Matt Gemmell wrote an insightful look at the copycat phenomenon.
I’m not sure what level something has to reach to become a phenomenon, but it seems like when major brands openly release hardware that’s obviously a copycat, it’s become a phenomenon.
Take the iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy SII for example:
In Samsung’s defense, how many ways are there to make a touchscreen device?
However, take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. the iPad screenshots:
Okay.
That’s copying.
What’s even worse than Samsung’s “design work”?
How about HP’s Envy laptop line:
Apparently they were so envious, they copied it.
The funny thing is, Matt Gemmell points out that copying makes things more difficult:
- You inherit all constraints that exist with the copied design.
- Credibility is difficult to capture.
- Legal issues.
- Instead of designing from the inside out, you are forced to design from the outside in.
- Increasing more difficult to stand-out and differentiate yourself from what you’ve copied.
- Copies never achieve the height of success the original does.
Good designs may look similar and good design practices may be the same, but I believe truly, originally inspired design wins every time.
What do you think lends to copycats?
[via Matt Gemmell | Image via Sergiu Bacioiu]
Paul Prins says
I get the point you’re making Eric, but showing application screen shots is not evidence at all of copying by Samsung since they are not developed by them…. the Gmail app by google does look a bit like the mail app by apple… but I don’t understand how that is samsung’s fault.
While the esthetics are similar between the devices it is not copying. They have different spec, and different OS. I’m not sure how well the various lawsuits will hold up overseas.
George says
Paul,
I must respectfully disagree, the Mobile OS is customized by the vendor (in this instance Samsung) to fit their product hence why there are so many flavors of android running around.
In this instance the device plays (read works) entirely too much like an iPhone/apple device (hence the lawsuits) other android devices share some similarities with the apple devices but not to the extent the Samsung devices do, I have used them all (i own an iPad 2 and 2 iPhone 4’s) my brother-in-law has the Galaxy S II and i can tell you the Samsung has a very very close IOS experience compare to other android devices, HTC, Motorola, etc do not.
Mickey says
I agree with that — Samsung certainly tries to give their devices more of an iOS feel.
I’m curious about the flip side, though. How can you not be equally upset about everything iOS 5 “stole” from other companies?
George says
I don’t disagree with the fact that Apple has done the same as well as all the other vendors, fact is apple revolutionized the smartphone market and from that point all the vendors have played cat and mouse top “create” (term used loosely) the best mobile platform. There is hardly if any innovation going on at this point that sets any apart from the rest.
I think apple has done a great job with Siri (although I have had limited access to it), I know the argument can be made that phone have had voice recog. for quite some time but i think i can honestly say from what i’ve seen Siri takes that a few steps further than “Call, John Smith”.
Mickey says
I agree that Siri, while technically “voice recognition” like others have had, is very unique and quite cool.
George says
i love church mag… the only place you can have this conversation without apple and android fanboyz flaming everyone
George says
ps. good topic Eric!!
Eric Dye says
Thanks man.
Eric Dye says
*Like!*
Raoul Snyman says
I disagree. Many mobile phone companies had phones with better specs than the iPhones. The difference is that Apple knows how to market, and most other mobile phone companies come from Europe, where they sell products based on quality and durability over marketing.
Paul Prins says
George, To an extent I agree with your statement here, but the struggle I have is that within the creative/tech world everything is based on incremental changes. iOS as well as android.
My understanding of copyright law also tells me that it does not apply to experience, but to the actual essence of a product (graphics, text, code, etc). Most of the time when statements like yours are made it is referring to the relative ease of a product to be used. One cannot copyright ‘easy’.
Really I am just sick of the lawsuits going around between the two. We get it, they both wear big boy pants and want credit for it (in terms of $$). Let people choose between the devices in the market place. There are pluses/minuses to both.
I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 (which apple sued and blocked in europe) as well as an iPad 2 and the interface and experience couldn’t be more different.
George says
Paul, i agree when you look at one facet in this case ease of use, i think all the dev struggle to do this better with every rendition of the software.. I am more pointing at the “whole package” usability being only a small facet of the bigger picture, when Motorola released the droid they took the marketing to a very sci-fi “Droid Does” direction when HTC blatantly said iDevices are garbage and we are better, Samsung’s marketing strategy closely copy’s apples (see above images), even down to the Charging brick, those of us that are informed know the difference between a Samsung running android that looks like an iPhone from the outside and a real iPhone but I can tell you my mom wouldn’t should they be copying the marketing so closely that the uninformed wouldn’t really know the difference?
Eric Dye says
I think the overseas lawsuits are simply “games” being played to curb hitting the market.
Mickey says
What about software? Apple is clearly very innovative, but virtually every feature of iOS5 was “copied” from someone else.
The notification drop-downs are nearly identical to Android, as are the browser enhancements. The homescreen information feels like Windows Phone, the split keyboard on iPad has been around on a variety of Honeycomb keyboards for nearly a year.
At what point does “copying” simply become “catching up”?
Eric Dye says
Seriously. When something works and is good, what are you to do?
Andrew says
Samsung may appear to be copying Apple on the outside, but doesn’t Apple buy tons of Samsung parts to use inside their products? I wonder how that factors into all this lawsuit business.
Jeremy Smith says
Morally and ethically wrong. Period.
George says
“LIKE”
Mickey says
So is anyone in the clear?
– Samsung has copied from Apple. (above)
– Google has copied from Apple. (some aspects of Android)
– Apple has copied from Google. (some aspects of iOS)
– Apple has copied from Microsoft. (some aspects of iOS)
– Apple, Google and Microsoft all probably copied from Nokia.
– Microsoft has copied from Apple. (some aspects of Windows)
– Apple copied from Xerox. (early aspects of Mac)
Without copying, we’d have crappy products today. Granted, there’s certainly a line between innovating/copying and “stealing”, but to call the examples above “morally and ethically wrong” is to call virtually every company “morally and ethically wrong” — which you could probably make an argument for. 🙂
Raoul Snyman says
Correction: Everyone ended up copying from Xerox 🙂
Xerox came up with the GUI, the mouse, and many other aspects of computing we take for granted today.
Peter says
I personally think that Samsung has been copying some of Apple’s designs for quite a while now. Compare their designs with other manufacturers like Motorola or HTC and you can see that Samsung has been blatantly copying Apple’s designs in the smartphone arena. They’ve also been copying them in the laptop arena with the Samsung Series 9 being so similar to the MacBook Air http://reviews.cnet.com/2722-3121_7-1108.html
George says
tablets too! Samsung devices look and behave more like IOS than any other Android device on the market.
Which is why i believe apple has filed suit on them so much in recent months.
It’s one thing to borrow ideas but to design products, software, and even marketing material that its eerily comparable to another product is wrong imho..
see the following:
http://cultofmac.cultofmaccom.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Samsung-copied-Apple-iPod-touch.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tuaw.com/media/2011/09/samsung-copying-cjr.jpg
Peter says
Thanks George, I checked out those links and its just so blatantly obvious 🙁 While I still like Samsung, I do not respect them nearly as much as Apple. I don’t even put them in the same category. Apple = lead, Samsung = follow
Raoul Snyman says
Yet without copying, we wouldn’t have competition. Isn’t K-mart just a copy of Walmart? Isn’t a Motorola phone just a copy of a Nokia phone? Sure they aren’t identical, but they’re the same thing at the end of the day…
Charles Specht says
Interesting article, to be sure.
I agree that copycats lose credibility for themselves and increase the credibility of the brand/product they attempt to copy.