back to article Can't pay $349 for an Apple Watch? Get a Chinese knockoff for less than $50

China's legendary counterfeit craftsmen have been quick on the draw and are selling rip-off Apple Watch lookalikes for a fraction of the price, even though Cook & Co haven't shipped any devices as yet. "These guys are specialists," Laurent Le Pen, founder of Shenzhen smartwatch maker Omate, told CNN. "The speed at which they …

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  1. adnim
    Joke

    Mmmm

    I wouldn't have one, someone might think it was the genuine article

  2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Knock offs?

    These are Android smart watches.

    They are an iWatch knock-off in the same way that a Mac is an IBM-AT knock-off

    Apple aren't the first to make a smart watch that links to your phone, you have been able to buy them for years.

  3. sjsmoto

    I bet if you ask it about the June 4 Massacre it'll have no answer.

  4. frank ly

    The D-Watch is £34 on eBay

    3-5 week delivery is estimated from China. I'll wait for the El Reg review. Hurry up please.

    1. Doctor_Wibble

      Re: The D-Watch is £34 on eBay

      Digital Watch? What on ersh is a digital watch?

      M'lud Judge Atkinson, Not The Nine O'Clock News:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VgwxKW0J6I

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The D-Watch is £34 on eBay

        @Doctor_Wibble - "ah that's the one with the real hair..."

  5. eSeM

    Have they crippled the battery to make it more like the real thing?

  6. Naughtyhorse

    Fantastic opportunity

    To look like a style over content fuckwit for just 1/7th the price!

    I predict they will sell more than apples smwatch

  7. wolfetone Silver badge

    Bet you the battery's are removable on these...

  8. Fink-Nottle

    Easy to spot a fake - the case's molecules will be too far apart.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Easy to spot a fake - the case's molecules will be too far apart.

      Who will be the first billionaire to sacrifice one to an x-ray diffraction machine and measure the actual lattice parameters? Perhaps it will lead to the most upmarket class action suit in history.

  9. Dave 126 Silver badge

    In Bolivia market stalls in 2008, I saw iPod Mini knock-offs sporting a SONY logo in addition to an Apple logo. A belt and braces approach to counterfeiting.

  10. martinusher Silver badge

    Not really a knockoff....

    These Android watches were being offered as low as $30 a few weeks ago.....I was tempted to buy one just to see what you got for the money. Now the Apple watch has been shown its obvious that some vendor might rename it and maybe give it an Apple lookalike screen. That's just cosmetic.

    Stand by for Apple to make all sorts of claims about how they invented stuff. Starting with the crownwheel (sorry Apple -- Timex did that years ago). (BTW -- the Timex Ironman is now a good 10 years old. You can write applications for it if you don't mind writing code for a Z80 and insufficient memory. It has a USB connection and the battery lasts at least a year.)

    1. Christian Berger

      Re: Not really a knockoff....

      This is actually what I don't understand. Everything useful a "smart watch" can do could be implemented with a decent display and a Z80. Add a bit more RAM and you can even do multitasking by swapping out programs.

    2. Doogs

      Re: Not really a knockoff....

      Unfortunately, my even older Ironman required a CRT monitor for the interface, so had to be consigned to the Drawer Of Ancient Technology eventually. Sort of dabbled with writing code for it while it lived, though; still have the SDK (or whatever Timex called it) around somewhere.

      1. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: Not really a knockoff....

        Well Apple will have a job to claim they invented the smart watch:

        http://archive.linuxgizmos.com/ibm-citizen-watch-develop-linux-based-watchpad/

  11. Rauntu

    Next up in news.

    Man gets hand blown off by knock off Apple Watch.

    1. Tapeador

      Re: Next up in news.

      That's it folks, buy Apple or be maimed! MAIMED!!

  12. Dave Bell

    General All-purpose Microsoft/Apple/China comment

    Can we trust anyone these days?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Manufacturing costs + distribution + reasonable mark-ups

    The fake smartwatches range from between $41 and $47.

    That's about what the Apple equivalents should be selling for.

    Plus maybe $50 more, assuming a warranty.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Manufacturing costs + distribution + reasonable mark-ups

      $80-100 is perfectly reasonable for a smartwatch.

      $150 is pushing it.

      Anything over $200 should be considered a luxury or very feature packed.

    2. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: Manufacturing costs + distribution + reasonable mark-ups

      "Plus maybe $50 more, assuming a warranty."

      Why on earth should it be necessary to pay another fifty bucks for a warranty?

      Either the maker puts his name behind it and fixes/replaces it if it breaks, or it's a pile of poo that should be avoided. Doubling the cost to warrant it is saying 'there's a 50% chance of this thing dying in a year'...

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iApps

    Introducing the iWank, the perfect App for your new Apple smartwatch.

    Measure: time, speed, efficiency...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: iApps

      Left-handed?

      Are you a weirdo?

  15. Cody

    Still not understanding the target market

    Still not understanding the target market. Seems to require an iPhone - but when you have one of these, why exactly do you need this on your wrist?

    The effort in smart watches seems to be to make them into one inch tablets. People are not making them into phones for the obvious reason you would have to take it off to hold it to your ear and use it comfortably. But the more successful they are at making them into usable tablets, the more the limitations of the way you are supposed to carry them, and their consequent tiny screen size, become apparent.

    I really don't get it. My own light powered watch cost around £50 a few years ago. It does one thing and it does it perfectly, it tells the time, and it seems like it will go on doing that forever with no maintenance of any kind. Its small enough and comfortable enough that you can forget you are wearing it.

    I can see fitness bands. They are a distinct wearable niche, they don't try to fit the time-watch segment, they too do one main thing and do it very well. But when you think about this use, go out for a run or a ride and you take your phone, surely? Guarantee you do if you are a woman, and most likely nowadays if a man - its a security issue. And you notice there are little holders you strap to your upper arm to carry phones in when doing this. Your upper arm, not your wrist! Or on your belt, not your wrist!

    I can even see a niche for small tablets - smaller than the current minimum which seems to be four or five inches. The thing I am not seeing is why anyone would want to strap one of those to a WRIST! Carry it almost anywhere else and it would be better.

    Well, we will see. Before the announcement it was merely puzzling. After it, it looks increasingly like large inventory write-offs coming later this year.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. andreas koch
          Windows

          @ Anonymous - Re: @ Cody - Still not understanding the target market

          I'm very sorry to have offended so greatly that you don't even grace me with the honour of reading your name next to your post.

          I shall remove the offence.

    2. nematoad

      Re: Still not understanding the target market

      "...they don't try to fit the time-watch segment, they too do one main thing and do it very well."

      Now where have I heard that before?

      Ah, I know, Unix.

      It seems to be a good methodology.

      Nope, these "smart watches" are another solution looking for a problem. and your money of course.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Still not understanding the target market

      @Cody - it's simple: do you work in a coffee shop? Do you sport a man-bun? Does a parent or relative give you a generous allowance, enabling you to spend your entire waking hours being 'creative' and 'social'? When you hear the word 'job', do you instinctively pluralise it and prefix it with 'Steve'? Does doing so make you feel warm inside?

      If the answer to any of these questions is 'no', then the Apple Watch is not for you.

    4. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Still not understanding the target market

      >Still not understanding the target market

      Everybody now has an iPhone

      So merely wearing white headphones no longer marks you out as sensitive artistic special person

      Having one of these on your wrist will allow you to demonstrate your uniquely individual personal creative style without having to sit in Starbucks all day with your macbook open

  16. Anthony Hegedus Silver badge

    I really don't get it. I don't get expensive watches either, but I do know they hold their value, because of the craftsmanship, the name, the expensive jewels etc. and of course the fact that they will always do their job as well as the day you bought it.

    Apple's "watch" on the other hand will not always do its job as well as the day it was bought. By job, I mean "being a smartwatch". Yes, it'll connect to a 2015-model iphone, but in ten years time, what exactly will it be able to connect to? Are apple going to ensure that a 2035 model of the iphone will still work with that lovely looking apple watch you bought for $10000 20 years previously? I think not. And even if it did, the software won't be upgradeable to whatever apple watches will be using then, for sure.

    Unless they've designed it so that the electronics and the display can be easily replaced, leaving a fancy case and strap, the whole thing is fucking daft. No other tech has been made that incorporates precious metals and fancy design in the same way (and I don't count those nokia vertu phones as they're targetted at a different market)

    1. andreas koch

      @ Anthony Hegedus -

      >

      and I don't count those nokia vertu phones as they're targetted at a different market
      <

      Are you sure about that?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @ Anthony Hegedus -

        Vertu actually have a point. If you are a consultant or small businessman who travels a lot, the Vertu concierge service probably works out a lot cheaper than a PA and more marriage-friendly than expecting your wife to make all your arrangements. And that's what you actually pay for.

        BT charge £3.10 a month just to allow you to prevent people from dialling porn lines and expensive foreign locations. To me, that's far more of a ripoff than Vertu.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Antony Hegidus

      No other tech has been made that incorporates precious metals and fancy design in the same way

      Fabergé eggs.

      The difference is that (for instance) the tiny train set in one of them is repairable.

      I agree with your point, but the point of this thing is for rap musicians to buy one, wave it around for a year, and then dump it for a new model. The exact point, in fact, is conspicuous consumption, like people buying £3000 bottles of wine when they are already so plastered they couldn't tell it from Spanish drain cleaner.

      And we know what tends to happen to societies that reach that level of inequality. Roman hedge fund managers and slebs, the barbarians are gearing up to storm the gates.

    3. nematoad

      "..but I do know they hold their value, because of the craftsmanship, the name, the expensive jewels etc. and of course the fact that they will always do their job as well as the day you bought it."

      I agree with your first point. I had a Rolex Submariner which cost me £3000 for a few years and when I sold it back to the dealer I got £50 more than what I paid for it, so they do hold their value.

      As to the second part of your quote, I sort of agree. The Rolex was a "certified Chronometer", it had a certificate and everything but it kept terrible time, losing a minute or so everyday. Also the thing kept needing to be serviced and at £200 a time soon became an expensive liability, hence the sale. So in a way it did work as well as when it was new, it's just that it never ever kept good time.

      In contrast my Casio digital watch that I bought in 1990 still keeps good time and only needs a battery every five years or so. Cost £19 if I recall correctly.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Rolexes

        "The Rolex was a "certified Chronometer", it had a certificate and everything but it kept terrible time, losing a minute or so everyday."

        Whoever was servicing it for you should have been sued. Consistent loss or gain means a simple adjustment. My grandfather used to calibrate Rolexes for people as a hobby. They have the usual adjustment mechanism on the balance wheel, and in fact the balance wheel can be rebalanced if the spring has to be replaced. I remember him on visits waiting for the BBC time pips to check the ones he was currently working on; he regarded 20 seconds a week as acceptable.

        1. nematoad
          Happy

          Re: Rolexes

          "Whoever was servicing it for you should have been sued."

          Actually the watch was serviced by Rolex at their facility in Kent. All done through my local Rolex dealer.

          It was, to my relief returned unharmed as Rolex has a reputation for destroying all the fakes it gets its hands on. So I know that mine was a real one.

          Sort of a "Rolex Genuine Advantage" I suppose!

      2. mccp

        In my experience a Rolex should keep time pretty accurately - maybe not good enough for sniping on eBay but good enough for real life.

        Rolex will service any of their watches for around £400. Your watch and the movement is completely dismantled, anything worn in the movement is replaced, then it is reassembled, calibrated, polished and returned looking brand new.

        That might be too pricey for some, but they don't depreciate.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          So would the Keith Waterhouse quarter hour approximate watch (I'm showing my age here)

  17. tony2heads
    WTF?

    "In the end, you sometimes need to be an expert to tell the difference between real and fake."

    So he is basically saying that for all practical purposes the fake is just as good, just a lot cheaper.

    1. Mage Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: "In the end, you sometimes need to be an expert to ... "

      Perhaps they are not fakes.

      Perhaps many predate Apple Watch

      Perhaps many are better.

      They'd be idiots not to take advantage of the Media Apple Hypegasm.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "In the end, you sometimes need to be an expert to tell the difference between real and fake."

      So he is basically saying that for all practical purposes the fake is just as good, just a lot cheaper.

      The other day someone showed me a Rolex knockoff that cost £6. I needed my close up glasses to spot the small manufacturing flaws in the case and strap, and the mechanism is actually mechanical auto-wind.

      Apparently if you asked, not only did you get a fake Rolex, you got a fake invoice for $11000.

      1. werdsmith Silver badge

        Re: "In the end, you sometimes need to be an expert to tell the difference between real and fake."

        "The other day someone showed me a Rolex knockoff that cost £6. I needed my close up glasses to spot the small manufacturing flaws in the case and strap, and the mechanism is actually mechanical auto-wind."

        I had a Rolex knock off in the 80s, it was a permanent drawer resident, but it had a self winding clockwork movement, and sweeping second hand, everything. A colleague brought it back from Singapore.

        It's best not to try and look inside the minds of the super rich, it's almost unbelievable to a standard salary earner. But it's enough to say that Apple know they have a market and will shift watches and make money.

        And for those that don't get the idea of Smartwatches, don't buy one.

        I don't get cigarettes and I never have. So I don't smoke.

  18. Telboy

    Dick Barton invented the I Watch

    Dick Barton invented the I Watch

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/47/Dt2wrr.jpg/220px-Dt2wrr.jpg

    1. Telboy

      Re: Dick Barton invented the I Watch

      Sorry I meant Dick Tracy

  19. 45RPM Silver badge

    I think that the real money will be made for the counterfeiters by cloning the straps rather than the device itself. If the cloners can make accurate, compatible, replicas of the real deal then they'll coin it in. After all, why spend £600 or more on an Apple Watch when you can buy an Apple Watch Sport, and replace the tacky strap with a high quality copy of the steel bracelet or leather strap?

    I'll bet that a lot of people who buy an Apple Watch wouldn't want a clone watch - but a clone strap is an entirely different kettle of fish.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nice! The world's smallest, and most expensive, etch-a-sketch just got cheaper. Those clever Chinese bods now have to make it more useful somehow. How about if it also disseminates your data?

  21. Ralph B

    Quick on the draw?

    >Less than 24 hours after Tim Cook announced Apple's new wrist-puter

    Get out of that Apple reality distortion field. Apple presented this product 6 months ago. I remember it. Please stop pretending that never happened.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Quick on the draw?

      It seems like every couple of months Apple start waving flags and invite people to come and look at the iWatch. The 'launch' was just a couple of days ago, but it wont be on sale for another month. This drawn-out process is probably due to feedback from consumers about how many f***s they give about the product.

      From Wikipedia:

      'In November 2014, Apple Watch was listed by Time as one of the 25 Best Inventions of 2014.'

      Lol. Way to look stupid, Time magazine.

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