I am at the stage of my life when I really don’t care who did what, and why things happen. I am perfectly ok with companies copying features that make life easier, but are we all ok with blatant design rips offs now?
Admittedly this isn’t a new thing, and not exclusive to technology products either but such blatantly rip-offs have become so common it is hard to tell the difference. Walking around the streets I see imitation AirPods (the stems are usually longer and thicker) which is part and parcel of the status symbol they have been come attached with. They are sold in shops of a dubious nature for a fraction of the price and of course much of their features missing.
However, that is nothing when comparing big brands like Oppo and Xiaomi ripping off designs and selling them like everything is ok. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, but copying such horrible designs as the notch in the iPhone X(S) is downright stupid. Yet here we are, with the tech press perfectly ok with it, and nothing done by regulators.
Above is the new Oppo Watch, a product that is undeniably a rip off of the Apple Watch. This in itself doesn’t really matter, after all there isn’t match you can do with a smartwatch, but the watch faces and overall software design is so blatantly copied that it can’t be taken seriously. This should be sold on markets stalls and corner stores, not taken seriously. Yet all the big outlets are reviewing it so this must be an acceptable practice now.