A heart-shaped Samsung phone is going viral online, with video of the device racking up thousands of likes and shares on both X and Instagram. Don’t get too excited about it, though. The video is AI-generated, and the phone doesn’t exist.
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Video of a Samsung-branded, heart-shaped phone has been spreading on social media, depicting a person pulling protective plastic off the device inside a store. While many savvy social media users quickly deduced that the phone was an AI-generated fake, a few wondered if it was real or expressed excitement to buy it.
Unfortunately for lovers of whimsy, the heart phone is most definitely not real. The clip was originally posted to Instagram by @tanu_mobile, an account filled with AI-generated clips of fantastical tech products, and has accumulated 49.2 million views at time of writing. In addition to posting the fake heart-shaped Samsung phone, @tanu_mobile has also posted other AI-generated heart-shaped phones with Apple and Vivo branding within the last few days.
Though none of these videos explicitly disclose that they were made with AI, the descriptions for some do say that the phones are “fanmade.” @tanu_mobile also acknowledged that a previous video of a Samsung-branded heart phone which they’d posted weeks ago was AI generated. The use of generative AI is particularly clear in the video of the heart-shaped Vivo phone, in which a woman’s clothes suddenly morph into an entirely different outfit.
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The currently viral Samsung heart phone video has a few tells as well. Specifically, the Samsung signage in the reflection on the phone is misspelled, and its app names are garbled. Some of the app icons are giveaways too, as the device appears to have iOS’ Phone, Notes, and Calendar apps installed. Samsung uses the Android operating system, so does not use these specific Apple apps.
Samsung has gotten slightly more creative with its phones’ form factor recently with the new Galaxy Z Fold 8, a foldable with a shorter body than is typical of modern smartphones. Even so, there have been no reports that it’s venturing into more novel shapes such as hearts at present.
While the Samsung heart phone may not exist, the video is a good reminder to be sceptical when scrolling, especially considering the prevalence of AI-generated videos. Question unusual and exciting new products before being swept up in the hype — particularly if there weren’t even any rumours about them before they showed up on your For You feed.
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