Being First Doesn't Always Mean Building the Better Product: What Apple's iPhone Duo Teaches Us About Product Design

Remember when Samsung and Duolingo started joking about Apple's new iPhone Duo?

Samsung called it "reheating our leftovers."

Duolingo's response? "They named a phone after me."

Apple dropped the iPhone Duo anyway.

Honestly, the banter was funny. 😂

But underneath the jokes is an interesting product design conversation: Does being first in a category actually give you an advantage forever?

The advantage of arriving late

Samsung has been in the foldable phone market for years. It has experimented with different designs, introduced new form factors and had time to understand what works and what doesn't.

Apple, on the other hand, is entering the category much later.

And that's what makes its entry interesting.

Apple didn't invent the foldable phone. It has had years to observe the market, study competitors, understand user expectations and identify the problems that still need solving.

That's one advantage of arriving late.

You don't necessarily have to repeat the experiments everyone else has already conducted.

You can learn from their successes, their mistakes and the things users still complain about.

Of course, that doesn't guarantee Apple will build a better product.

But it gives the company a different starting point.

Product design isn't a race to launch first

I think product teams sometimes place too much importance on being first.

Being first can create awareness, establish a category and give a company an early market advantage.

But it doesn't automatically mean you've created the best experience.

Think about it.

A product can introduce an entirely new idea and still leave users struggling with its usability, reliability or everyday practicality.

Another company can come along years later, understand those frustrations and build something that feels more intuitive.

That's the difference between introducing an innovation and refining an experience.

Innovation isn't always about creating something nobody has seen before. Sometimes, it's about making something people already know finally work the way they expected.

The real question is what happens next

Apple's entry into foldables creates an interesting question for the industry.

Can it make the category feel more intuitive? Can it address the compromises users have come to accept? And can it offer an experience compelling enough to make people reconsider their existing preferences?

Those are the questions I'd be more interested in answering than who launched a foldable first.

Because in product design, the goal isn't simply to arrive before everyone else.

It's to understand what users need and deliver an experience that makes sense.

And if I'm being completely honest, I still think Samsung knows ball here. 😅

But I'm interested to see what Apple brings to the table.

What do you think matters more in product innovation: being the first to introduce an idea or being the one that makes it work best?