Even though the iPhone 5 hasn’t been released yet, there are already cheap 3rd party phones for sale in China attempting to imitate it. Chinese counterfeiters have already begun producing iPhone 5 knockoffs based on last week’s supposed design leaks.
According to GizChina, the “iPhone 5” clone pictured above sells for about $108 USD, and features a Java-based OS, MP3 and MP4 playback, and WiFi support. The unit reflects a tapered edge design resemblant of the alleged iPhone 5 cases that leaked last week.
The unit is only 7mm thick, compared to the iPhone 4’s 9.3mm, and the sales materials refer to the unit as an “iPhone 5,” despite being an obvious imitation. The knockoffs have become increasingly sophisticated in emulating iOS and could deceive shoppers who are not careful.
A similar chain of events occurred last year following Gizmodo’s premature leak of the exact details of the iPhone 4.