a conventional smartphone when closed. Apple says the Duo is roughly the size and shape of a passport when folded and becomes its thinnest iPhone when opened.
The company is also positioning the Duo as a productivity device rather than simply an iPhone with a larger display. Its presentation included demonstrations of expanded video calls, wider app views and multiple apps operating side by side.
Underneath, the iPhone Duo uses Apple’s A20 processor and C2 modem chip.
The $1,999 price gives rivals another target
The phone’s price added another layer to the online conversation.
At $1,999, Apple is placing its first foldable firmly at the premium end of the smartphone market. A post shared by Duolingo also noted that the starting configuration carries 256GB of storage and that the handset is scheduled to become available on October 23.
That made Duolingo’s “Duo on your iPhone: free” line particularly effective because it compressed the entire joke into two numbers: $1,999 for Apple’s Duo, versus no purchase price for the language-learning mascot already available through the app.
For Samsung, meanwhile, the launch offered an opportunity to revive one of its most familiar competitive arguments.
Samsung and Huawei have offered folding smartphones since 2019, while Apple is only now entering the segment. Despite those years of development, foldables remain a relatively small part of the wider smartphone market. Apple’s arrival therefore gives the category a major new competitor while also exposing the company to comparisons with manufacturers that arrived much earlier.
Apple launched a phone, but three brands ended up sharing the moment
The exchange also shows how difficult it has become for a major technology company to completely control the conversation around its own launch.
Apple had the stage, the new hardware and the $1,999 foldable. Samsung had years of foldable history to turn into jokes. Duolingo had one word, “Duo”, and used it to insert itself into a product launch in an entirely different industry.
There was no complicated campaign to explain and no lengthy comparison chart required.
Samsung’s “#Solidarity” post created the opening. Duolingo took it, then promptly made Samsung part of the joke too.
For Apple, the iPhone Duo remains one of its biggest changes to the iPhone in years. For social media, however, one of the most memorable parts of launch night may have been the moment a green language-learning owl found itself at the centre of the foldable phone wars.
