Top 8 Apple Clones This Year (so far!)

It’s been a monster year for Apple and in turn the industry which has grown up around copy and cloning them. Keep reading to see our favourite iPad, Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and iPod clones from this year.

iRobot iPad Clone

This version of the iRobot came at the time I was trying my best not to label every new tablet device as an iPad clone, but as you can tell by the pictures it was just impossible not to cry ‘clone’ after seeing this.
The iRobot measure a little smaller than the iPad at 8 inches, but what it lacks in size it makes up in shear rip off.
The body is the same alloy glass mix with huge bezels and home button as the real iPad.
The Android O.S is skinned to mimic iO.S and the packaging is just an iPad box, with iRobot branding!
More details and pictures of the iRobot tablet that forced me to cry ‘Clone’!.

Macbook Air Clone With Fake Steve Jobs

Not only does this 1380 Yuan ultra thin netbook look remarkably similar to the new generation of Macbook Air, but it also has it’s own Steve Jobs lookalike on the advertisement!
The model we covered actually measures 10 inches (so an inch smaller than the new 11 inch Air) and has some great features such as SD card reader, 2 x USB, HDMI out plus a weight of only 1.1 kg!
More details on the Macbook Air Clone with Fake Steve Jobs here.

White Macbook Clone

Not the most desirable of Macs the white Macbook seems to be the latest edition to the Shanzhai portfolio. The 13.3 inch laptop is actually a very accurate copy of the real Macbook with only a few tell tail discrepancies such as the head phone and Mic plugs being on the front of the machine, the inclusion of an SD card reader and VGA plug and DVD draw loader rather than slot loader.
The DVD drive is actually removable and can be replaced with an extra battery to double your  productivity time while away from home or the office.
The specifications are welcome surprise on this clone too as they seem to be Hackintosh friendly!
More details on the White Macbook clone here.

Macbook Air Clone Running Snow Leopard

Another Macbook Air clone, but this of the older model and with a larger 14 inch screen and running OSX 10.6.3!
Not only does the alloy bodied clone really look the part (as long as you ignore the Windows key) it costs an extremely reasonable 2600-2800 Yuan depending on the size of hard drive and amount of RAM you spec.
Go here for more details and pictures of the 14 inch Macbook Air Clone Running Snow Leopard.

iPod Nano 6 Clone

Although not the best quality clone in the world these 90+ Yuan iPod Nano 6 clones do have colour touch screens, alloy bodies with clothes clips and do an ok job of playing music, the odd video and if you have excellent eyes reading an ebook!
But for 90 Yuan they do make good stocking fillers!
Full article and pictures of the iPod Nano 6 clone here.

Macbook Pro Clone Running OSX

Just recently we reported on the daddy of of Mac laptops getting a good old cloning, but not content with go partial copy the company responsible have gone ‘Full Shanzhai’! With an Apple logo adorning the lid of this alloy unibody Macbook Pro clone. What’s more this thing runs OSX 10.6 out of the box and costs considerably less than the original!
Check out the full specifications and more pictures of the Macbook Pro Clone running OSX here.

iMac Clone

Looking just like the older white iMac this clone does a superb job of fooling all but the most hardened Mac fans. The exterior gets either a 18.5 inch or 21 inch LCD screen with built in faux iSight camera. On the rear there are USB plugs and other expansion areas, but the unit is missing a DVD/CD drive.
The best thing about these knock offs though was the price! 1600 Yuan for the 18.5 model !
More details and pictures of this seriously tempting iMac clone here.

iPhone 4 Clone

Believe it or not but I almost published this article without mentioning one of the hundred of iPhone 4 clones! There are so many to choose from but our fave for the year has to be this Android iPhone 4 clone.
Not only do these knock offs look surprisingly good, but they also sport features which are able to rival the original iPhone 4 plus some nice extras, like SD card reader, we’re never likely to see from a real iPhone!
Check out our Android running iPhone 4 clone articles here and here (with video).

We’re sure we’ll have Apple copies, clones and knock off’s for you soon! Keep up to date by following us on Twitter or Facebook.