Police dismantle Chinese gang that built fake iPhones with genuine parts

According to the Reuters, Shanghai police arrested five suspects accused of participating in a complex iPhones counterfeiting scheme.

So far, “it's okay,” since this is no surprise to Ma, it fights against various problems in the country, including counterfeiting Apple Retail Stores. What impresses, in the news, that the gang bought spare parts from Apple's smartphone in Guangdong most likely leftover parts produced by Apple suppliers, and assembled the devices in Shanghai, where more than 200 fake iPhones were seized.

IPhone 5 clone in China

The cost of counterfeits was around US $ 313, considered very high for a fake product, this cost is explained by the use of original parts. The iPhones fakes they were sold on the black market and in online stores at twice their cost (US $ 626), that is, something very close to the official price of Apple.

Also according to the police, the counterfeits have the same functionality as the original, however, with a much lower battery level. "It is very difficult for consumers to distinguish the real from the fake," said some police officers who met with Apple engineers.

Apple's fight in China is big, despite being a huge potential market, just look at the attention that Ma is giving to Asia, with the last openings of its official stores (1, 2). On the other hand, the problem of counterfeiting is enormous and, according to a document leaked by WikiLeaks, the company would have been impressed with the amount of counterfeit products leaving China, in addition to having no experience in dealing with local authorities.

Fight with Samsung, disputes with patent trolls, lost iPhone prototypes, fakes in China and New York, we must not forget! I hope Ma does not deviate from her focus with this much "problem" to solve.

Ah, here is the question: do these fake iPhones run iOS or an Android iOS-like? Let's face it, Apple would be in a cold if iOS also started to be pirated by Apple.

(via AppleInsider, 9to5Mac)