The Apple Watch was slated to release early in 2015, but it seems that a Chinese company already has these available.
Business Insider reported that during the Consumer Electronics Show or 2015 CES in Las Vegas, fake Apple Watches were spotted at the China section. Many of the booths in the section featured manufacturing companies and the sellers speak little English. The watches closely resembled the upcoming Apple Watch, but the differences become more obvious as people take a closer look.
The shape, color and form were quite similar but upon inspection, the fake Apple Watches did not have any real software, apps, a touchscreen and different strap material. The sensors are not found on the bottom, compared to the original, but the charger is located on the base to appear like the real piece. In the same report, Business Insider believed that the clones will most likely run on Android and become available in China.
The company behind the fake Apple Watches is known as Hyperdon technologies. They also had brochures ready, but these were poorly made and filled with Photoshopped content. The clone watches were referred to in the brochures as "Smart Watch".
Cult of Mac wrote that Lily Yin of Oplus Tek, a company that also manufactures the fake Apple Watches, said, "We took the Apple Watch and made a few tiny changes so Apple won't get mad."
Oplus Tek is a company situated in Shenzhen, China. Foxconn, a supplier of Apple, is also located in the same Chinese district.
At the back area of the 2015 CES, there are several booths featuring their own fake versions of the Apple Watch. Some models boast of the same bubbly user interface that the real version has. Functionality is the main drawback of the replicas, which also feature a small display of 240 x 240 pixels. The fake watches may be paired to a cellular phone to answer calls. It can also work as an alarm, pedometer and altitude meter.
The fake Apple Watches were sold by Oplus Tek at the 2015 CES for $35 only. These are expected to be sold in China.
Apple has not commented about the clones. For years, Chinese manufacturers have come up with clones for almost any piece of popular tech device, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad and iTouch. The user interface can sometimes be strikingly similar, but almost all of these operate on Android. As for the Apple Watch, Chinese makers decided to roll out its replicas weeks before the official release of the original.
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