Chinese iPhone 5 Clone Emerges, Features Android as OS

By Zak Islam
published

Zophone i5 reportedly due to go on sale for around $200.

Plenty of iPhone 5 clones stemming from China have already emerged, with some released even before the device was announced. The latest clone, in particular, seems to be a spitting image of the smartphone.

ZoPhone's model utilizes Android as its operating system, with the device itself not featuring Apple’s logo. While it'll be cheaper than the iPhone 5, ZoPhone seemingly copied the firm's design all the way down to copying images of the iPhone 5 stolen from Apple's official website.

Entitled the i5, the device apparently features a four-inch display, as well as a 1,136 x 640 resolution.

Also included is a Mediatek MT6577 dual-core SoC that clocks in at 1.2GHz, which is accompanied by 1GB of RAM, 4 GB onboard storage, a microSD card slot, a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera and a 1,400mAh battery. Although the smartphone doesn't come bundled with the new iPhone headphones, EarPods, the popular Earbuds are instead included, as is a Siri clone and Apple’s Lighting adapter.

The Zophone i5 is reportedly due to go on sale for around $200 (£124).

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Zak Islam
52 Comments Comment from the forums
  • killerclick
    Apple should sue Google for this. It's not enough that Google stole many features of iOS, but now they're enabling hardware theft by making their copycat OS available to anyone.
    Reply
  • ToKiiNz
    if i can i might pick one up and see how bad they are. and killerclick android is available to anyone who wants to make a cell phone i believe.
    Reply
  • freggo
    killerclickApple should sue Google for this. It's not enough that Google stole many features of iOS, but now they're enabling hardware theft by making their copycat OS available to anyone.
    You make it sound as if iOS is an original Apple product.
    Do a little research before making yourself foolish :-)

    Neither the OS not the CPU are at their most basic level Apple designs. The CPU for instanc is a RISC based chip; certainly not something Apple dreamed up.
    Reply
  • freggo
    To be fair to all the Apple fans, that IS indeed a case where a manufacturer has gone to far and makes the Chinese look bad. However, I am pretty certain that it is only a matter of time until the Chinese government begins to put restrictions on this sort of thing as it will begin to backfire.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    freggoTo be fair to all the Apple fans, that IS indeed a case where a manufacturer has gone to far and makes the Chinese look bad. However, I am pretty certain that it is only a matter of time until the Chinese government begins to put restrictions on this sort of thing as it will begin to backfire.
    And how exactly would it backfire as long as the manufacturers don't try to become bold and market outside of China?
    Reply
  • house70
    This is going straight into oblivion. I don't even think it will have a good market in China, let alone elsewhere. People that would buy that are the same people that buy fake brand-name watches, for instance; all they want is a shiny carcass around some crappy guts. This is not a phone for Android users, it's a phone for fools.
    killerclickApple should sue Google for this. It's not enough that Google stole many features of iOS, but now they're enabling hardware theft by making their copycat OS available to anyone.This is so full of fail, IDK where to begin. Just... go back and read something about stuff you're trying to discuss before embarrassing yourself.
    Reply
  • freggo
    A Bad DayAnd how exactly would it backfire as long as the manufacturers don't try to become bold and market outside of China?
    Outside companies outsourcing to other countries.
    My Ex is the chief designer of a European fashion house. She used to fly to Hong Kong several times a year as a substantial part of the manufacturing was done in China. They had 'problems' with copycat products from China.
    Well, guess what, lately she flies to New Delhi or Istanbul instead... !

    China is not the only country with cheap manufacturing capabilities.

    Reply
  • f-14
    how is ZoPhone's lawsuit patent on the iPhone5 going since they did file and patent it before apple did and even had a working product on store shelves before apple even had a working product?

    no mention of this patent infringement is made in this article let alone it's progress against apple.
    Reply
  • Am I crazy or do those specs actually look pretty good for $199?
    Reply
  • jaquith
    Hey Apple's not alone. So I assume you all are just fine with the Samsung Galaxy S3 clones. Hopefully Apple and others will pull away from China and manufacture their phones and products elsewhere.

    HDC Galaxy S3 Review - http://android-sale.com/hdc-galaxy-s3-i9300-phone.html
    Reply