14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ have leaked in multiple renders, live images and even videos, which apparently inspired some no name phone manufacturers from China to create knock-offs of the unannounced phone.
The Chinese are known to copy major clothing and retail brands, as well as smartphones. A Weibo user recently posted several pictures and a live video of a clone Galaxy S8 that he purchased in one of China’s most popular electronics markets, the Huaqiang North Market, according to GizmoChina.
The clone is clearly based on previous leaks and renders, but it does have some very obvious markers showing that it’s not the real deal. First of all, the position of the fingerprint sensor and LED flash on the back are switched on the clone. All previous leaked images pointed towards the fingerprint sensor being located on the right of the rear camera.
The clone actually mimics the TouchWiz look
The second clue is the microUSB port on the Galaxy S8 clone, compared to the USB Type-C port expected on the original phone. In addition, the speaker grille’s design is different. However, the biggest difference is visible when the phone is turned on.
The clone manages to mimic TouchWiz rather well, but shadows are visible underneath the front glass panel, making us believe that the device is extremely thick. Samsung is expected to feature a physical button for calling upon its own virtual assistant Bixby, but the button doesn’t seem to appear on the Galaxy S8 clone.
This isn’t the first time that a Samsung flagship is cloned; the Galaxy S7 was the victim of a Chinese company that offered a fake device looking surprisingly similar to the Samsung phone. The knock-off had a very affordable price, but quite rudimentary specs like 512MB of RAM.
We’re quite curious to see how much a Galaxy S8 clone is sold for and expect more and more clones to surface after the original phone is announced and all of its design details are revealed to the world.
