Feds proudly announce seizure of ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ that are actually OnePlus Buds

[Bombastinator]

5 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

@Bombastinator @wkdpaul
Sorry but I don't trust them with mine due to all the obvious red tape, overly done regs and so on, however to each his or her own.
I've had nothing but good come from the system that's in place now - It was either that or I'd be done already and I'm still here (After 2 heart attacks no less).
I'll disagree in how well it's managed vs how well it will (Won't) be managed under the government.

 

OK - It's back to airpods guys.

 

 

It does function.  Costs twice as much but it does function.  For major procedures I do hear about a lot of people going basically anywhere else in the world (Mexico and Singapore are popular I understand) when they actually have to pay.

[Beerzerker]

@Bombastinator
I won't go into it further here since it derails the topic at hand, instead any continued discussion can be done via PM's.

That was just an example of how I see things concerning how well gov agencies are ran, nothing more.

[WkdPaul]

4 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

@Bombastinator
I won't go into it further here since it derails the topic at hand, instead any continued discussion can be done via PM's.

That was just an example of how I see things concerning how well gov agencies are ran, nothing more.

I think the point @Bombastinator and I are trying to make is that the healthcare example you used wasn't the best one

 

Let's get back to the topic, and feel free to add me to the discussion, it's something interesting and love to hear different positions.

Edited September 14, 2020 by wkdpaul

[Helpful Tech Witch]

22 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

I think the question is partially “does Apple consider these things to be competitive with their product”?

 

The impression I got was “no” because they’ve been reviewed as being drastically inferior.  

But do they look like AirPods? Yes. Apple likes to be unique (see every Apple product ever) and Apple would love to make sure nobody can mistake the inferior product for their own.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

But do they look like AirPods? Yes. Apple likes to be unique (see every Apple product ever) and Apple would love to make sure nobody can mistake the inferior product for their own.

It’s not a question of what you or I think.  It’s a question of what Apple thinks.  This is why I wonder if it wouldn’t be beats pushing this one instead of apple.  They’re being laughed at because they produce low quality audio gear for inflated prices.  What better way to get themselves thought better of than to try to confuse themselves with a product that has already soundly beaten them?  It’s a 3 way competition for the stupid trophy.  If apple instigated it they’re stupid because they give beats a lift.  If beats did it they’re stupid because it gives Apple an opportunity to say publicly what crap the competition is and they don’t consider them worthy, if it’s the CPB or whatever the acronym is they’re stupid for falling for it in the first place.  
 

Apple will have to remake the point that beats produces inferior stuff though.  The biggest potential winner here is beats.

[Blademaster91]

2 hours ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

But do they look like AirPods? Yes. Apple likes to be unique (see every Apple product ever) and Apple would love to make sure nobody can mistake the inferior product for their own.

But the question is, can Apple trademark what a pair of earbuds look like?

Comparing the Oneplus bids with Airpods, the Oneplus buds have a more pointed end,and the touchpad on the sides definitely make it obvious they aren't Airpods.
There has been proof of Apple having involvement with the CPB before, and I think this one is malicious intent because they didn't even care to pay attention to the Oneplus packaging.

[Trik'Stari]

And this is the same level of competence that people want running and providing pretty much every aspect of daily life.

 

I'll pass.

[WkdPaul]

On 9/14/2020 at 12:42 AM, williamcll said:

*snip*

golden replies

Just went through the Twitter thread, it's hilarious!

[sub68]

lol the officers don't know that these are legit something made by a good company

EDIT:the CBP still believe these are counterfeits

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/14/21436760/us-customs-statement-oneplus-buds-seized-apple-airpod-trademarks

[Bombastinator]

13 hours ago, Blademaster91 said:

But the question is, can Apple trademark what a pair of earbuds look like?

Comparing the Oneplus bids with Airpods, the Oneplus buds have a more pointed end,and the touchpad on the sides definitely make it obvious they aren't Airpods.
There has been proof of Apple having involvement with the CPB before, and I think this one is malicious intent because they didn't even care to pay attention to the Oneplus packaging.

So a vote for the stupidity winner is Apple. I personally don’t see what Apple has to gain here.  They’ve been kicking beats butt. Beats are seen as what you get when you can’t afford decent earbuds but aren’t together enough to buy actual low cost knockoffs.   Why would they give them press? Also there is a conflation.  The C(whatever) were the ones that went digging in. 

[SansVarnic]

Al I can do for the title without reading the article is this:

 

ROFLMAO

[Bombastinator]

19 minutes ago, SansVarnic said:

Al I can do for the title without reading the article is this:

 

ROFLMAO

That’ll happen even if you read the article. It actually gets worse. 
there a book title for a book ive always meant to read called “a confederacy of dunces” I’m not sure what the book is about but I think the title fits here.

[SansVarnic]

42 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

That’ll happen even if you read the article. It actually gets worse. 
there a book title for a book ive always meant to read called “a confederacy of dunces” I’m not sure what the book is about but I think the title fits here.

Yeah I read it after and yeah its just one of those moments. Th CBP is not a bad service but there are idiots in every service.  

[dalekphalm]

On 9/14/2020 at 12:32 AM, daenaera said:

Mostly LOL. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen. 

Not my taxes - just American taxes

 

On 9/14/2020 at 4:22 AM, Bombastinator said:

I’m tempted to wait this one out.  If they pulled a stupid it will become clear.   Counterfeiters have been known to do very complicated things though. Thurmond 158,00 into 300some k is something a counterfeiter might do. 

Could you... elaborate on that? They're clearly not Apple AirPods anyway - the shape of the case is wrong, and the minute details on the buds themselves are wrong too. In particular, look at the single pin-hole cutout for the speaker - that matches OnePlus Buds exactly. But AirPods have one small offset pinhole and another longer slotted hole.

On 9/14/2020 at 7:02 AM, patrick3027 said:

If they are really that hard to tell apart, maybe Apple should sue OnePlus for infringing on their intellectual property.

 

Colour aside: At first glance, they are extremely similar, but small details are massively different.

 

I could see someone mixing up the White version of the OnePlus Buds, especially if they didn't have any actual real AirPods to compare against.

 

However, once you have them side by side, it's very obvious they're different.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

On 9/14/2020 at 8:14 AM, daenaera said:

but they're really not. anyone who takes two additional seconds to look at the Buds can tell they /aren't/ Airpods, even when someone else is wearing them. 

Not anyone - I, for one, certainly wouldn't know after 2 hours of staring at them. I just have no clue how they look like beyond the shared, general "earwax stalactite" style.

 

 

19 hours ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

Counterfeiting is having a copied trademark.

19 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Right this in more in terms of knockoffs

 

Correct, this is more of a patent infringement issue (further confirmed by CBP, although they mixed it with trademark?), whereas counterfeiting implies pretending it's the original product.

I guess CBP can also seize rectangles with rounded corners now  

 

[dalekphalm]

18 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

Not anyone - I, for one, certainly wouldn't know after 2 hours of staring at them. I just have no clue how they look like beyond the shared, general "earwax stalactite" style.

Look at my picture - pretend the left one is white.

 

You're really telling me you can't tell that these are different products when looking at them side by side?

 

I get that you maybe can't tell which is which if you don't know what either one is supposed to look like, but they are clearly not the same.

 

The base on the OnePlus is heavily rounded. The base on the Apple is squared off then rounded corners.

 

The shape of the buds themselves is different, especially the "back" of the bud (cylindrical on the OnePlus with a 90 Degree right-angle to the base, rounded into the base on the Apple). The speaker pinholes are different. and in different places.

 

The point is not that an uneducated person can't spot one or the other. The point is that if you think you're looking at counterfeit goods, you better have reference images or something.

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

 

 

[TheReal1980]

OnePlus is on the same list as Huawei, no?

If that is the case I hope they throw them in the bin. If that’s not the case I hope they just send them back.

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

Relevant 
 

 

 

[SpaceGhostC2C]

12 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

You're really telling me you can't tell that these are different products when looking at them side by side?

I was replying to a comment about looking at someone wearing a pair of earbuds, not at a side by side examination...

 

(to be honest, it's not easy for me to spot the differences in your picture either, but maybe that's due to the buds not being in the same position, or me not zooming in enough ).

 

12 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I get that you maybe can't tell which is which if you don't know what either one is supposed to look like

That was the point  

 

 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

Not my taxes - just American taxes

 

Could you... elaborate on that? They're clearly not Apple AirPods anyway - the shape of the case is wrong, and the minute details on the buds themselves are wrong too. In particular, look at the single pin-hole cutout for the speaker - that matches OnePlus Buds exactly. But AirPods have one small offset pinhole and another longer slotted hole.

 

Colour aside: At first glance, they are extremely similar, but small details are massively different.

 

I could see someone mixing up the White version of the OnePlus Buds, especially if they didn't have any actual real AirPods to compare against.

 

However, once you have them side by side, it's very obvious they're different.

Gah I hate typos.  Autocorrect is my nemesis.  At the time it wasn’t clear what parts were in the boxes exactly.  The thing had just been posted.  The post your replying to is over a day old.
Counterfeiters pull all kinds of weird stuff to get things into the country including marking things as other things and hiding things inside boxes labeled as other things.  It has later turned out that the boxes were actually real beats.  I think anyway. read further and you can see it develop. 

[Bombastinator]

30 minutes ago, Rohith_Kumar_Sp said:

Relevant 
 

 

 

Redundant.  It was posted earlier and pointed out to be about something different.  
 

The Apple haters want tit to be an apple thing, and they’re diving hard at it.  You appear to be in that camp.  It’s not totally impossible for Apple to do something wildly against their own interest like this. This seems to me to be a case of which group was stupider. Apple, the makers of the earbuds, or the inspectors.  If either company was involved, it was foolish of them.  The most probable company to be involved, if one even was, was the one+ buds people.  They stand to gain the most.  What they will probably get is a small statement from Apple stating That one plus buds suck too hard to be considered competition. 

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

8 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

The Apple haters want tit to be an apple thing, and they’re diving hard at it.  You appear to be in that camp. 

 

[Bombastinator]

3 minutes ago, Rohith_Kumar_Sp said:

 

Dude talking about his high school history teacher. 21 minute video.  Still conspiracy theory stuff.  It will shake out as it shakes out.  You want to leap on a “THIS IS ALL A GIGANTIC CONSPIRACY OF EVIL!!” thing go ahead. 
 

It doesn’t make sense for Apple to do this as they already have the headphones in question beat badly.  Why would Apple spend the kind of money necessary to do something like this just to promote them?  Someone was stupid.  I don’t know who.  The very fact that you are making these arguments implies Apple would be stupid to attempt such a thing, which suggests it was the competitor.  If either of them were involved. 

[jagdtigger]

19 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Why would Apple spend the kind of money necessary to do something like this just to promote them?

Like it would be their first blatantly stupid decision......

[Bombastinator]

4 minutes ago, jagdtigger said:

Like it would be their first blatantly stupid decision......

True.  As I said this one seems like a race for the stupidness trophy.  The only known runner is the inspection team.  There may be as many as two others though.