A Chinese local newspaper reported on Thursday that police in Shanghai, working on a tip-off, busted five individuals who were creating and selling fake models of the Apple’s iPhone. According to Shanghai Daily, the arrested fellows were a part of an organized crime group that purchased the smartphone’s spare parts from an outlet in Guangdong, southern China and assembled them in clandestine apartments in Shanghai. During the raid, police found approximately 200 fake iPhone devices on the scene.
Fake iPhone
We learned from our trusted source that when some genuine components are used, the cost of producing a fake iPhone is around 2,000 yuan (approximately $313). The makers often sell these fake devices on unauthorized markets via the Internet and brick-and-mortar stores for around 4,000 yuan. That’s a huge gain, as they sell the pirated devices only a few hundred yuan cheaper than the original iPhone.
Manufacturing fake copies of Apple’s mobile devices is a business that thrives in mainland China, and the Government is not doing enough to curb the piracy. Typically, fake iPhones have almost the same functionality as the genuine ones, but the battery life is shorter and often come with countless bugs. One police officer said that it is extremely difficult for consumers to differentiate between genuine and fake iPhones.