Let's be real — Samsung and Apple have been locked in a full-blown tech arms race for over a decade. Apple drops something new, Samsung watches carefully, takes notes, and a few months later ships something that looks suspiciously familiar — but somehow works differently. Sometimes worse. But sometimes? Genuinely, embarrassingly better.
Here are the five biggest features Samsung borrowed from Apple and turned into something Apple users secretly wish they had.
1. Always-On Display — Samsung Took It Further Than Apple Ever Dared
Apple introduced the Always-On Display with the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022 and the tech world went wild. The lock screen could now show the time, widgets, and notifications without you ever pressing a button. Smooth. Useful. Apple-polished.
But here's the thing — Samsung had Always-On Display on Galaxy phones since 2016. Six years before Apple. When Apple finally did it, Samsung simply nodded, smiled, and then pushed their version into overdrive.
What Samsung Did Differently
Apple's AOD is beautiful but locked-down. It shows what Apple decides it should show. Samsung's version, particularly refined in the Galaxy S25 series and further enhanced in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, lets you fully customize clock styles, choose animated wallpapers, pin GIFs, and even display third-party widget data. Android's open ecosystem makes this possible — and Samsung runs with it.
You can change your Always-On Display based on time of day, mood, or even connected accessories. Want a minimal analog clock at night and a full productivity dashboard during work hours? Samsung lets you do that. Apple doesn't.
Verdict: Apple's AOD looks great in photos. Samsung's AOD actually works the way you want it to — every single day.
2. Pill-Shaped Cutout / Dynamic Island Clone — Samsung's Punch-Hole Wins Quietly
When Apple unveiled Dynamic Island with the iPhone 14 Pro, the internet collectively lost its mind. A software-wrapped hardware cutout that morphs into timers, music playback controls, and live sports scores — it was genuinely clever design thinking that made a hardware flaw look like a feature.
Samsung, of course, has had punch-hole camera cutouts for years. But where Apple made the notch interactive, Samsung's answer was quieter — and in some ways, smarter.
Samsung's Honest Advantage
Samsung's punch-hole is physically smaller than Apple's Dynamic Island pill. That's real screen estate back in your hands. And with One UI's notification dot system and the Galaxy AI live activity layer, Samsung delivers similar live-notification awareness without the theatrical pill animation.
More importantly, the display surrounding that tiny cutout — on Samsung's flagship devices — is a 2600-nit, 120Hz AMOLED panel that simply embarrasses Apple's display in direct sunlight comparisons. You gain more screen. The display looks better. And you still get smart notifications.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to push this even further with an even smaller front camera and enhanced under-display notification intelligence.
Verdict: Dynamic Island is more fun. Samsung's solution gives you more screen. Depending on what matters to you, Samsung wins on pure utility.
3. Satellite Connectivity — Samsung Took It Global Where Apple Held Back
Apple introduced satellite emergency SOS with the iPhone 14 and it genuinely saved lives. It's not flashy — you hope you never need it — but knowing your phone can reach emergency services when there's absolutely no cell signal is a quietly powerful thing. Apple deserves full credit for being first.
Samsung's response wasn't just to copy it. They partnered with Iridium and regional carriers to bring satellite messaging to Galaxy devices in more countries — and with broader use cases than just emergencies.
The "More Countries" Problem Apple Still Has
Apple's satellite SOS was, for a long time, limited to the US and Canada. Samsung pushed satellite connectivity into more global markets faster. For users in Southeast Asia, parts of Europe, and Latin America, Samsung's implementation was the only satellite-enabled smartphone option available — and it worked reliably.
This matters more than most tech reviewers acknowledge. Billions of people live outside Apple's initial satellite coverage zones. Samsung made the feature actually accessible globally while Apple was still rolling out market-by-market.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to deepen these satellite partnerships further — potentially enabling two-way satellite messaging without any carrier dependency at all.
Verdict: Apple pioneered satellite connectivity. Samsung democratized it. Global users in 2026 have Samsung to thank for satellite messaging being an everyday reality, not a US-only luxury.
🔗 Related Reading: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — Full Features, Specs & Everything Confirmed So Far
4. Generative AI On-Device — Samsung's Galaxy AI vs Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence launched to massive fanfare in late 2024. Writing tools, image generation, Siri improvements, priority notification summaries — Apple packaged generative AI in its signature clean-and-controlled way. It was polished. It was limited. And it required an iPhone 15 Pro or newer to even run.
Samsung had already been running Galaxy AI since early 2024. By the time Apple Intelligence made headlines, Samsung was already on its second-generation rollout of AI features that iPhone users hadn't even gotten a taste of yet.
Galaxy AI Does Things Apple Intelligence Simply Cannot
Circle to Search — tap and circle anything visible on your screen to instantly search it — has no Apple equivalent whatsoever. Live Translate works across phone calls in real time, translating both sides of a conversation as it happens. Transcript Assist automatically summarizes voice recordings without you lifting a finger. Sketch to Image turns your rough stick-figure doodles into actual generated artwork. Note Assist restructures your messy, scattered notes into clean structured summaries.
Apple Intelligence is elegant and carefully curated. Samsung Galaxy AI is relentlessly practical and broader in scope. For the average user who simply wants AI to make their day-to-day life genuinely smoother, Samsung's feature depth is hard to argue against.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to debut the next generation of Galaxy AI — with on-device large language model processing that removes the need for cloud connectivity for core AI tasks entirely. That means faster responses, better privacy, and full functionality even without an internet connection.
Verdict: Apple Intelligence is the better experience within the Apple ecosystem. Samsung Galaxy AI is simply the bigger, more immediately useful toolbox — and most real-world users live inside toolboxes.
🔗 Related Reading: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra AI Features — Galaxy AI 2.0, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, and What's Coming
5. Multitasking Split-Screen — Samsung Turned a Borrowed Concept Into a Masterclass
iPad multitasking was the original inspiration here. Apple's Split View on iPad and Stage Manager across iPadOS — Apple pushed the idea of doing two things simultaneously on one screen, and it looked genuinely beautiful on iPad hardware.
Samsung took that concept, put it on a phone, and then — using the Galaxy Z Fold series and now deeply integrated into the S Ultra lineup through DeX mode — turned it into a genuine laptop-replacement experience that Apple still has no real answer for.
Samsung DeX vs Apple Stage Manager
Connect a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra to a monitor via a single USB-C cable and you get a full desktop interface. Moveable windows, a taskbar, full keyboard and mouse support, proper desktop browser tabs, file management, and true multi-app workflows. Apple's Stage Manager on an M-chip iPad is impressive — but it's still iPad OS with iPad limitations. Samsung's DeX runs on a phone and produces a full desktop computing environment.
For professionals, business travelers, freelancers, and anyone who wants a single device that handles both mobile and desktop workloads — the Galaxy S Ultra's multitasking capabilities are simply in a different league from anything iPhone currently offers. Not in 2026, and likely not for a while.
Verdict: Apple made split-screen aspirational. Samsung made it actually useful for working adults. That's the clearest, most practical win on this entire list.
Final Thoughts
Look — Apple is not the victim here. Apple has always operated as the company that takes rough concepts, refines them to near-perfection, and ships them at precisely the right moment for mainstream adoption. That's genuinely impressive.
Samsung is the company that takes Apple's refined concepts, strips away the guardrails, and delivers them to users who want more control, more features, and more freedom. Neither philosophy is wrong.
But when you line up these five features side by side, a clear pattern emerges: Samsung isn't just copying. In several key areas — AI feature breadth, global satellite reach, multitasking power, display customization, and Always-On flexibility — Samsung has built something that iPhone users are still sitting on waiting lists for.
And with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra pushing on-device AI processing, deeper satellite connectivity, and full DeX desktop computing even further into everyday reality — the gap between what Samsung offers and what Apple provides is becoming harder to ignore with each passing year.
The best time to be a tech fan? Right now. Whoever wins this race, the real winner is always the user.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Did Samsung really copy features from Apple?
Yes, Samsung has historically launched features that resembled Apple's innovations. However, Samsung often iterated on these features with more flexibility, deeper customization, and stronger hardware — something clearly visible in devices like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. In some notable cases, like Always-On Display, Samsung actually had the technology years before Apple.
Q: Which Samsung feature is genuinely better than Apple's version?
Several Samsung features outperform Apple's originals. The Always-On Display is far more customizable, Samsung DeX has absolutely no iPhone equivalent, and Galaxy AI's breadth of practical features — Circle to Search, Live Translate, Transcript Assist — goes well beyond what Apple Intelligence currently offers as of 2026.
Q: Does the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra have a Dynamic Island-style feature?
Samsung has implemented its own punch-hole notification system with live activity overlays through One UI. While not marketed as Dynamic Island, Samsung's approach offers more physical screen space, a smaller cutout, and deeper notification customization options than Apple's current implementation.
Q: Is the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra better than iPhone 17 Pro Max?
It depends entirely on what you value. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra leads in AI features, satellite connectivity, display brightness, camera zoom range, and productivity tools like DeX and the S Pen. The iPhone 17 Pro Max leads in software consistency, ecosystem integration with other Apple devices, and long-term iOS update support.
Q: What AI features does Samsung have that Apple doesn't?
Samsung Galaxy AI includes Circle to Search, Live Translate for real-time call translation, Note Assist for automatic note restructuring, Transcript Assist for voice recording summaries, Chat Assist for tone rewriting, and Sketch to Image for AI art generation — most of which have no direct equivalent in Apple's ecosystem as of early 2026.
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