Google, Microsoft and Samsung's Irony on Apple's Non-News

In the world of technology, barbs, sneers, and teasing among industry giants are now a consolidated practice. The script is always the same: a company enthusiastically presents a new product, and immediately after a competitor appears to remind them — with a sarcastic smile — that they have had that idea for a while.

The history of “tech roasts” is long and full of cult moments. From the legendary Apple “Get a Mac” campaign (2006-2009), with the characters “Hi, I'm a Mac” and “And I'm a PC” who for years ridiculed Windows computers with minimalist sketches on a white background, to the commercial in which Samsung responded blow for blow with “The Next Big Thing”, telling the tragicomic adventures of a young man condemned to mile-long lines to buy the latest iPhone, until he switches to a Galaxy right on the eve of the launch of the iPhone X. In 2024, Samsung, to launch its tablets, relaunched with another low blow (but very well calibrated): “Creativity Cannot Be Crushed”, a direct response to the Apple commercial in which a hydraulic press crushes musical and artistic instruments to promote the iPad Pro. Even Intel, notoriously more staid, gave in to the temptation to attack Macs with M1 chips with a series of sarcastic commercials in 2021.

And here we come to 2025. After the recent presentation of iOS 26 and macOS 26 at WWDC, the web has gone wild. Apple, which for decades has made the legendary “One more thing” the symbol of its ability to surprise the world, now finds itself introducing features that competitors have had for some time. Between memes, digs, and ironic headlines, the “trollfest” has exploded on all fronts. Among the first to strike was The Verge, with a title that says it all: “All the Android features Apple announced at WWDC” — that is, “All the new Android features announced at WWDC.” The piece reviews a long list of features that Apple has presented as revolutionary, but which on Android, and in particular on Google Pixel, are old acquaintances: Call Screening, Hold Assist, live translations during calls. Nothing really new, but just an elegant restyling in Apple sauce. And the competitors, obviously, have not wasted any time. Google, Microsoft and Samsung have joined in a chorus of more or less explicit ironies.

Samsung's clarifications

Samsung kicked things off with an elegant but surgical thrust. During Apple’s keynote, it posted a series of vitriolic messages on its official X account (formerly Twitter). The first: “Customizable apps? Floating bars? That glossy glass-effect interface? It looks… familiar.”