Chinese manufacturer Huawei has recently introduced its new flagship P9 smartphone and it turns out the device is nothing but a shameless rip off of the iPhone 6, down to the last screw (via Wired). The handset not only shares the exact same antenna bands, styling and finish, but also sports the same proprietary star-shaped pentalobe security screw, in exactly the same spots (as shown below).
(iPhone 6 on top of Huawei P9)
Apple has put the pentalobe security screws on every one of the 873 million or so iPhones sold worldwide since 2011, since it “keeps you from opening your phone and impedes recycling it when you finally toss it”, as the author puts it, who’s also the owner of iFixit. However, the only reason for Huawei to use a star-shaped security screw is because Apple uses a star-shaped security screw. “And Huawei really wants its phone to look like an iPhone. Just like everyone else”.
“Look, I realize artists steal. But the best artists steal only the best ideas. Huawei copied a really stupid idea, and did so for a really stupid reason: Because it looked right.
Here’s a radical thought for Huawei and everyone else: Stop copying the locked-down iPhone and make something different. The world needs tech companies to innovate rather than chase Apple through its walled garden. It needs more repairable, recyclable products. But no one is smart enough, or brave enough, to do that”.
Looks like the single-minded focus of tech companies to emulate Jony Ive, is actually what makes them copy Apple down to the last screw. How stupid is that?
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One image?
iFixit is calling out their use of the pentalobe specifically
Apple ripped off the design from HTC A9. So what can you say.
Apple iPhone 6 styling (Sept 2014) is copied from the HTC A9 (Oct 2015)? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?
I think he’s saying Ive hopped in a DeLorean with Doc Brown to get the A9 styling from the future
Some folks will probably go home thinking it’s an iPhone and then ask their iPhone friends why only their “iPhone” is getting all the malware and no regular os updates from Apple.