That didn’t take long.
Alibaba’s Taobao site has smartwatches on sale that resemble the Apple Watch.
According to BBC News, the smartwatches “mirror the look of the Apple Watch’s hardware and software,” and are being advertised on Alibaba’s Taobao site, listed as the AW08 and the iWatch.
The BBC piece points out that the knockoffs have similarities: both watches featuring the “digital crown” dials on the sides, similar watch straps and user-interface graphics.
The Taobao versions run on Google’s Android platform and are claiming longer battery life. The other big difference? Price. These watches start around 250 yuan, or $40, a “fraction of the 2,588 yuan that Apple will charge for its smartwatch in China when it goes on sale next month,” they report.
Taobao is a showcase for third-party sellers and its owner claims to remove deceptive ads. An Alibaba spokeswoman told the BBC that the company is “dedicated to the fight against counterfeits,” as the e-commerce giant recently came under scrutiny as a regulator for China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce said it didn’t do enough to rein in counterfeit goods on Taobao.
But, according to the BBC, most of the third-party vendors selling the watches are completely owning it, one even posting: “Knockoff Apple watches have hit the market!”
Will Chinese consumers be particularly interested in the knockoffs? Or wait for the real deal?
“Apple products are very popular in China, and it’s possible that Chinese consumers will want to be seen to be the first person on their block to wear its Watch,” Matthew Forney, president of the business consultancy Fathom China, told the BBC. “However, I think most of those consumers are aware that there has been an issue with fakes and copycats on Taobao and would be highly suspicious of the devices.
“And most people who buy them will do so knowing they are not Apple’s real Watch.”
We’d love to see one of these knockoffs, so if you’re headed to China soon, let us know.
