How to distinguish original iPhone headphones. How to distinguish original EarPods? Which headphones are most often counterfeited?
I have long wanted to write a review on this topic, but having only the original headphones included with the iPhone 5 and not having a fake one on hand did not give me this opportunity. On one of the forums, I noticed a similar comparison and asked the author for permission to post his note on our blog. He kindly agreed, for which many thanks to him.
The review will be presented without edits or comments, only citations. If you have any additions or comments, please write, I will definitely take them into account.
So:
“I would like to shed some light on the topic of fakes and original earpods.
I have two headsets. One is original and the other is fake.
After all, everyone who wants to buy a headset from Apple wants to be sure that the headset is original.
The fake headset was purchased for 100 UAH (400 rubles), the original one was purchased for 450 UAH (2000 rubles).
We start with an external examination.
The plastic boxes are completely identical, with apples and earpods written all over them.
In both boxes the headsets fit equally tightly and do not fall out or rattle.
It's almost impossible to tell from the boxes
(on a fake, the paper box is a little worse made and the printing is a little fainter.
But this is only visible if you hold two boxes side by side).
We examine the headphones.
All holes are identical and cannot be distinguished by them.
On my copy of the fake, on both headphones in the main hole you can see through the mesh that the internal holes are slightly offset relative to the main hole. On the original everything is exactly the same.
The joints on the fake are more obvious, while the original ones are less noticeable.
We examine the remote control.
On a fake, the longitudinal gap between the two halves is uneven in length and has a wedge shape.
The minus key and the middle button are pressed clearly and click loudly and clearly. The "plus" key is pressed indistinctly and does not click (it works normally).
On the original, the gap between the halves of the remote control is even in length and the keys click much quieter and softer.
We pay attention to the overall quality of workmanship.
The rubber tubes that are installed wherever the wire enters the plastic parts on the fake have a fray at the edges.
There is no flash on the original.
The color of the wire and plastic parts is almost the same.
A fake headset sometimes does not respond to remote control presses.
If you twist the jack a little in the socket it starts to work.
I didn't notice this on the original.
The sound on the fake one is worse.
A separate question is whether the original headphones are worth the money they ask for from us?
They suit me perfectly because of the remote control, which is very necessary when listening to audiobooks in a foreign language.
It is not always possible to understand everything that is being read, so there is a need to rewind and listen again.
This eliminates the need to take the phone out of your pocket and make a bunch of unnecessary movements in crowded public transport.
Actually, both headsets are equally suitable for listening to audiobooks; the difference is either insignificant or not detected by me.
When listening to music the difference is very noticeable.
Conclusions: you can confidently distinguish a fake only after careful inspection and listening.
It is impossible to do this when purchasing from a photo; all external features are identical.
Be careful when purchasing. All the recommendations that I found on the Internet do not make it possible to distinguish the original from the fake. Except for listening.
Quite often, our customers, interested in buying AirPods headphones, ask the question: “Are you sure you don’t have a copy?”
Of course, this question hurts us to the core, we immediately want to take the bundle on a stick and go into the sunset, like Tom from the cartoon, but we don’t hang our noses! :)
But seriously, then We do not sell any copies. Only original AirPods from Apple with an official one-year warranty.
Before purchasing headphones, we always recommend checking the serial number on the Apple website:
If they are identified as AirPods, this is the original, if the site gives an error, this is something else. :)
And in order to dispel all the remaining doubts of our customers, we purchased these, God forgive me, fake AirPods and in this article we will compare the “formidable competitor” with the magnificent headset from Apple.
Name
The copy is called either iFans or Afans. At least these two inscriptions are present on the box. Apparently, the Chinese had not decided on the final name, so they decided to use both. :)
Box appearance
For those who are familiar with Apple technology, everything should become clear at this stage. Apple never skimps on the packaging of its products. The box for real AirPods is made of high-quality cardboard with a minimalist design:
- two headphones are drawn on the front side;
- shiny Apple logos on both ends;
- on the third end there is a shiny AirPods inscription;
- on the fourth end there is a brief description of the equipment and the serial number of the headphones, which you can always get on the Apple website and check whether these are real AirPods.
In general, Chinese craftsmen tried to copy the design of the box, but when your goal is to make cheap squalor and not a quality product, even here they failed.
The box is made of disgusting quality cardboard, there are no inscriptions on the ends, there is no serial number, but on the front side there is a drawing of headphones reminiscent of Airpods. By the way, the print quality of the drawing on the copy suggests that the Chinese also have a problem with the toner on the printer, the drawing turned out so faded.
Set
Inside the box with the original AirPods there is a short instruction manual, the headphones themselves in a translucent film and a Lightning cable for charging the case.
There is no quick start guide book inside the box with the copy, but there are some inscriptions in Chinese glued to the bottom of the box. Perhaps these are characteristics, or perhaps gratitude from the manufacturer for spending money on this horror. Well, the ugly blue film is not Apple style at all. :)
The headphones themselves are not on a thick cardboard backing, but in some kind of strange chemical contraption that can be found in a stall at a Chinese market. The charging cord is present, it even looks like Lightning, but it’s not Lightning at all, of course, but a cheap, low-quality Chinese something.
The headphones themselves
The copy is much larger than the original. The case itself is almost twice as large, and the headphones are so much larger than the original AirPods that the Chinese plastic ones simply won’t fit into my ears.
The case of the original headphones has a pleasant springy opening and closing mechanism, while the case of the copy closes with some kind of latch, which looks, sounds and feels very cheap (but what did I expect for 1500 rubles?!).
In the photographs on the left is the original, and on the right is a copy.
The magic of Apple is why we love this company
Apple is not only about “why is it so expensive”, but also about advanced technology and fantastic thoughtfulness of the user experience and ergonomics.
So, for the original AirPods, the pairing process is as follows: you turn on Bluetooth on your phone, open the case with the headphones, the iPhone immediately sees the AirPods nearby and prompts you to press the “connect” button. Click and that's it! They just work.
It took me almost an hour to connect the copy to the phone.
I, of course, understood that I would have to connect to the headphones manually through the Bluetooth menu on the phone. I go to the menu, open the case with Chinese Airpods - and nothing happens. I waited a minute, tried again - nothing again. I put them on charge, waited, opened them again - again nothing. I was about to get upset, but then I looked at two small buttons on the headphones themselves, pressed them on both, and the treasured “afans” appeared in the menu, and I was able to connect to them. Here they are, cheap technologies! :)
Of course, there is no Siri, no “tap to pause”, no recognition of being in the ear of a copy at all. All control occurs from the phone. But these are the features that make AirPods so cool to use.
Sound
I’ll be honest: I’m not a music lover at all and I don’t understand practically anything about sound quality. But I can say with absolute 100% certainty that it is impossible to listen to music on Chinese airpods! They creak, groan, make noise, there is no hint of low, high, or any frequencies at all. All you can use this headset for, so to speak, is for listening to audiobooks, where sound quality fades into the background. No music, period!
Verdict
Do not buy a Chinese copy even under the threat of execution! :)
This is a rather ridiculous attempt to “appear and not be.”
For 2,000 rubles you can buy good wired headphones, and if you want “Wireless”, save up the required amount for real AirPods. You will not regret it! :)
The purpose of writing this article is to help the average user figure out how to distinguish a copy from the original wireless headphones from Apple and dissuade them from buying a fake.
Anything is possible.
One day we went and bought fake EarPods.
They were found in an underground passage in an unremarkable Russian outback. They cost about 300 rubles, available in different colors to suit any demands of street fashionistas.
Auntie sold them to us without a twinge of conscience - most likely, she didn’t even know that it was a fake. But it may happen differently - on eBay, many sellers pass off fake EarPods as original ones, and some small online stores do the same.
Sometimes fake EarPods are included with iPhones sold second-hand. Keep the normal, supplied headphones for yourself. Be carefull!
In this article we will tell you how to distinguish fake EarPods from original ones. If you want quality, buy only from official sellers with a guarantee.
1 package
Original: Neat box without any defects. If you shine a light on the logo, a uniformly illuminated area is formed around it due to the high quality of surface treatment. No gaps, no dots. There is a company logo - when purchasing, check our photo, this is the only design option.
Fake: Like a fake. The bases of the supporting pins are visible in the light. The logo is poorly executed or missing. Illumination is uneven. The surface quality is low - there are traces of flash and roughness. Most likely, it was opened - without polyethylene.
2. Quality of plastic and inscriptions
Original: Perfect finishing of all edges. The joints are almost invisible, you can barely feel them. There are no roughnesses, the gloss is even in the light. After all, this is Apple - everything should be “Amazing”!
Fake: Quality is a C grade. Manufacturing defects are present in all their glory: the joints are high, the gloss has dimples in the light (including the packaging itself). Crooked font of headphone letters (left/right), smeared or torn off with fingernails.
3. Bass reflex
Original: If you turn on a good composition, rich in low frequencies, drums and bass guitar - air shocks are felt. Thanks to this, the sound of the headphones becomes richer, and excess pressure is removed from the ear canal.
Fake: They play a purely decorative role - just holes. Of course, the sound suffers. If you cover them with your finger, nothing changes - a good sign that this is a fake.
4. Cable
Original: EarPods have perhaps the best wire among all available in-ear headphones models. Soft, matte - dirt does not remain on it for a long time. He does not tangle or break. Even at minus 20 it does not lose flexibility. There is the inscription “Designed by Apple”.
Fake: Conventional insulation is of medium quality - often glossy and smooth. Dyed with clothes. Being brittle, it has a clear memory - just as it was folded, the creases will remain. It gets dull in the cold.
5. Quality of speaker grilles
Original: dark, not shiny. Dense, not translucent - a consequence of protection from sweat and dirt. They do not sag when cleaning (in general, Apple EarPods are the most comfortable and easy-to-clean headphones).
Fake: The mesh is dark blue, shiny, and can be translucent. Try to pick it with your finger, if it bends or moves, it’s really a fake, and of the lowest quality. Some also have fabric mesh.
6. Sound
Original: There is no predominance of certain ranges here - the frequency response is almost flat, the sound is calm. There aren't enough stars in the sky, but it really gives very good sound for in-ear headphones. There is even bass, albeit light and airy.
Fake: The best fake is the one that works. The headphones in the photo are already the second, the first ones had to be returned to the underground passage. One of the headphones may also not work.
If everything is in order, then the sound will still be disgusting, like the black plastic earbuds for 30 rubles that are sold at newsstands. All frequencies are absent, except for the remnants of high ones. Just nothing.
The verdict is obvious: a fake in the firebox
Only a fool would deliberately buy non-original EarPods. Take a completely different model of headphones if you don’t have enough for real ones.
And if someone deceived you and slipped you a fake under the guise of an original, find him and punish.
Never, ever buy counterfeits of these headphones. If you bought it, don't be offended by what you hear worst sound of my life. And yes, one last thing: EarPods only come in white and only in the shape shown in the photo.
Have you ever thought about the question that in the market of modern headsets, and indeed in the entire market, you can find fake earpods. In this article we will look at how to distinguish original EarPods from fakes.
Most of the fakes come from everyone's favorite China. These people even fake things that they haven’t yet produced; often the fakes are practically no different from Apple EarPods, but that’s all at first glance.
Manufacturers of top products are a tasty pie for scammers in this industry. This fate did not pass by apple earpods. With the release of this product, a huge number of pages appeared on the Internet selling the product for “ridiculous” (compared to the original earpods) money.
Once we conducted a kind of experiment and counted 827 different fakes from China.
Most often, the decisive sign of a fake apple earpods is its price; there is an official specific price range for this device, find out about it before ordering a “super promotion”. If the price is two or three times different...you understand.
There are times when the expensive price of headphones does not allow you to buy them in a store, but you have enough money for a used product. You go to the next “Avito” or other similar site where you can buy products that have already been used and start choosing your headphones...
So, how to distinguish original EarPods from fakes?!
The first thing you should do is to carefully look at the original earpods on the official website. View the entire package and generally examine the product inside and out.
After you have studied the product in detail, you can move on to inspecting the headphone box. The packaging is not always similar to the original, and most often it is completely different. Very often the “Chinese” remove the apple logo from the front of the packaging. Ideally, if you already have a box from Apple EarPods, then you can see how the packaging differs. Pay close attention to the color of the headphones and the color of the packaging; in the original case, the color of your headset should match the color of the packaging. With fake headphones, this is all problematic; the color of the headset rarely matches the color of the box, since they pack and assemble it all in “makeshift” conditions.
Low-quality plastic can also be used, the Chinese don’t really bother about this and in many cases the plastic will differ from the real thing. Boxing should be given special attention; competitors have a lot of problems when opening the box. The box closes very tightly or does not close at all.
What is the difference between plastic?! In the original packaging, the plastic has a bluish tint of color, while the Chinese one has more of a yellow color scheme.
When purchasing a wire, pay attention; the original wire is very elastic and does not get tangled like its Chinese competitor. If you have dealt with Chinese headphones, then you have probably come across a knotted coil of wires more than once and spent a lot of time untangling them. Apple saved us from such a thankless task and their wire is made of very high quality material, all this needs to be touched by touch.
You'll probably find it funny now! Our elastic cord must be marked “Made in China”. Yes guys, not everything made in China is bad. This is explained by the fact that manufacturers do not want to spend extra money and build factories in China, although the product is made in China, its quality leaves ordinary Chinese goods uncompetitive.
A very important point, on each of your headphones there are drawn the letters “R” and “L”, which means “Right” and “Left” (Right and Left). Counterfeiters don’t bother much with these letters and either forget or simply don’t want to write them.
If the headphones were used very often and the letters were erased during use, this does not mean that the headphones are fake. The wires of the headphones must be the same length, the right earphone must be the same length as the left one and nothing else! Chinese manufacturers often make one earphone longer than the other.
On each of the headphones you probably noticed a hole, which in the original cases was covered with a mesh. This mesh must be made of very high quality; our “brothers” in this matter use either non-symmetrical meshes, or even some kind of rag material that will not last you long.
All buttons on the control panel should be switched “like clockwork”, pressing is done with a very light movement of the finger; on Chinese counterfeits in this regard, the toggle switch clicks. And on some copies, these buttons are simply made for beauty.
There should be no gaps between the two halves of the remote control; if there is one, it should be very small, and not the size of a match head. Sometimes the creators of fakes forget to draw a microphone icon on the remote control.
If you can hold the headphones in your hands, then be sure to do so. If you have held anything from Apple before, you will immediately feel it. If not, then just remember how “Chinese junk” behaves in the hands,
By the sound, if you heard these headphones in the original, then you can immediately identify a fake. Usually Chinese headphones squeak and crackle with good bass, this should not happen with earpods, if such a problem is discovered, it happens that the speaker on the earphone itself goes dead.
Also on Chinese fakes, songs are often interrupted or slow down, since the speed of the music being played does not match the quality of the cable.
You should also check the recording quality of the microphone, the original version has a function for noise reduction, and if you record something with a microphone, then your quality will be excellent, unlike a competitor from a red country.
Choosing the perfect headphones is not an easy task, requiring time, numerous sound checks and frequency response comparisons. It is complicated by the abundance of fakes on the mobile audio equipment market.
What to look for when buying headphones
1 place
If you're serious about headphones, buy them from manufacturers' official websites, authorized distributors, or reputable electronics stores.Of course, the original product can also be found on bulletin boards, but the risk of running into a fake in this case increases. You should also be suspicious of AliExpress sellers: some of them offer real headphones, but most are counterfeit.
Check the reputation of the store where you looked at the product. Deceived customers often share information about unsuccessful purchases. If a store has been caught selling counterfeits or reviews about it cannot be found, it is better to refuse the purchase.
2. Price
If the headphones you find are 70% cheaper than in the official store, most likely they are not real. As a rule, the high price of the original is due not only to the popularity of the brand, but also to the use of high-quality components. Selling such headphones at a deep discount is simply not practical.3. Packaging
Sometimes it is not at all difficult to distinguish an original from a fake. Counterfeit manufacturers rarely copy packaging designs, fonts and materials with 100% accuracy. Find a photo of the actual headphones in the box and compare them to what they sell you.4. Appearance and quality of materials
Visible burrs and uneven seams, traces of hardened glue, cheap plastic and a flimsy cable indicate low quality of the product. Naturally, these signs cannot be found in genuine headphones from a reputable manufacturer.
On top the case is from original Audio-Technica headphones, on the bottom - from fake ones. The fake is given out by poor-quality printing and seams.
Sound
Even high-quality headphones are good in different ways: they differ in the emphasis on specific frequencies, nuances of detail and other characteristics. But if the sound is flat, the bass is unreadable, and the highs are too loud, most likely you are dealing with a fake.6. Popularity of the model
As a rule, an abundance of fakes is the lot of prestigious headphones. If you buy EarPods or any Beats from other than official stores, most likely you will get a fake. But if you focus on less popular models, the risk will be significantly reduced, even when buying second-hand.The fact is that the production of copies of popular goods pays off much faster. There is no point in counterfeiting something that is not so popular. For example, you can be almost sure of the authenticity of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or Grado SR80E.
Which headphones are most often counterfeited?
1.EarPods
EarPods are headphones included in the basic package of iPhone and iPod. It is difficult for users to give up their usual headphones when they get lost or break. That’s why EarPods are in constant demand.
The product name on AliExpress includes the words Apple, EarPods and iPhone. But even with a quick glance it becomes obvious that this is a fake.
\
Original EarPods in the Apple store.
There are dozens of fakes that copy Apple headphones with varying degrees of accuracy. Some manufacturers forget to put the company logo on the box, others give themselves away through the cracks in the headphone mounts.
With the original EarPods, the gap between the plastic elements is almost invisible. A visible gap, like the model above, is a sign of a fake / macster.ru The most reliable way to identify a fake is to compare the dubious product with the original EarPods.
2. AirPods
AirPods are wireless headphones from Apple. Having gone on sale at the end of last year, the plugs attracted the attention of users with their signature laconic design, compactness and convenience. But these headphones also have a significant drawback - their high price.
This is what sparked the demand for budget alternatives. As a rule, manufacturers do not try to sell pseudo-AirPods under the guise of the original, but openly call them replicas. There are quite a few types of such headphones. Some of them really turn out to be quite good, others are just an ordinary Chinese marriage.
Replica AirPods on AliExpress.
Original AirPods in the Apple store.
The main factor when buying AirPods is the price: even a used original is unlikely to cost $50.
3. Sennheiser headphones
\Original Sennheiser HD 650 / majorhifi.comSennheiser is a German company that has been making quality equipment for over 70 years. Over the past decades, it has released dozens of headphone models, many of which have become popular and spawned thousands of fakes.
A common feature of many counterfeits of German plugs is that the cable is insufficiently elastic and too thick. For the rest, you should rely on your feelings and comparison of the product with the original.
With full-size headphones, everything is less obvious, so try to follow the general rules.
These headphones are sold on one of the VKontakte pages for a couple of hundred rubles
The headphones from which the copy was made were produced by Sennheiser until October 2012 / ebay.com
Sennheiser is fighting counterfeits. The company's official website contains a list of models that are discontinued and cannot be sold in stores. The manufacturer also recommends that you pay attention to the presence of a QR code and a sticker on the packaging indicating that the importer is Sennheiser Audio LLC.
QR code on the packaging of original Sennheiser headphones / old.sennheiser.ru
4. Beats Electronics headphones
Original Beats Solo 2 / apple.com Many criticize the frequency response of Beats Electronics for biased sound, others consider the headphones to be unreasonably expensive. High price and popularity are the main reasons why counterfeits are found on sale no less often than original headphones.
Announcement about the sale of fake headphones on the VKontakte page.
Original Beats Solo HD in M.Video (the store is the official distributor of Beats Electronics).
Many fakes copy the originals very faithfully. But you can still draw up basic rules when buying Beats.
Please note the serial number on the bottom of the package: it should be printed on a sticker, not on the box itself. Too many hieroglyphs are a sign of counterfeit. Inside the packaging of fake headphones there may be no tab that allows you to pull the tray out of the box (this is important for Beats models with a removable tray). The tray itself should be made of textured material, not glossy plastic.
Original Beats Studio. The serial number is located on the sticker / snapguide.com
5. Bluedio headphones
The original Bluedio T2 / megaelectronics.comBluedio appeared on the Bluetooth headphone market recently, but now you can come across fakes of various models.There is a hologram on the packaging of Bluedio headphones. For the original product it is blue with a noticeable iridescence, for fakes it is blue, the iridescence is barely noticeable.
If we are talking about earbuds, pay attention to the ear pads: they should be elastic and retain their shape even after compression.
What to do if you bought a fake
If you discover that you bought a counterfeit secondhand, contact the seller. Perhaps he did not know that he was selling a fake and would agree to return the money. If you purchased the product in a store, contact its management. The chances of resolving the situation in your favor are small, but perhaps the sale of counterfeit goods occurred due to a misunderstanding.And please, do not try to sell a fake you accidentally bought under the guise of an original. Better help others: spread information about an unscrupulous store, tell us in the comments about your bad experience.
