Chinese iPhone 6 on Android: reviews, description, characteristics

The release of such a popular and noticeable device as the next smartphone from Apple never goes unnoticed. In all the media around the world, in various reviews and a huge amount of other media content, information about this device appears, information on how to purchase the device and other details. It's no surprise that the demand for smartphones is reaching incredible heights, with devices being sold in the millions.

However, in addition to the advertising campaign and brand awareness, the “apple giant” has several more advantages. The most notable ones are the attractive body design as well as stable performance. And if for the company’s competitors (which includes virtually all other smartphone manufacturers) the functionality of iPhone phones remains something closed and inaccessible, then the very appearance of the device can be easily copied and transferred to other devices. Despite the prohibition of the law, which states that it is inadmissible to use the product of someone else’s intellectual work, manufacturers “brazenly” copy the design, releasing their own, most often Chinese, iPhone 6. The price of such a device is not so high, given the low quality of materials and the lack of advertising costs (which are borne by the Californian company). This, in turn, generates demand for budget copies of flagships, which is how such manufacturers make money.

Who is doing?

Of course, companies that put counterfeit products on the market will face punishment in any civilized country in the world. That is why Chinese developers took on the role of plagiarists. In the Chinese market, using someone else’s design has long been considered normal: starting with the first Apple and Samsung models, the Chinese have been selling their devices with a “slick” appearance.

If we talk not about belonging to a country, but about a specific brand, then it is necessary to mention Lenovo, Meizu, Elephone and others, not counting the so-called nameless developers who even hide information about who produces their Chinese copy of iPhone 6.

How do they do it?

In addition to listing brands that do not disdain counterfeits, it would also be a good idea to clarify the quality of such products. You should not hope that it will remain the same as in the case of a real “apple”. Most often, the Chinese iPhone 6 on Android (reviews confirm this) is made tens of times worse than the original. This can be judged at least by the cheap materials, poor assembly, and slow hardware. Another important point that we have already mentioned in passing is the Android operating system. Since the real iOS is not available to anyone except Apple itself, plagiarists use the public platform used on most other devices. Taking into account everything described, it would be very naive to expect to receive a Chinese iPhone 6 with the same characteristics and qualities as the American one.

Review of one of the copies

In order to demonstrate how significant the difference is between a copy and an original, we will conduct a short review. Of course, there is more than one development company whose model range includes the Chinese iPhone 6 on Android. Customer reviews indicate at least a dozen manufacturers producing copies. It will not be possible to trace the differences between all of them due to the large amount of information that would need to be collected.

Therefore, we will take one of the most famous fakes - Lenovo S90. Of course, the company does not indicate that this is a Chinese copy of iPhone 6. However, you don’t need to be an expert to not notice the very high level of similarity between the phones in the general features of the smartphone, its body, size, and color design.

Moreover, a device from Lenovo will most likely have more or less acceptable build quality. After all, in comparison with some noname models (and they turn on every other time), this product has official support provided by Lenovo specialists.

Housing materials

So, let's first consider the metal from which our duplicate is made, and compare it with what the real iPhone will demonstrate. Manufacturers from the Middle Kingdom claim that aluminum alloy is also used here (which is identical in characteristics to the material on the iPhone 6). However, the Chinese iPhone 6 on Android (reviews will confirm this) did not pass practical tests. Scratching an Apple product is not that easy; whereas in the case of Lenovo the situation is different - the top layer of paint on the case comes off very easily, resulting in the exposed metal texture. This is impractical, especially if you carry your smartphone without a case or bumper.

The dimensions of the S90 are slightly larger than the original, but this is not so easy to notice without an Apple smartphone at hand.

How to choose a refurbished iPhone seller on AliExpress?

Now let’s figure out how to actually choose the store to which you won’t be afraid to transfer your honestly earned savings. What I will tell you below applies not only to the selection of phones, but also to any other products. By the way, refurbished iPhones are increasingly appearing in catalogs of domestic stores - in the same Svyaznoy or Euroset. They are supposedly officially refurbished at the Apple factory and have original components. Whether this is the case or the same iPhone from China is difficult to verify, but they are more expensive than buying them yourself from the Middle Kingdom in an online store. Both are equally covered by a one-year warranty from the seller. The main external difference between officially restored iPhones is in a white box without an image of the smartphone.

However, there have already been cases where people contacted the service center because when updating the firmware it turned out that the phone was locked to a Chinese SIM card, although they were generally sold as new. To avoid getting caught in the same way, read the article to the end.

The AliExpress website has a very convenient search with filters that allow you to remove results that are obviously not interesting to us. I usually include the price - about 70% cheaper than the official 16GB version. Next, I make a selection by Free delivery, Piece sales and group the results by Price.

The required results are displayed, which we will look at carefully.

Rating

I first of all pay attention to the seller's rating. It appears next to his name as icons. First, medals are given, then diamonds, then crowns. I would pay attention to those with diamonds, but not yet crowns. These are quite large stores, but they haven’t gotten too greedy yet, so they generally value their customers. Although this does not mean that all stores with lower ratings are definitely scammers - perhaps they are quite decent and will even value you more as a client, but there is still less trust in them.

Number of sales of this product

The second important factor is how many people have already bought this phone from the seller. If the iPhone you have chosen is sold out very readily in this store, then there are advantages for which customers value it. This gives additional guarantees that you will not be scammed.

Customer Reviews

Finally, perhaps even the most important point of our check is the reviews of customers who have already purchased this product from this seller. If there are no reviews, then I definitely wouldn’t buy it. It’s better to find something more expensive, but where do people write that they received their phone in good condition?

Time on site

You can also look at the time during which the store is present on the site. The administration bans outright scammers after numerous complaints, so the older the store, the more trust it has.

Check on alitrust

And finally, there is such a wonderful service as AliTrust, where you can check the honesty of any seller. In addition to the fact that this site provides all the grouped information on a given seller in a clear, visual form, it also allows any user to file a complaint against a dishonest seller, and this will also be displayed in the report. In order to check the store, just copy the link to the product and paste it into the main search field of the service.

And we get all the available information about him. Pay special attention to the ratings for the last 1-3 months, as there is a possibility that at first the store did everything honestly, but recently began to cheat. As a result, the overall rating may be quite good, which does not at all reflect the current real situation.

Please also note that search results on AliExpress are grouped by the cost of the cheapest modifications. That is, the seller who was first on the list in price for the version with Space Gray 16 GB, the 32 GB model may cost more than another seller, whose most budget model, on the contrary, is more expensive.

In terms of cost, there is one more feature. Ali has a special offer for mobile phones (iPhone, iPad and Android. So, when placing an order through him, prices for some products are cheaper than when ordering from a computer - keep this in mind. Install this application and look at your cart - perhaps the price of the item added to the cart will be slightly lower.

Don’t let it bother you, but all the accessories they will send you will be high-quality replicas - headphones, charger, paperclip, papers and box - these are not the original, but an exact copy. As for the models, you can safely take 5, 5C, and 5S. But since the price difference is not great, it is better to buy the older model in the line - the iPhone 5S. In terms of colors, the cheapest and most advantageous option is Space Gray. Silver is a little more expensive, and gold is the most expensive. For sixths, the price is not yet much lower than new ones - apparently, there are not yet so many broken iPhone 6 and 6 Plus on the market that prices can be significantly reduced.

After you make your choice, be sure to send a message to the store asking if they have the models listed above that work with domestic LTE networks.

That's all - if you have any questions, ask in the comments. If you ask a trusted seller, then I buy here. Enjoy the shopping!

Screen

The displays of the models mentioned in the review also have a lot of differences. If the one installed on the original has not only the ability to convey a wide range of colors at maximum brightness, but also a high level of protection, then the same cannot be said about Lenovo. The latter looks good, however, but in practice the screen is easily scratched. And this was shown not only by our review describing the Chinese iPhone 6 on Android. Reviews from people who used the smartphone for a certain period of time confirmed this. The strength of iPhone glass and its fakes simply cannot be compared. It is impossible to say for sure what the reason for this is - the high technology of the Apple display coating or, on the contrary, the oversight of Chinese manufacturers. But the fact remains the same.

The essence and purpose of the firmware

Firmware is the operating system of a device, which allows you to use the full technical potential of the device at the proper level. Almost every user of Android devices is faced with the relevance of the firmware version.

The newer the version of the operating system is installed on your device, the more functional, practical and perfect its operation. It is for this reason that you are obliged to monitor the status of the firmware and the release of new versions that correct a large number of errors and provide users with more stable and faster operation.

In addition, new versions of the software provide an impressive number of innovative features that make working with the shell easier.

Performance

Devices manufactured by Apple are known for their speed and virtually perfect response. Despite the fact that the iPhone 6 smartphone does not have the most powerful processor available in the technological world today, together with a properly optimized operating system, it can show impressive results while maintaining a normal level of charge consumption and without overheating.

A slightly different picture can be observed in the case of the Lenovo S90 (despite the fact that this is actually the best Chinese iPhone 6). The device does not slow down or freeze - for this, its Qualcomm 410 processor with 4 cores clocked at up to 1.3 GHz is too powerful. No, we are talking about how the smartphone performs as a whole: during operation it can heat up significantly, which is why the battery level quickly drops. According to some reviews, updating the Chinese iPhone 6 to a more recent version of Android in some cases can save the situation - but you shouldn’t count on it too much.

What is a refurbished Chinese iPhone?

A “like new” refurbished iPhone is nothing more than an original iPhone that has something broken. The Chinese buy such devices for next to nothing, repair and replace those parts that have broken down and lost their presentation - for example, the display, buttons, case. The main thing is that they do not touch its main components - the motherboard with the processor and the touch ID button, if we are talking about the iPhone 5S or older models. That is, in essence, these are original products from Apple, but refurbished and brought to the ideal condition of a new phone.

Today the market is full of fake Chinese iPhones, which only superficially copy the original, but in fact run on one of the Android firmwares tailored for iOS. In contrast, a restored iPhone is absolutely adequately identified in iTunes. You can register it to your account and use it in the same way as if you purchased it yesterday from an official dealer in your city.

Due to recent changes in the ruble exchange rate, the sale of officially refurbished iPhones at the Apple factory has become increasingly popular - they are available on the shelves of almost all stores, from the same Svyaznoy to Euroset. The difference between them is that these are supposedly phones that were returned under warranty and officially repaired at an Apple-certified center. Therefore, the company gives them an official guarantee, but at the same time they cost a little less.

You can also buy an iPhone restored from an unofficial service - second-hand on Avito, in a gray online store, or on international online platforms such as Ebay or AliExpress. I mostly use the latter. At the same time, the risk of purchasing a low-quality phone increases, so I’ll tell you about the process and intricacies of buying a Chinese iPhone in this article.

Camera

Another key indicator of the quality of a smartphone is, of course, the pictures taken with its camera. In the case of the original iPhone, there can be no complaints - the device is known for its excellent photos and videos, which can be taken even in poor lighting conditions.

The camera on the Lenovo S90 cannot be called bad - it is a worthy example when it comes to Android smartphones. But alas, the Chinese iPhone 6 on Android (reviews of which we will publish later) should have had better hardware capable of more. However, we did not notice this. In excellent conditions, the photos are high quality, but in a dimly lit room everything changes. To be honest, even a flash can't help.

Reviews

In order to introduce a certain factor of objectivity into the review we compiled, let’s take a look at the reviews left for the described copy. Many of them praise the design of the device (“copied” from an Apple product), the way it fits in the hand and behaves in practice. At the same time, there are complaints from users about the endurance of the device’s battery, the quality of the display, and the capabilities of the camera. Buyers often negatively evaluate the stability of the smartphone’s operating system (which, of course, further distances the Chinese iPhone 6 from the original).

In Moscow (and throughout Russia) there are a lot of stores offering copies of the iPhone - and many of them contain typical comments: the design is pleasing, but the functionality and practicality of the smartphone, published in the image of Apple, is disappointing. This only confirms the fact that it is impossible to replace the original device with a Chinese copy, no matter what technical parameters the latter has.

Turning on a copy of an iPhone on Android for the first time after flashing the firmware

After flashing the device and disconnecting it from the computer, you get a turned off gadget, ready to start. Press and hold the power button until the bootloader icon appears.

By the way, after flashing, instead of the standard Apple logo, you can see a green robot. This effect can be corrected if necessary.

As for the download itself, it can take several minutes. The reason for this is the process of updating system databases and settings in accordance with interface algorithms.

Flash Tool deals exclusively with database replacement. Basic setup and adaptation to the new OS takes place during the first launch. Do not remove the battery and press all the keys randomly. Wait for the process to complete.

Selecting language settings

Once the installation process is complete and you see the familiar but updated interface of the iOS shell superimposed on Android, you will have to start setting up the language.

Depending on the new firmware installed, the default language may be English or even Chinese. To change the language, you will need to go to the “General” settings section and find the “Language” item in it.

If you have reset your smartphone to Chinese, check out the examples of pictures on the Internet that are located next to the “Language” column. Once you find the desired setting, all you have to do is change the language with just a couple of taps on the screen.

It should be noted that when choosing Russian or any other language, you will have to confirm the process. To do this, click on the button in the upper right corner of the screen.

Installing the GO Keyboard

On many versions of Android iPhones, the keyboard initially does not work correctly, which is why you will definitely agree to replace it with a working software product from a third-party developer. An excellent example of this type of utility is GO Keyboard.

You can install the program directly from the Play Market. It is free and can be installed on any version of iPhone running Android OS.

The program will delight you with an intuitive, customizable interface. You can independently change the keyboard display style, its size and select the current set of functions in the toolbar.

Replacing the lock screen and bootloader with classic iOS

When you boot up an Android iPhone with updated firmware, you may encounter the classic Android lock screen, as well as the familiar green robot. The usual combination of numbers and symbols can correct this situation and return the classic bootloader and iOS lockscreen.

After loading your smartphone, open the “Phone” application and enter the combination of numbers and characters *#8000#. As soon as you do this, the smartphone will reboot and you will no longer see standard Android system elements.

It should be noted that on some Android iPhone models this procedure must be carried out several times.

Price

Well, we need to have a separate conversation about the cost of devices. The purpose of buying a fake is to save money. As a rule, people who purchase a copy do not want to pay for the original device.

The price of the Chinese iPhone 6 we are describing, however, is not so low - it is about 17 thousand rubles. For that kind of money you can find an original, albeit used, phone of an older version. The new iPhone 6 will cost 3 times more.

For those looking for an even more budget-friendly option, fakes are available for 10 and even 7 thousand rubles. Finding them is not difficult - only they, of course, will demonstrate even lower quality work and even a greater difference from the original than the Lenovo model being described.

Visual check of iPhone

Visual inspection is not always effective, because the “Chinese masters” have already become accustomed to constructing fakes that are externally identical to the original. However, there is no need to neglect the inspection - checking will protect you from purchasing the lowest quality “fake” and will not take much time.

Signs of a Chinese iPhone are:

Availability of two or three slots for SIM cards

A genuine iPhone supports only one SIM card, which is placed in a special tray that is removed from the device using a needle.

Removable battery

This sign echoes the previous one. If you see a seller removing the iPhone battery to put a SIM card under it

Screen diagonal that does not match the original

Remember these characteristics:

You shouldn’t be too pedantic in measuring the diagonal: the same iPhone 5 has a diagonal, to be precise, not 4 inches, but 4.065. If you are too picky, you may miss out on a good deal.

Availability of antenna

Sellers present the antenna as an advantage - supposedly it will be possible to listen to the radio without connecting a headset. In fact, the presence of a retractable antenna is a sign of a “fierce” fake.

Screen grain

If you can turn on your iPhone before purchasing, that would be great. An experienced Apple user will always distinguish the original from the fake by the gadget’s screen alone - the original has a display created using RETINA technology, characterized by a very high pixel density.

Poor quality logo

If the legendary “bitten apple” on the back of the device is a sticker or applied with paint, there can be no two opinions - they are trying to sell you a copy.

Stylus included

Not a single modern manufacturer (including Apple) currently produces gadgets with resistive displays. Among the originals, the included stylus can only be found in Samsung Note series.

Sticky sensor

If you have to make an effort to, for example, swipe from right to left to go to another screen, you are dealing with a “fake”.

Availability of touch buttons

On the front edge of a real iPhone there is only one button - “Home”, and it is physical.

Hieroglyphs in large quantities

Even though iPhones are assembled in China, they are still developed in the USA. You should encounter hieroglyphs only once - when, after the first launch, the smartphone greets you in different languages. The interface of the original device is Russified.

Please note: the inscription on the back of the gadget “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China” should not scare you! Both real iPhones and fakes are assembled in China - the difference is that the originals come from special Apple factories.

conclusions

Of course, it is a personal matter for everyone which smartphone to buy next. For some, it should fundamentally be similar to Apple, while other buyers simply prefer a high-quality and functional smartphone.

In our opinion, it is better to take a high-quality, inexpensive device with optimal characteristics from a well-known manufacturer than to splurge by having a copy of a top-class branded smartphone that is not able to demonstrate the same functionality. And you need to understand that the principle by which the Chinese iPhone 6 is made is cheap and cheerful.