Samsung Galaxy Fold vs. Huawei Mate X
A new report from TalkWalker, a social media analytics company, revealed Samsung edged out Huawei in earned media impressions for each of their new foldable smartphone announcements at MWC 2019.
Yes, you read that right above. Two bendable, foldable mobile phones were announced in the same week. The Samsung Galaxy Fold ($1980) and Huawei’s Mate X ($2600). The main difference is that Samsung’s phone folds in, and Huawei’s folds out. Priced at premium level, they seem to be launched to create a positive halo effect to both Samsung and Huawei brands, and to overshadow Apple’s technological iPhone reign. Both foldable phones are intensely discussed on social media, showing that both brands experienced a noticeable launch and media outreach.
Apple’s iPhone range grossed 2.2 million mentions in the last 7 days, compared to 1.2 million mentions for Samsung’s Galaxy range and 110,000 mentions for Huawei’s Mate range, clearly showing that Samsung and Apple are the only two real rivals in the mobile phone industry. Huawei seems to be a minor player.
On an engagement level, Samsung beat Apple’s iPhone by far, grossing 9.8 million engagements vs Apple’s 6.4 million engagements during the same period of time, which was – let’s be honest – without major Apple launch. Samsung’s folding phone was launched together with the new Samsung S10, empowered with K-Pop celebrity endorsement. This shows that in an innovation desert, a new folding phone gets major attention on social media, beating the giant during a short period of time.
Huawei’s Mate X reveal was less considered on the net on a world level. The Chinese electronics manufacturer’s bendable phone earned only 1.1 million engagements, which seems big but not relevant compared to the giants’ engagement levels for this new type of mass consumer good. Huawei’s lack of a major video reveal seemed to cost them coverage.
Posts with most engagements:
- Samsung’s Galaxy Fold: Unveiling video above (164,000 shares/likes, over 8 million views)
- The Verge blog post announcing the launch date (35,100 shares/posts)
- Marques Brownlee’s tweet had the biggest impact with a clear statement about the high price of the Galaxy Fold (16,400 shares/likes)
- Engadget’s video (above) stating that Huawei’s phone was 5G compatible had spikes in engagements with 35,900 shares/likes and 2.2 million views
- Huawei consumer fan @iskw226 tweet had 4,100 likes/shares
About Talkwalker
Talkwalker is a social listening and analytics company that empowers over 2,000 brands and agencies to optimize the impact of their communication efforts. We provide companies with an easy-to-use platform to protect, measure, and promote their brands worldwide, across all communication channels. Talkwalker’s state-of-the-art social media analytics platform uses AI-powered technology to monitor and analyze online conversations in real-time across social networks, news websites, blogs and forums in 187 languages. Talkwalker has offices in New York, Luxembourg, San Francisco, and Frankfurt. It is also the home of Talkwalker Alerts, a free alerting service used by over 500,000 communications and marketing professionals worldwide.
