Huawei has posted an interesting piece of marketing material on its Facebook page for Taiwanese fans. It appears to address Samsung directly; on the face of it, it is somewhat salutatory. However, the Taiwanese news site UDN has interpreted the rest of the message as potential mockery. Assuming this is correct, the FB image could be viewed as a reflection of Samsung's own recent ad campaigns that poke fun at Apple. These include the ad that showed a man with a 'notch' haircut, not to mention the follow-up that featured the same character with a child sporting the same hairstyle.
According to Google Translate, the text alongside the image reads:
Congratulations to SAMSUNG, today is your big day.
When we are amazing, we will reflect on the definition of "innovation" and "breakthrough" (salvation).
UDN claims that the text in the actual image posted goes on to state:
Thanks to Samsung, once again, let us surprise the imagination of mobile phones, reflect on the definition of innovation and breakthrough, there is no omnipotence, only breakthrough [...] This spirit, let's take it.
These translations could be interpreted as a less than charitable commentary on Samsung's actual level of innovation in the design-level transition between the Galaxy Note 8 and Note 9. Some correspondents in the mobile tech space have noted some dissatisfaction with the distinctions between the two phones - or those between the Note 9 and Galaxy S9 line. This is a particularly pressing concern, considering the introductory price for Samsung's newest phablet.
The new Huawei post could also be perceived as a teaser for its own next probable release, the Mate 20 line. It remains to be seen whether this ad is really intended to have the tone perceived in the UDN article. Furthermore, Samsung's response to such a 'message' may also be worth waiting for.