“When Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced the Mi 4 on Tuesday, we — and pretty much every other site that covered the news — were quick to point out that it bears a slight resemblance to the iPhone,” Killian Bell reports for Cult of Fragmandroid. “This isn’t the first time Xiaomi has been influenced by Apple, either. In fact, the company is often referred to as the ‘Chinese Apple.'”
And yet, despite all that, Xiaomi global vice president Hugo Barra, who used to be in charge of Google’s Android division, has dismissed any likeness to the Cupertino company, and says he’s “’sick and tired’ of the Xiaomi being labeled an Apple copycat,” Bell reports. “Based on the evidence, I have to say I disagree.”
“We’ll start with the company’s most recent product, the Mi 4. Unlike most of its Android-powered rivals, its chassis is made out of stainless steel, and it has beautifully chamfered edges all the way around its front and back. Its antenna is built seamlessly into its frame, and its speaker grille is made up of tiny little holes carefully drilled into the metal,” Bell reports. “It’s no wonder everyone thinks it looks a lot like an iPhone.”
“Even during the Mi 4 unveiling yesterday, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun couldn’t help but borrow the iconic ‘one more thing’ that was often used by Steve Jobs… while wearing a black top and blue jeans.”
Five more things Chinese copycat Xiaomi blatantly ripped off from Apple in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Xiaomi makes Samsung look like original thinkers. Plus, they’re led by an even more despicable slime bucket than Samsung:
[Steve] Jobs will die someday, so there are still opportunities for us. The meaning of our existence is just waiting for him to kick the bucket. – Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, August 30, 2011
Hugo Barra used to be in charge of Google’s Android division, so, obviously, there’s no copying going on. 😉
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jim Lynch” for the heads up.]
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This can’t be real, can it? This is an “Onion” headline, right?
Apparently, their CEO took Steve Jobs’s inspirational quote about death a few steps too far …
One company Apple needs to dissolve.
to say this? “[Steve] Jobs will die someday, so there are still opportunities for us. The meaning of our existence is just waiting for him to kick the bucket. – Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, August 30, 2011”
No class at all.
Xiaomi global vice president Hugo Barra . . . says he’s “’sick and tired’ of the Xiaomi being labeled an Apple copycat . . . .
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun couldn’t help but borrow the iconic ‘one more thing’ that was often used by Steve Jobs… while wearing a black top and blue jeans.”
Only in China, where reality is irrelevant and illegal.
These are all just “sweeping sensationalist statements.”
/s
It would be so entertaining to watch their progress after this. Gotta prepare my popcorns.
Kind of like the fake Rolexes I used to see in HK for 3/copy 🙂
The main thing that annoys me is how they keep comparing Xiaomi’s business to Apple’s business and yet they never see the difference in scale. Again, they stress Xiaomi’s growing market share in China to the iPhone where there are Xiaomi smartphones selling for $100 apiece. Seriously, how do those things affect Apple’s iPhone sales? Xiaomi would have to sell about 6 smartphones to 1 iPhone to make up in revenue and I know Xiaomi is not selling 6X as many smartphones as Apple is selling iPhones.
I have to shake my head every time I hear about Xiaomi smartphones putting iPhone sales in jeopardy. I’m sure Xiaomi is doing a fine job selling smartphones but things need to be put in perspective.
If Apple produces an iPhone for about 175 USD and sells it at 700 USD – perhaps Xiaomi thinks if a Mi 4 is built with 25 USD components and sold for 100 USD – still customers will be fooled?
Apple doesn’t make cheap crappy devices.
Copying != innovating.
Any silly bugger can copy: precious few can innovate like Apple.
=:~)
MDN take is good, “Xiaomi make Samsung look original”.
However, no one out there is innovating other than Apple.
Xiaomi schliaomi, China schlina, wha’ I don’t get is Americans and others, UK, Europe, etc. buying anything google, androi (purposefully left off d) junque.
The Chinese Copycat:
It’s amazing how much you can get away with by merely denying it. Even if all the evidence points towards copying, the lack of care among most consumers (shown by purchases) promotes the uninhibited continuing of this practice. That money helps the copiers to fight the patent holders/ actual creators in courts. It looks like they took an iPhone and made less-than-slight variations then passed it off as their own. And, wow………………..black top, blue jeans, AND the ‘one more thing’ moniker? Why not change your name to Reeve Cobbs, don a pair of glasses, salt and pepper dye your hair, and assign a piece of fruit as your company logo?
So here’s my take……..
– I don’t agree with making money through imitation of others
– merely copying others for profit will have an adverse affect on real innovation based on differentiation. We wouldn’t have the iPhone if it weren’t for real innovation………….and thus wouldn’t have the current versions of modern phones………….at least not for a long time (in mobile device years). Consumers (and the ‘I don’t care as long as it’s low cost’ way of thinking) are largely at fault.
– companies like this are the reason patent laws are needed
I hope this company stays alive…………….but suffers a miserable existence
Just disgusting……
Xiaomi MiPad
Such a pathetic and blatant rip-off of Apple and several its products – the colour selection of the so call mi pad, for crying out loud! And the presentation on stage by the CEO only yesterday – wow! Completely agree with MDN’s take on this appallingly arrogant farce of a company, particularly compared with the likes of Samdung and its dirty tricks.
The absolute untruth and sheer arrogance to compare their clone work with the unique designs of Apple by saying “If you have two similarly skilled designers, it makes sense that they would reach the same conclusion”. Skilled designers? No. Cretins, both Jun & Barra.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun is a wannabe Steve Jobs. Jun has no originality in him. Just another copycat loser making money off Apple’s innovation. No one will buy his crap outside of China.
The allegations about Xiaomi copying Apple are “sweeping sensationalist statements,” Barra told The Verge. “They have nothing better to talk about.” Barra argued that, “If you have two similarly skilled designers, it makes sense that they would reach the same conclusion.”
If two designers started at the same time and reached the same conclusion independently, that is not copying.
But if one designer starts out after the other designer’s product has been in the mainstream market for months, and reaches the same ‘conclusion’ then that is just a blatant ripoff.
I know this product is almost similar to apple, but not all products owned by xiaomi. whether it intentionally or not, yes we just follow the development of the apple china.