Just wanted to post my experiences some AirPods 3 clones that I recently purchased..
I originally bought the 3's at the Apple Store in November and gave them to my son as an early Christmas gift. Not even a week later, he lost them - ugh. So stupid as I was, I immediately bought another pair and low and behold he lost "only" the case a few days later. That was it - the 3rd pair HE bought his own on eBay and when it came in I noticed something very slightly off - meaning the bar code label was ever so slightly different. I knew then it was a fake pair (He did pay $120 so the price was kind of a giveaway). At that point, just for kicks, I started to compare those with an original pair that my brother had. The label was slightly off - but in general, I don't think anyone would notice. The weight - the fake ones were a couple of ounces lighter. Can't tell by itself but alone, I would challenge anyone to notice anything different. When pairing the AirPods for the first time, the message on the iPhone was slightly different - but otherwise quick connects in the same way. I tested the spatial audio (which works fine - even with head tracking) and the audio - which I mostly can't tell the difference. I was quite intrigued and knowing my son's track record, I went ahead and ordered 3 sets on Aliexpress for a crazy $22 a piece - SHIPPED. 2 weeks later they arrived.
The Aliexpress AirPods - they are even closer to the original ones. The weight is much closer so the battery life is better. For the price comparison, I could buy 8 copies for 1 original - so I wouldn't be so upset if a pair got damaged or lost. Just subjectively - I think the copies are about 90% as good as a real one but because they are so cheap, I can overlook the differences. If my son loses them - no biggie (but that won't change his bad habits unfortunately).
Now I know ethicists will point out this is not a good thing to do (buying fake stuff) but I have to counter that I did spend over $300 for original ones so Apple did get their FAIR share of profits from me JUST in this instance (I have purchased way in excess of $300k of Apple products since the early 80's). Apple could have put in more robust Find My AirPods that could not be easily reset by someone who finds them - like Airtags but instead they leave it as is and if lost, could mean more profits for them. I for one am tired for forking over money after money in keeping up with my absent minded son. I'm kind of amazed that these people could copy the original ones so well and in such a short time after Apple released them - Right down to the "proprietary" H1 chip
After all of this - for my own usage, I much prefer the original AirPods 2 as they fit better in my ears (my son prefers the snugger 3's). Also I hate hate hate the force touch implementation of the 3's. Every once in a while I like to adjust the fit on the earpieces (whether I use the 2 or 3's). In order to adjust, I use my fingers to grab the stems and turn them to my liking. With the 3's, it will sense my movement as a single click and thereby pausing the music. It's such a pain for me because of this.
I originally bought the 3's at the Apple Store in November and gave them to my son as an early Christmas gift. Not even a week later, he lost them - ugh. So stupid as I was, I immediately bought another pair and low and behold he lost "only" the case a few days later. That was it - the 3rd pair HE bought his own on eBay and when it came in I noticed something very slightly off - meaning the bar code label was ever so slightly different. I knew then it was a fake pair (He did pay $120 so the price was kind of a giveaway). At that point, just for kicks, I started to compare those with an original pair that my brother had. The label was slightly off - but in general, I don't think anyone would notice. The weight - the fake ones were a couple of ounces lighter. Can't tell by itself but alone, I would challenge anyone to notice anything different. When pairing the AirPods for the first time, the message on the iPhone was slightly different - but otherwise quick connects in the same way. I tested the spatial audio (which works fine - even with head tracking) and the audio - which I mostly can't tell the difference. I was quite intrigued and knowing my son's track record, I went ahead and ordered 3 sets on Aliexpress for a crazy $22 a piece - SHIPPED. 2 weeks later they arrived.
The Aliexpress AirPods - they are even closer to the original ones. The weight is much closer so the battery life is better. For the price comparison, I could buy 8 copies for 1 original - so I wouldn't be so upset if a pair got damaged or lost. Just subjectively - I think the copies are about 90% as good as a real one but because they are so cheap, I can overlook the differences. If my son loses them - no biggie (but that won't change his bad habits unfortunately).
Now I know ethicists will point out this is not a good thing to do (buying fake stuff) but I have to counter that I did spend over $300 for original ones so Apple did get their FAIR share of profits from me JUST in this instance (I have purchased way in excess of $300k of Apple products since the early 80's). Apple could have put in more robust Find My AirPods that could not be easily reset by someone who finds them - like Airtags but instead they leave it as is and if lost, could mean more profits for them. I for one am tired for forking over money after money in keeping up with my absent minded son. I'm kind of amazed that these people could copy the original ones so well and in such a short time after Apple released them - Right down to the "proprietary" H1 chip
After all of this - for my own usage, I much prefer the original AirPods 2 as they fit better in my ears (my son prefers the snugger 3's). Also I hate hate hate the force touch implementation of the 3's. Every once in a while I like to adjust the fit on the earpieces (whether I use the 2 or 3's). In order to adjust, I use my fingers to grab the stems and turn them to my liking. With the 3's, it will sense my movement as a single click and thereby pausing the music. It's such a pain for me because of this.
