Apple depicts Android smartphones as a big brick in its new iPhone ad

An iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange captures the light like a jewel, while opposite, a vague “Android” smartphone looks grim. Thick, angular, a tiny photo sensor, an improbable selfie cutout. The kind of device that no one has ever held in their hands. This is the new ad from Apple, posted online on June 3. And the subliminal message is not subliminal.

Officially, the “Privacy on iPhone” spot is about Safari. Apple presents advertising trackers in the form of silver spies who follow you online, with a not exactly discreet “chrome” pun aimed at Google's browser. Apple's browser has blocked third-party cookies by default since 2019, and this is the argument of the film.

But the real eye-catcher is the smartphone opposite. The timing helps: WWDC opens on June 8, Apple Intelligence should be in the spotlight, and privacy remains the brand's favorite weapon when we talk about AI.

The problem is that this Android does not exist

Apple has always liked to show the competition at its worst, from the "1984" ad to the "Get a Mac" sketches, the famous "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC". But here, we touch on pure caricature.

The “Android” smartphone in the ad doesn’t correspond to any real model, except perhaps an ultra-rugged backpacker that no one buys. However, in 2026, the borders have never been so thin on the Android side: the screen manufacturer Tianma showed a panel with 0.35 mm border, i.e. a screen/front ratio of 98.5%, spotted by the leaker Ice Universe and not yet integrated into a marketed smartphone. In other words, Apple is comparing its best phone to a scarecrow it made itself. It's not a comparison, it's a staging.

This is not Apple's first attempt: the brand has long refused to present its products against real and identifiable competitors, preferring generic silhouettes. This process has already earned it criticism, and several advertising regulatory authorities abroad have in the past pinpointed comparisons deemed misleading in the tech sector. Here, no Android model being named, the ad remains in the gray area of ​​caricature rather than a misleading comparison stricto sensu.

Who does this convince, ultimately? The already loyal buyer will nod their head, the Android user will roll their eyes, and the undecided risk above all retaining a misleading image.

The real concern is the honesty of the process: boasting about your private life while distorting the product opposite weakens the message. Especially since Apple's "private" promise itself has its asterisks: its own applications collect analytical data, as security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry have documented. When giving lessons, it is better to have a square folder.

Apple doesn't need that. The iPhone sells very well without inventing a junk Android to show off. The advertising is slick, the background is mean-spirited, and it is precisely this contrast that is disturbing. Selling trust by cheating on the image, you had to dare.