Counterfeit 'AirPods 3' Hit the Market Prior to Official Announcement

[MacRumors]

Apple is expected to launch the third iteration of AirPods in the third quarter of this year. Rumors and reports suggest the new AirPods will feature an updated design more in line with the AirPods Pro, but lacking in "Pro" features such as active noise cancellation.

Despite AirPods 3 not yet being officially announced by Apple, counterfeit products of the unreleased earbuds have already hit the market. Videos from TikTok shared on Twitter show fake AirPods, that are precisely in line with previously leaked images claiming to be the real deal.

Apple products are very often faked and sold online on unauthorized Apple marketplaces, so much so that Apple has a team whose sole focus is to crackdown on counterfeit products and prevent them from being sold. Fake Apple products not only present a challenge to the tech giant, but also pose a danger to customers. Buying fake products not only means you're missing out on the latest technology, but they could also present safety hazards and can even be illegal in some countries.

Article Link: Counterfeit 'AirPods 3' Hit the Market Prior to Official Announcement

 

[macfacts]

Perhaps the leaked videos were of the "fake" airpods. No one copied apple.

 

[Smooch]

I feel this is legally really interesting... Can an unreleased and yet to be officially confirmed product be protected by law? Who's to say who copied who in that case? Unless they use an Apple logo or something of course.

 

[coredev]

Well this shouldn't be difficult to do. Most counterfeit "AirPods Pro" lack the noise cancellation and other pro features, but look like the pros. By now saying these are not the pros but the new V3 makes them more credible

 

[Darth Tulhu]

This right here is an example of the clout that Apple has in the industry, and it also speaks at the silly tribalism we humans subject ourselves and each other to.

If I can't have real AirPods, these fake ones will make me look cool. No one will ever know!

SMH

 

[GaelenSky]

Either way, they look ugly as sin

 

[alpi123]

The real AirPods 3 never leaked. It was all these clones, it's pretty obvious.

 

[miniyou64]

Lol “pose a danger”. Yeah scary...

 

[Reason077]

Are these counterfeits as in "we stole the plans/source code/equipment/factory, and are knocking out near-perfect replicas with identical functionality"?

Or counterfeits as in "superficially look similar, but garbage-tier hardware inside and functionality is completely wrong"?

I strongly suspect the later.

 

[Reason077]

but lacking in "Pro" features such as active noise cancellation.

If they don't have noise cancellation, what are all the extra speakers/microphones for?

 

[one more]

I am quite impressed to see how they manage to get the knock-offs out sooner than the real deal, but I would not stick them into my ears, personally. Gives us a very good picture of what to expect from Apple’s next AirPods, though. ?

 

[farewelwilliams]

you're doing it wrong if you need a keychain for your airpods

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

you're doing it wrong if you need a keychain for your airpods

doing what wrong?

 

[Wando64]

They don't even sit in the case properly. Complete nonsense.

Besides, I don't have a pair of Pro to try, but I would very much doubt that they would comfortably sit in the ear without the rubber part.

 

[yellow8]

They look like mini-Stormtroopers

 

[n0va]

i respect the grind

 

[tridley68]

Those are as ugly as the real ones.

 

[kildraik]

Apple cracks down on leakers:

Counterfeits* hit market before release.

*Pending confirmation.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

They look like mini-Stormtroopers

You're right, they're kinda cute when you look at them like that!

 

[RamGuy]

I am quite impressed to see how they manage to get the knock-offs out sooner than the real deal, but I would not stick them into my ears, personally. Gives us a very good picture of what to expect from Apple’s next AirPods, though. ?

Considering how Apple should expect to sell in the likes of XX millions of AirPods. While companies like these can settle for manufacture like 100-1000 and probably have enough stock for their first run of sales it's not that difficult to imagine is it?

It's not like they need to ensure the same level of quality control, or the same level of quality to begin with either. So comparing the manufacturing of actual AirPods 3 from Apple with knock-offs like this isn't really comparable at all.


It's the same problem when people apply the same kind of logic when OnePlus or some other company might have a new feature not available on the iPhone. It's much easier to include not widely and not yet mature features into a product when you are expect to produce just 1/10000 of the amount of units that Apple needs to produce.

Doesn't help much that in-screen fingerprint readers might have gotten to a level of quality where they are acceptable to use. If the people behind these readers can only ensure enough readers to account for 1/1000 of the demand Apple needs to fill for the iPhone.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

A good argument for branding everything. Put little Apple logos on the buds and a larger one on the case.

 

[calstanford]

Apple has been so slow in recent years, all kind of counterfeit products come out before the real thing

 

[hennagaijin_apb]

Or this is just a photo of the currently available AirPods Pro (with a nice sunset) purporting to be new the new Airpods..... If the official product isn't released the product in your photo is neither AirPod, AirPod Pro or anything in between..

 

[jlc1978]

Lol “pose a danger”. Yeah scary...

While earphones may be a stretch, counterfeit products such as power supplies can pose a real danger. It's easy to make a knockoff dirt cheap if you don't care about safety and simply slap on fake Apple / UL / TÜV / GS etc. labels.

If they don't have noise cancellation, what are all the extra speakers/microphones for?

To make them look like real ones.

 

[Costino1]

you're doing it wrong if you need a keychain for your airpods

This is just added to avoid a lawsuit. They can say its not a direct copy due to adding that.