- A recent Apple-made ad for Android-compatible Beats Studio Buds includes a Galaxy S21.
- Apple usually uses old, unattractive, or just plain made-up competitor phones in its ads.
- The quality of the ad is important because Beats Studio Buds are essentially AirPods that work with Android phones.
Recently, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the company showed off how FaceTime can work on Android phones. The presentation caused a firestorm of criticism as the “Android” phone used as an example was a non-existent device with huge bezels and a very ugly notch.
Apple is notorious for doing this. If you download Apple’s Beats app from the Play Store, it includes an example image of a Nexus 6P from 2015. Its app for moving to iOS includes an HTC phone from 2014.
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However, right now on Amazon, you can finally see an Apple-made ad that includes a current and attractive Android phone — the Samsung Galaxy S21. The ad image appears on the listing for Beats Studio Buds, which are Apple’s newest earbuds that work the same on both Android and iOS (h/t PhoneArena).
This might seem like a trivial thing, but it’s kind of a big deal. Apple usually only discusses or portrays competitors in a negative light. But, here we have an image of a lovely young woman enjoying her headphones with a great-looking Android device. It’s almost like Android users can be stylish and modern, too!
This decision makes a lot of sense, though, as Beats Studio Buds cost $150 — not exactly cheap. If Apple showed those ‘buds next to the HTC Dream from 2008, it would certainly look very silly.
Here’s hoping this means Apple will stop relying on inaccurate or unfair portrayals of Android in its ads!