Smartwatches are the next personal gadgets that have the wearables market competing with each other. The year 2014 saw the pickup of the smart watch wearable, with Google and Apple announcing their goodies. However, while Google announces LG, Motorola and Samsung releasing it in the same year, Apple is yet to start shipping in April 2015. Though the Android smartwatches are already here and doing well enough, most eyes are on Apple’s Watch. Apple is said to make the Watch different—user-friendly, easy to operate, compatible with many electronics and most importantly, health handy.
But there is a slight twist in the entire story—though Apple has launched two sizes and three variants each, the prices start from $350 and hit the roof, all the way to $10,000. So if you want a timepiece on your hand that does more than just tell you the time, and if it has to be Apple’s, then be ready to shell out a big slice of your savings. The Watch is only compatible with Apple’s iPhone, and you would need one to order to use it. And most of all, they both don’t come cheap.
But the Chinese electronics market seem to be a step ahead in imitation—The Watch’s lookalikes are already seen running around. During the CES, earlier this year, fake or imitation Apple Watch smartwatches were already seen on the counters. This time too, the Apple Watch knock-offs were seern at the MWC. The imitation smartwatches are priced at a fraction of the original Watch, and can end up costing anywhere between $30 and $50 each.
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These knock-offs mimic the entire design, and style, of the original Watch. The designs are surprisingly so close that the size of the case, the straps, the display, the buttons and the user interface are all similar to the official Watch. The smartwatches are Android compatible, sport a few sensors and notification alerting modules (vibratoers and speaker), sport a camera and also claim around 7 days of battery life (standby). While these smartwatches are not available for immediate sale, directly to the customer, these were put up to distributors and wholesale buyers only. Rest assured, we are definitely going to see some of these fakes entering the Indian market within a few weeks.
So if you see your friend showing off his Apple Watch, you know what it could really be.
