Published in Mobiles

Can’t afford a Galaxy S6? How about a knockoff?

by on31 March 2015


Provided you don’t care about the spec…

Chinese whitebox phone churners have been building flagship knockoffs for years, but the speed at which they “designed” Samsung Galaxy S6 replicas is truly impressive. 

Samsung’s flagship has been on sale for days or weeks, depending on the market, but the carbon copy gang already has a few different replicas you can choose from. While you can pick one up today, you really shouldn’t.

2015 looks, 2011 specs

Obviously, all Galaxy S6 replicas share the same design, in that they try to emulate the original as closely as possible. The white version seems to be the most popular one so far, or the one that they managed to pull off best, because copying the colour and getting them right is a bit trickier. There are a few black replicas as well.

galaxy s6 knockoff 1

However, under the original-imitation-faux-glass-and-metal shell, you won’t find anything that even remotely resembles the original. All the S6 replicas we managed to find on Aliexpress are based on MediaTek processors, mostly dual and quad core 32-bit parts, although some knockoffs ship with an octa-core processor.

The rest of the spec is just as unimpressive – the cheapest models come with a dual-core MediaTek SoC, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage, with a 5-megapixel camera. The 5.1-inch screen is usually a 960x540 affair, a far cry from the original’s 2560x1440 pixel panel.

Not all Galaxy S6 knockoffs are created equal

Believe it or not, there is some differentiation in the replica market as well. Traditionally, the top two makers of flagship knockoffs were Goophone and No. 1. They might do a somewhat better job than the nameless outfits churning out the cheapest replicas, but they still won’t come close to the original. Plus, for this sort of money you can pick up a decent mid-range phone from a legit Chinese brand.

galaxy s6 knockoff 3

Prices start at about $100 for the entry-level versions described earlier. More expensive versions come with quad-core processors, 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel camera and a 720p display. The flagships of flagship knockoffs are based on an octa-core processor, with 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera and 720p panel. However, these models go for $200+ and that’s very steep indeed, because you can get a number of mid-range phones for that sort of money.

Of course, we can’t put a price on vanity...

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