We compared the fake iPhone 7 with the original one. They look dangerously similar

Counterfeits of flagship devices, as well as counterfeits of luxury brands of clothing, shoes and bags, unfortunately, always find their audience. There are people who knowingly buy fakes. But we are not talking about them.

Our task is to warn those people who, out of ignorance, carelessness or even naivety, purchased a counterfeit device under the guise of an original device. They will be truly disappointed with the quality of the device and its capabilities.

If buying an iPhone or other flagship device is beyond your means, there is always an alternative - buying a flagship in installments. Or choose another more budget-friendly device with decent technical characteristics. And if the buyer is ready to buy an iPhone, it is better to do it in trusted places - from official Apple sellers.

Instead of a preface

M.Video experts shared a smartphone that looks surprisingly similar to a real iPhone.
The device was spotted on sale in some Russian online stores under the guise of an original device. The first fakes arrived in Russia a week after the presentation. [UPDATED] After working on the article, it became known that customs officers in one city shared information about the detention of several thousand iPhones without boxes . Upon closer examination, they all turned out to be very exact copies.

Bought for only 10 thousand rubles! And if it weren’t for comparison with a real device, the difference would not have been noticed immediately. The original box and fake documents are misleading - you don’t expect such a serious trick anymore.

How to tell the difference?

The devices are as similar to each other as two peas in a pod. If I had not known that one of the smartphones was a fake, I could have been mistaken.

With poor lighting and insufficient testing, even our editor couldn’t point his finger at the original iPhone. And after they put on the covers, the whole team got confused. And the traditional inclusion for checking the first 5 minutes did not bring the fake to light.

Let's take a closer look - there are still differences, but not everyone will notice them.

External features

Click on the photo to enlarge it

Take the iPhone 7 in your hands - on the front side you should definitely see the factory film with a tab for peeling it off at the bottom. The packaging is cardboard with bright colors and a pleasant surface, inside there are instructions with the Apple logo. Also in the box there are headphones, cable, charger and all this is only white. Pay attention to the wires - they should be soft, unlike the Chinese ones - hard or even plastic. There are no sharp corners, sagging or burrs on any parts of the headphones. The back cover of the device is non-removable. In the original gadget, the cover is removed only if the screws are unscrewed. The slot is only for one SIM card, external memory storage is not inserted. The main “blunders” of not real gadgets:

1. Errors in the spelling of the brand, model, as well as naming errors in the operating system.
2. The back cover must bear the words “iPhone”, model number and certification marks.
3. No antenna.

Screen with step

The fake iPhone we got our hands on is the best I've ever seen. At first glance, it almost perfectly replicates the original.

Upon closer examination, the most important difference was the screen. The original screen of the iPhone 7 continues with the body. The fake has a small step between the screen and the body. The same can be produced by a device repaired using non-original components.

There is no oleophobic coating - prints are collected perfectly, the screen is always dirty. There is no anti-glare either. It is impossible to use such a smartphone in any spot lighting conditions.

Where are counterfeit iPhone 7s most often sold?

There are several places where a person who is going to buy an iPhone will most likely be sold a fake.

Here are the main ones:

• AliExpress . The online store of Chinese goods AliExpress has recently gained great popularity, and not by chance. On it you can find very cheap things, which sometimes even turn out to be useful in the household and in life. However, if a person wants to buy an iPhone 7, or any other iPhone in general, it is better to avoid this site. When ordering a phone on AliExpress, be 100% sure that you will receive a fake.

• Avito . To be fair, it should be said that original iPhones are often sold on Avito. It happens that a person simply purchased a more recent model, or simply decided that this phone is not suitable for him. Then the most logical option would be to sell an unnecessary item using Avito, and this does not at all mean that the person wants to deceive someone. However, in any case, when buying a phone second-hand, you must adhere to all the points given in this article, because the risk of stumbling upon a scammer is still very high.

• VKontakte groups . Often on the social network Vkontakte you can find advertisements that some person is selling original iPhones, but his price is lower than in the store. This attracts trusting customers who, like all people, want to save money. A low price can be explained by various excuses, for example, the absence of a large markup, like in a store, or something like that. In reality, all clients of such groups most often simply transfer money and receive nothing, and if they do receive it, it is definitely a fake. Under no circumstances should you buy an iPhone through VKontakte.

To avoid falling into the hands of scammers, it is best to buy an iPhone 7 in a large, trusted store, where you will be given all the guarantees in the form of documents. An alternative option is to purchase through Avito, but in this case you need to memorize all the tips given in this article so as not to receive a low-quality device.

In conclusion, I would like to give a little advice. In order to make sure you don’t make a mistake when buying an iPhone 7, for example, second-hand, it will be useful to go to a trusted large hardware store and use the original for at least a few minutes. Then a person will immediately remember what weight an iPhone is, what material it is made of, the eyes will remember the quality of the screen, and next time, if they suddenly come across a fake, the difference will be clear from the first touch.

Body like a bar of soap

A little later, the thickness of the protective glass on the screen catches your eye. Yes, this is window glass, not protecting the screen of a modern gadget! And the edges are noticeably rounder - like thousands of cheap Chinese smartphones.

Let's look from a different angle - the fake is almost one and a half times thicker ! The neat edges turned into a hemisphere: even the Chinese cannot break the laws of geometry.

Where it leads? The slightest impact will crack the screen like an eggshell.

By the way, please note: the inscription on the back of the device does not correspond to the original one. There was an attempt to reproduce, but the information and font do not match.

Checking a restored iPhone 7 by IMEI number

All smartphones from the Chinese site Aliexpress are refurbished phones. They are also called refs. Essentially, these are products that failed, after which they were repaired, non-functioning elements were replaced with copies, placed in another case and sold at the price of new ones.

Note! The exception is the official TMall store. He really sells new Rostest iPhones at a cheaper price.

At the same time, many people are trying to find and order a truly real iPhone 7 or plus smartphone on the Internet. To understand whether this is an original, you first need to ask the seller for the smartphone number, called IMEI.

These numbers can be analyzed using the database on the iUnlocker website. This will help determine the release date and country of sale of the gadget. This check will also identify phones that are being searched through iCloud and determine whether the gadget is unlocked.

Of no small importance is the match in shade, memory capacity, and model serial number between the product presented in the ad and what was found on the website. If all the data matches, you can meet with the seller to examine the phone in more detail.

Poorly fitted elements

Instead of the usual “Home” key, the iPhone 7 uses a touchpad with vibration feedback. She only reacts to touch. The fake uses a regular mechanical button. It presses and clicks. Creepy.

Surprisingly, the other buttons of the fake iPhone are very pleasant to press. Almost like the real thing, done.

They are a little higher, stick out a little more. Apparently for identification of devices at the enterprise, because the user will not identify the substitution. Only a true fan who has never used cases can do this.

But the hole in the case for the Lightning connector may well become a bright identification mark. This is not a hole, this is a hole! In which the connector dangles freely.

Even basement brands do not allow themselves to treat the most fragile link of a smartphone this way. With daily charging, the solder will fall off in a week or two, and you will have to take the device to a service center.

Specifications

The description of the characteristics of the iPhone 7 deserves special attention. Externally, the seventh model has remained virtually unchanged, but the same cannot be said about the internal component. The new model is supplemented with 2 GB of RAM. For 7 Plus models, this amount is increased to 3 GB. The internal memory of the phone has also increased. In standard models it is now 32 gigabytes. The maximum memory capacity for iPhone 7 is 256 GB, which allows you to store enough pictures and programs for several years.

Another part of the phone has also undergone changes - the Home button. If previously you had to press it to get a response, now you just need to lightly touch it with your finger. The sensitivity of the button to touch, as well as the speed of reaction, are also impressive.

If you love listening to music, then you will love the new phone stereo system. Improved speakers are located in different parts of the smartphone, which makes the sound more spacious.

Another interesting feature of the smartphone is the absence of the usual round headphone jack. Starting with model 7, Apple decided to gradually switch to wireless systems, which greatly puzzled its customers. To make the changes not so shocking, the model includes an adapter that allows you to adapt airpods to the Lightning connector. Unfortunately, you can no longer listen to music and charge your phone at the same time.

Unprotected camera

The back cover of the Chinese copy of the iPhone 7 is made according to a pattern. Doubts arise - maybe the fakes are being made in a nearby workshop at the Foxconn factories?

But there was clearly not enough protective glass for all devices. The camera of a real Apple smartphone is completely protected from external influences. No gaps - perfect fit, mosquito won't undermine your nose.

But between the lens and the camera rim of the copy, you can insert a sheet of paper. The furrow between them is striking, like a plowed section of a football field. It is doubtful that this is protection - more like the lens itself.

Quite in the tradition of counterfeit manufacturers: such a camera will fail very quickly. And if poor quality workmanship doesn’t finish it off, dirt will. It’s a shame to save money on glass of this size.

The future is closer than we think

Apple is not the only company that is blowing up the world with its innovations. Technologies for marking goods to protect against counterfeiting have also made a breakthrough into the future. The interactive DAT brand control system allows you to recognize the authenticity of a product or warn about counterfeit products in a matter of moments. If you want Apple gadgets to be 100% innovative in terms of protecting the authenticity of the product, write a letter to the manufacturer about cooperation with the DAT brand control system. Bring the future closer yourself - it is in your hands!

operating system

There is no less of a catch here. When you turn it on for the first time, the fake smartphone behaves like a real one. Everything you need is present - both the boot screen and the operating system shell.

The developers of the add-on must be given their due - a colossal amount of work has been done. I want such a launcher for my Android device. It is VERY difficult to distinguish from iOS. If you don't look closely at the applications.

They are the ones who give away the fake. This set, to put it mildly, is unusual even for Chinese Android, so an inexperienced user may not recognize it.

However, an avid iOS fan should quickly notice the absence of Apple-branded services. There is nothing associated with the company. Of course, iTunes, Apple Music and other proprietary iOS features do not work.

The application store is our own, Chinese. The main language is English, the set of programs is from the Play Market. But the choice is very poor. Naturally, installation is impossible.

Fortunately, the fake does not have pre-installed cross-platform applications on board. But if the manufacturer of the fakes guesses, some of the icons in the next revision of the fakes may turn out to be copies. Yes, and the set of applications can be adjusted.

By the way, there is no “About phone” menu item proprietary to Android. At all. I was unable to find hardware combinations for the engineering menu - the manufacturer cut out the option completely. Accordingly, it will not be possible to flash it.

When connected to third-party devices (routers, smart home elements, and even a computer), the fake iPhone is identified as real. Even many services do not notice the substitution.

Such a mess has a terrible impact. And like an iPhone, you can’t use a fake, and you won’t be able to use the Android ecosystem.

Pros and cons of the phone

A new smartphone is a serious expense, so people often read a lot of reviews, and only then choose the option that suits them. The description of the iPhone 7 shows that it has its pros and cons. The advantages include the following factors:

• Great camera.
• Fast response and no lag.
• The ability to swim with an iPhone in the water.
• Retina display for stunning realism.
• Increased internal memory capacity.
• More powerful battery.
• High quality guarantee.
• Famous brand.

But there are also many disadvantages:

• Overcharge.
• Lack of the usual headphone jack.
• Low quality photos in the dark.
• Incompatibility with devices from other companies.
• Expensive accessories.