14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung and Apple are the two brands whose devices were most often cloned by phone companies worldwide, with a new research indicating that the Galaxy S7 Edge was the device with the biggest number of copycats last year.
Specifically, Antutu data shows that Samsung was by far the most copied smartphone brand last year with a share of 36.23 percent, followed by Apple with only 7.72 percent. Xiaomi is third, while OPPO and Huawei come fourth and fifth with 4.75%, 4.46%, and 3.40%, respectively.
In terms of phone models that were cloned last year, the European version of Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge is the leader with 4.94%, while the Chinese version of the same phone is the runner up with 2.94%. The standard Galaxy S7 sold in Europe rounds up the top 3 with 2.81%.
The only iPhone that made the top 10 is the iPhone 7 Plus, fifth in the charts with 2.67%, while the smaller iPhone 7 is nowhere to be seen in these figures.
Surprisingly, however, Samsung’s new Galaxy S8, which gave up on bezels and implemented a highly-praised design, barely makes the cut thanks to the Chinese version of the plus model with a share of 1.04%.
The lower price is the main catalyst
It goes without saying that the majority of clones were manufactured in China and were mostly aimed at buyers who wanted to get the looks of more expensive phones without paying a fortune for this.
Of course, the hardware side of these devices can’t even be compared to the one of the original models, and since the price is the main factor that drives people to copycats, specifications are substantially lowered, with slower CPUs and poor camera performance.
This doesn’t necessarily mean clones aren’t successful despite all the setbacks that they come with, as they represent a completely new industry that somehow still manages to survive. Just like the rest of the market, clones are migrating to newly-developed technology as well, such as the iPhone X notch, obviously in an attempt to keep up with what customers are looking for these days.
