Apple shares might be getting hammered right now, but that won’t stop the company’s rivals from appreciating all of Apple’s terrific designs. And by “appreciating,” we mean shamelessly and blatantly stealing them and using the same designs for their own products. We’ve seen it happen time and time again — heck, Samsung quite literally wrote the book on copying Apple. But as many times as we see companies rip Apple off, we’re still taken aback by how brazen they can be.
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Remember the first time you saw the Goophone and wondered how a company could get away with copying Apple’s iconic iPhone so blatantly? Goophone is obviously an obscure Chinese brand and it’s not worth Apple’s time or money to chase it down. Chinese knockoffs are a dime a dozen though — it’s far more shocking when big-name companies with reputations rip off Apple’s gear just as shamelessly.
We’re just seven days into 2016 and we already have some great contenders for Apple copycat of the year.
LG Gram 15
Debuting at CES 2016 is the LG Gram 15, a curiously named notebook with an even more curiously familiar look. This lightweight laptop uses Apple’s 12-inch Retina MacBook design to shave some serious weight, making it the lightest 15-inch notebook PC we’ve ever heard of at just 2.16 lbs. Key specs include a sixth-generation Core i5 or i7 processor, a 15-inch 1080p IPS display, a USB-C port, microSD support and a battery that lasts up to 7 hours per charge.
HP EliteBook Folio G1
Next up is the HP EliteBook Folio G1, which also borrows its sleek design from Apple’s latest MacBooks. This slim all-aluminum notebook PC weighs just 2.2 lbs and features a 12.5-inch full HD or ultra HD display, two USB-C ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, four Bang & Olufsen speakers, an Intel Core M processor and the Windows 10 operating system.
H. Moser & Cie. Swiss Alp Watch
Shifting away from the MacBook momentarily, we find this embarrassing timepiece from independent watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. Dubbed the Swiss Alp Watch, this shockingly obvious Apple Watch ripoff is being pitched under what might be the most ridiculous tag line we’ve seen: “Meet the H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch, the more original smartwatch choice.”
OK.
Here’s a video of this $24,900 mechanical Apple Watch in action:
Lenovo Yoga 900S
Image source: CNET
Last but not least is the Lenovo Yoga 900S, which is perhaps my favorite of the bunch. Sure it looks like just another MacBook ripoff, but I enjoy this one in particular because Lenovo went the extra mile and copied Apple’s MacBook marketing to show off its MacBook clone.
Here’s a comparison image posted on Twitter by Neil Cybart:
I would say the company’s marketing department should be embarrassed and ashamed, but the only conceivable reason for doing this is to get blogs talking and in that regard they’ve certainly succeeded. Congrats.
