HTC latest to ape Apple with AirPods knockoff

AppleInsider

Following in the ignominious footsteps of Samsung and a number of Chinese smartphone makers that "borrow" from Apple's popular designs, HTC is reportedly working on a pair of copycat AirPods tentatively called "U Ear."

Detailed in a regulatory filing submitted to Taiwan's National Communication Commission, uncovered by Android Police, HTC's Bluetooth headset is an unabashed replica of Apple's massively popular AirPods design. A separate FCC filing was discovered by The Verge.

Like Apple's device, the "U Ear" sports ergonomically molded ear tips, long stems and a very familiar carrying case that opens like a clamshell. Microphone input on one or both earbuds is assumed to be an integrated feature, though exact positioning cannot be confirmed.

The headset charges via a pair of "pogo stick" terminals positioned on said stems, likely feeding directly into a small battery cell located within. HTC's charging case supports USB-C, though power transfer rates are unknown.

Notably, the "U Ear" dons black plastic, unlike Apple's all-white AirPods. Whether HTC plans other color options is at this point unknown.

Though HTC filed for regulatory certification in the U.S. and Taiwan, the product has not been announced and may not ship to consumers.

Apple helped defined the Bluetooth headset market with AirPods in 2016. With seamless connectivity across Apple's various platforms, advanced features and solid performance, the accessory quickly became one of the company's best-selling items.

The second-generation AirPods and first-generation AirPods Pro are helping to push Apple's wearables, home and accessories product segment to new heights, with the company in April reporting segment revenue of $6.3 billion for the second fiscal quarter of 2020. Shoppers can regularly find deals on AirPods across Apple resellers.

napoleon_phoneapart

Wow. For such an "ugly" design, they sure do get copied a lot. 

napoleon_phoneapart

Wow. For such an "ugly" design, they sure do get copied a lot. 

EDIT: Just like my posts, apparently.  

drdavid

napoleon_phoneapart said:

Wow. For such an "ugly" design, they sure do get copied a lot. 

apple ][

Monkey see, monkey do. That's how it's always been when it comes to Apple's designs, and that's how it always will be.

I think that I'll be sticking with my AirPods Pro, thank you very much.

The process seems to go something like this:

1) Apple comes out with a brand new design that looks like nothing else that has ever existed (AirPods).

2) Reactions begin to come in. Haha! They look like tampons! It looks like somebody just cut the cord on their regular headphones! They are so fUgly! WTF! They are too expensive!

3) Apple's product goes on to dominate the entire market.

4) The copycats and other companies with no talent or shame begin to release their own inferior knockoff versions.

5) The same people who laughed at Apple's tampons in the ear are now walking around with something worse than a tampon in their ear. They're walking around with a cheap, copycat tampon in their ear. They can't even afford a real tampon. They are very nasty people.

Beats

Waiting for iKnockoff users to exclaim "They look NOTHING like AirPods!!!!"

qwerty52

apple ][ said:

Monkey see, monkey do. That's how it's always been when it comes to Apple's designs, and that's how it always will be.

I think that I'll be sticking with my AirPods Pro, thank you very much.

The process seems to go something like this:

1) Apple comes out with a brand new design that looks like nothing else that has ever existed (AirPods).

2) Reactions begin to come in. Haha! They look like tampons! It looks like somebody just cut the cord on their regular headphones! They are so fUgly! WTF! They are too expensive!

3) Apple's product goes on to dominate the entire market.

4) The copycats and other companies with no talent or shame begin to release their own inferior knockoff versions.

5) The same people who laughed at Apple's tampons in the ear are now walking around with something worse than a tampon in their ear. They're walking around with a cheap, copycat tampon in their ear. They can't even afford a real tampon. They are very nasty people.

Absolutely right! It was just the same story with the first iPhone!

acheron2018

This is HUGE NEWS!!!

I had no idea HTC was still in business!

The things you can learn on the internet before sunrise.  We do live in amazing times.  

MplsP

acheron2018 said:

This is HUGE NEWS!!!

I had no idea HTC was still in business!

The things you can learn on the internet before sunrise.  We do live in amazing times.  

They scaled back dramatically - R&D now consists of a team dedicated to cloning other companies’ designs!

MplsP

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess, but crap like this is really annoying. Companies like Apple spend a lot of time and resources on research, development and product design. ‘Simple elegance’ and ease of use are no accident. They are the end result of much hard work, so blindly copying like this is tantamount to stealing IMO

stevemebs

You would think they could at least come up with a fresh design for the charging case 

lkrupp

These are for the same people who buy fake Gucci handbags, fake Rolex watches, fake diamond rings, and then posture so that other people think they have the real thing. You see it all the time on Pawn Stars when Rick tells the customer, no, they don't have a real Tiffany lamp but a fake. 

dyonoctis

eh, I hardly blame them, even though they could have altered the shape a bit more. Sennheiser and Sony have a radically different shape, people complain that it's too bulky. Apple design is indeed the simpliest, since it's literally a classic earbud without the cord. But if you are doing that you are a copycat. You just can't win.

Sometimes I feel like the tech industry is going too far with the 1st dibs thing. In lots of other industry, a breaktrough started by a company just become the standard for everyone, because it is just better, and is actually a benefit for the consummer. 

I'm glad that windscreen wiper weren't first made by a car company that would have patented the crap out of it, and only made them available for their cars.

beowulfschmidt

Is that an actual picture of the actual equipment, or is it somebody simply photoshopping a pair of AirPods black?  I mean, phrases such as "reportedly working on" and "[d]etailed in a regulatory filing" suggest that there isn't an actual product of which to take pictures yet.

gatorguy

beowulfschmidt said:

Is that an actual picture of the actual equipment, or is it somebody simply photoshopping a pair of AirPods black?  I mean, phrases such as "reportedly working on" and "[d]etailed in a regulatory filing" suggest that there isn't an actual product of which to take pictures yet.

If you go to the source article those pics are presumably part of the the Taiwan application. They may never go on sale, but they have at least applied for the right to. 
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/18/htc-u-ear-looks-like-a-shameless-airpod-clone-no-one-asked-for/