In 2005, Steve Jobs shook hands with a man who would later lead the destruction of Apple’s dominance in the smartphone world.
That man was Chang-Gyu Hwang, a top executive from Samsung.
Hwang had something in his pocket that Apple desperately needed to stay alive – something Steve Jobs would later call a “life-or-death solution.”
That thing was NAND flash memory, a new kind of memory chip that could store large files (like music) without taking up too much space.
Exactly what Apple needed for the iPod to become lighter and faster.
When Jobs saw it, he lit up.
“This is exactly what I wanted,” he said.
But there was a deal attached.
Samsung would be the only supplier of that memory for Apple’s iPods.
That handshake looked like a win-win…
But it was the beginning of something much bigger, and far more dangerous.
By working so closely with Apple, Samsung didn’t just make money.
They watched Apple.
They learned Apple.
They studied their secrets,
from design language to innovation process to user experience.
Samsung went from supplier to student.
And then, in 2009, the student decided it was time to graduate.
They released their own smartphone, just After Google made Andriod open source
That’s when Steve Jobs lost it.
He told his biographer he was ready to declare a “thermonuclear war” on Android, and especially Samsung.
Because deep down, Jobs knew that Apple had created its own biggest enemy.
In 2010, Apple called Samsung to the table with an ultimatum:
its
“Pay us $30 for every smartphone you sell. $40 for every tablet.”
Why?
Apple claimed Samsung was copying their intellectual property.
In just one year, Samsung would owe Apple $250 million.
But Samsung didn’t back down.
Their lawyers responded with a counterattack:
“Actually… Apple is using our patented technology -NAND flash memory, They should pay us.”
In 2011, the war exploded into courtrooms across the globe.
Apple sued Samsung for $2.5 billion in damages.
But as they battled in court, Samsung faced another crisis.
To compete with Apple, Samsung has to make its Phone Desirable and wanted by people
But Samsung’s problem wasn’t hardware. The product was great, and the student learned perfectly.
It was marketing.
Their ads were boring. Product specs. Voiceovers. No emotional connection.
Worse, Korean executives were the ones advertising to American Buyers
That was when Dale Sohn, the Samsung’s U.S. mobile CEO,
flip the script – He made a strange request:
“I want someone who is an American, someone with tattoos all over his arms and earrings!”
The contacted Todd Pendleton, a marketing genius from Nike.
Pendleton came in and asked Samsung employees a simple question:
“Samsung equals… what?”
He got 50 different answers.
That was the problem.
If even employees didn’t know what the brand stood for,
how would customers know?
Samsung had no identity, no feeling
Then his team went to work, and they did something crazy.
They took two bags to Times Square New York:
one had the next iPhone, the other a Samsung.
They asked people:
“What would you give us for what’s inside?”
For iPhone, people said :
“My BMW.”
“$10,000.”
“My sister.”
For Samsung:
“Five bucks.”
“Maybe this half-eaten ice cream.”
The Korean execs watched the footage in shock.Right there, Pendleton flipped the playbook.
Instead of spending 70% of their budget trying to network with providers, they used it to win over consumers directly.
Then came the “Next Big Thing” campaign.
They mocked iPhone users as sheep standing in long lines, excited about outdated features.
A Samsung user walks past, showing off something better.
“You don’t need to wait in line. The Next Big Thing is already here.”
The Results Were Shocking
The Rivalry was officially created.
Not between IOS and Android, but between Samsung and iPhone
Samsung was representing the whole Android phone model.
It was like a senior player.
In 2011, Samsung overtook Apple in global smartphone shipments.
They gained 26 million Facebook fans in just 16 months.
Their offices were filled with baskets of apples, a daily reminder to “take a bite out of Apple.”
From supplier…
To rival…
To the market leader.
Samsung flipped Apple’s strengths into weaknesses and won.
What Can We Learn from the Samsung vs Apple War?
From Samsung:
Access is power – if you use it well. Storytelling beats specs.They stopped focusing on features and started creating emotion.
Underdogs don’t need permission – just precision.They didn’t outspend Apple. They outthought them. With the right plan, even a shadow can outshine the sun.
From Apple:
Be careful who you give a front-row seat.Not every partner is just a partner. Today’s vendor could be tomorrow’s biggest competitor.
Innovation without protection is vulnerability.If you’re building something great, protect your edge. Legally, structurally, and strategically.
Brand loyalty can make you blind.While Apple was focused on its cult following, Samsung was busy studying the gaps – and that’s where they struck.
representing
,
Samsung
Studied,
Strategized,
Struck back.
And they didn’t just beat Apple.
They used Apple to build their empire.
So next time you feel small, remember:
You don’t need more power.
You just need a better plan… Just like Samsung.
