Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s yet to be released smartwatch is still months away, but its clones are already popping up. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, “near-identical” copies of Apple Watch were available at many Chinese manufacturers’ stalls, according to a report from the Financial Times.
Huge price difference
Apple Watch would carry an entry price tag of $350, but these identical ones could be bought by paying as little as $60.
Booths of the Chinese manufacturers displaying the watch were very near to the booths of big brands such as Oculus VR and Broadcom. Apple Watch look alike even had the distinctive “digital crown” controller along with four sensors on the underside.
“The brazen forgery at the world’s largest technology fair shows the speed, boldness and uncanny accuracy with which China’s counterfeiters can mimic even pioneering products,” said FT.
Representatives at the booths informed that the devices are powered by Google’s Android operating system, but are designed to look similar to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS. In one of the booths, when the reporter from the FT took a photograph of the Apple Watch copy, the booth representative pulled the device from the display and inquired about the reporter’s contact details. Also, one of the Apple Watch copy manufacturer at the CES, is selling the devices online on Alibaba’s wholesale site, informs FT.
Apple Watch “near-identical” cater to different buyers
A tech analyst at Creative Strategies, who also acknowledged the fake Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices, was not surprised, and said, “China makes a lot of knock-off high-end watches.” The analyst noted that Apple sales are in no way affected by fake iPhones and iPads as such look-alike cater to a different segment of people, who are aware that they are a buying a fake.
Such products will not be available outside China, and soon the Chinese market will be flooded with these low-cost Android smart watches, analyst told FT. “They are using the design as an entry point — it’s easier for them to copy.”
From China, apart from the manufacturers offering Apple look-alike, there were many big names displaying their upcoming technology. Lenovo, the biggest PC maker in terms of market share, unveiled new high-end tablets. Other major Chinese brands like Haier, TCL and Hisense showed new large-screen TVs, appliances, and other gadgets.
’s yet to be released smartwatch is still months away, but its clones are already popping up. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)){kind=link}