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Apple Watch Knock-Offs Already On Sale in China

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Apr 12, 2001
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Following Apple's Apple Watch-dominated media event on Monday, a few manufacturers in China have today already begun selling imitators of the device in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei commercial area, and online, according to the South China Morning Post.

Perhaps the most identical to the Apple Watch is the Zeaplus Watch, an aluminum-bodied smartwatch available in silver, gray, and gold. According to the company's website, it detects heart rate and includes a pedometer to count steps and calories. Interestingly, the Android and iOS-compatible Zeaplus Watch has a slot for a SIM card and allows users to make and receive calls from their wrist without needing to be tethered to a smartphone.

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According to the South China Morning Post, the Zeaplus Watch has a detachable 2-megapixel camera at the bottom of the watch which can be taken off to take a picture. This ability "markets the watch as a covert spying device", though no mention of it is made on the company's website.

The device is aimed to launch at the end of March, and as of now, no information is known of it besides the short snapshot of bullet-points rotating on the Zeaplus homepage. A similar smartwatch device sold by the company sells for $69 currently, so the Zeaplus Watch could retail around that price point.

The Huaqiangbei shopping district is known for being the centralization of electronic, digital, and hi-tech knock-offs in the area, so it's unsurprising the Apple Watch is the newest piece of tech being imitated by the manufacturers and merchants of the area.
The fact that such devices are on the market so early - some companies launched their Apple Watch imitator months ago - underscores the speed at which Chinese shanzhai (knock-off) manufacturers are able to bring copies to the market.

Since the early 2000s, companies in Shenzhen have been the centre of the mainland's shanzhai industry, which churns out electronic goods that imitate well-known brands very quickly - concept to delivery is often achieved within weeks - and very cheaply, often at less than half the price of the genuine product.
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A few other Apple Watch knockoffs have popped up, including Zhimeide's D Watch, which aims for an Apple Watch Sport look and claims to have a 7.5 day battery life. Prices on the D Watch range from about $30 to just $50. A few other fake Apple Watches spotted in the wild go as low as $15. With over a month until the official launch of the Apple Watch, there's no doubt that the off-brand imitations will just continue to grow.

Article Link: Apple Watch Knock-Offs Already On Sale in China
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/11/apple-watch-knock-offs-china/
I don't know why anyone would sit around waiting for the overpriced Apple watch, when you can order the fantastic ZEAPLUS Watch today!
  • It works with Android as well as iOS
  • You can simply insert SIM card to talk at anytime!

More features, at a far better price! Apple Watch buyers are crazy!
 
Hopefully one of them will have GPS.

Would actually find the product remotely purposeful then.
 
itsOver9000 said:
I don't see Samsung mentioned in the article.. are they slipping?
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They were one of the first to the smartwatch market. Technically, Apple is the one 'copying' the Galaxy Gear.

For the first time, these knockoffs actually look better than the original product. No doubt the battery life will be just as bad though.
 
Is this a surprise to anyone? I'm sure the UI will be super refined and easy to use and the battery will last a week on one charge.
 
roadbloc said:
They were one of the first to the smartwatch market. Technically, Apple is the one 'copying' the Galaxy Gear.

For the first time, these knockoffs actually look better than the original product. No doubt the battery life will be just as bad though.
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I'm willing to bet Samsung only made a smartwatch series because rumors broke early that Apple was working on one.
 
roadbloc said:
They were one of the first to the smartwatch market. Technically, Apple is the one 'copying' the Galaxy Gear.

For the first time, these knockoffs actually look better than the original product. No doubt the battery life will be just as bad though.
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With that logic, I guess Apple copied all those MP3 player companies when they announced the iPod, and they copied Palm when they announced the iPhone, and they copied Microsoft when the introduced the iPad? No? The inovatived on those ideas, you say!?!? Then I guess Apple Watch is the same. Apple Watch innovates on the idea of a smartwatch.

P.S: The first mainstream smartwatch was the Pebble, not the Galxay Gear.
 
Why buy one of these Apple Watch copies when you can wait for the Apple Watch 2 copies which will be thinner and have much better battery life? ;)
 
This is too funny:D well look on the bright side guys, if the chinese are able to release knock offs so easily and quickly at least then we know the third party straps won't be that far behind.
 
Porco said:
Why buy one of these Apple Watch copies when you can wait for the Apple Watch 2 copies which will be thinner and have much better battery life? ;)
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I mean, like duh… these Apple Watch copies aren't even waterproof.:rolleyes:;)
 
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valleian said:
With that logic, I guess Apple copied all those MP3 player companies when they announced the iPod, and they copied Palm when they announced the iPhone, and they copied Microsoft when the introduced the iPad? No? The inovatived on those ideas, you say!?!? Then I guess Apple Watch is the same. Apple Watch innovates on the idea of a smartwatch.

P.S: The first mainstream smartwatch was the Pebble, not the Galxay Gear.
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I'm sorry. What again is Apple adding over what a Galaxy Gear or Pebble watch does, other than doing less?
 
madsci954 said:
I'm willing to bet Samsung only made a smartwatch series because rumors broke early that Apple was working on one.
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So you really have no idea who came up with the idea first. No one really does.
But because its Apple they were the first and best. No one knows how good or bad the Apple watch will be.
 
unbox therapy did a review of one of these knock off china watches a few months back, surprisingly it was smooth it only cost $35. ha.
 
BigInDallas said:
So you really have no idea who came up with the idea first. No one really does.
But because its Apple they were the first and best. No one knows how good or bad the Apple watch will be.
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If I were to credit anyone for pioneering the smartwatch idea, it would be Pebble. And no, I'm not saying Apple was first here, nor the best. It might flop, it might set a bar for smartwatches like the iPhone set the bar for smart phones back in 2007, I can't see the future.

I was merely stating my belief, ie opinion, based on Samsung and Apples love-hate relationship over the years.
 
Someyoungguy said:
I'm sorry. What again is Apple adding over what a Galaxy Gear or Pebble watch does, other than doing less?
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New types of communication, haptic feedback, further customization, better build quality (most likely), better way of charging, easier to navigate, forch touch, more apps, a wider spread of devices capable of using it (compared to the Gear), better integration with the motherOS, more in-depth health applications, less gimmicky features (a camera in a watch? I'm looking at you Galaxy Gear…), color display (Pebble…), a touch screen (Pebble again…),and of course, it's an Apple Product, so if you want attention, you'll get it.
 
TJ82 said:
Hopefully one of them will have GPS.

Would actually find the product remotely purposeful then.
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The biggest reason I really don't have a feel for the Apple Watch ... If it had GPS I could have used the sports/running features as an excuse to buy it to replace my Nike running watch and at the same time try out the whole smart watch thing. But the need to have my iPhone on me as well when I run kind of defeats the purpose
 
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