Samsung has been busy promoting the Galaxy A8 (2018) as its first phone with dual selfie cameras, but it seems like the brand wasn’t that confident about the device because it just got caught trying to pass off stock images as selfie camera samples. This isn’t unheard of in the smartphone world, but it’s always embarrassing when it happens to a major company like Samsung.
The controversy began last week when Samsung Brazil posted an image of a couple taking a selfie using the Galaxy A8. A Twitter user named Feliperas called them out on the photo, posting the original Getty image to prove his point. The brand responded to him by doubling down on its stance with a post saying “This is ours, isn’t it nice?”
The user responded with more proof, pointing out that the photo was clicked in 2015. He also posted a screenshot of another Samsung tweet of a couple clicking a selfie, revealing that it was also a stock snap obtained from Getty Images. The firm retouched the image in both cases, adding yet another layer of deception.
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Samsung gave up at this point, telling Feliperas that he was right and its initial response was not correct. It tried to salvage the situation, claiming that many of its photos are taken from its smartphones, but some are simply meant to express an attitude towards its target audience.
That may be true, but it’s strongly suggested that the pictures were taken by the Galaxy A8’s camera. Someone who buys the phone will be disappointed if the handset doesn’t match up to the photos tweeted, making them pretty misleading.
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Samsung should have clearly marked the image as a simulation of what to expect and not tried to pass it off as the real thing. Huawei got caught red-handed back in 2016 doing the exact same thing with the P9, fooling people into thinking a DSLR photo was taken by the device.