Beware! Xiaomi Mi Note clones already on sale


xiaomi mi note lcone

The speed of clone manufacturers is quite scary, how they can get a fake version of a newly launched phone like the Xiaomi Mi Note in the market is amazing and a troubling thought to international buyers.

Xiaomi phones are so sought after in China, and the rest of the world, that a cottage industry of clone makers has sprung up around them, and these knock off merchants are fast!

The Xiaomi Mi Note was launch on the 15th January and less than a month later a clone is on sale and ready to fool anyone tempted by a bargain. The fact that a clone Mi Note is already on sale is worrying for international fans too as some unscrupulous sellers will no doubt try to take advantage.

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Fake Xiaomi Mi Note phones have just 1GB RAM, lack audio refinements and are made of plastic rather than glass. Performance is down too with Antutu score of around 18,000. Below are images of the real Xiaomi Mi Note next to the Xiaomi Mi Note clone.

xiaomi mi note lcone
The fake Mi Note has a shallow curve on the rear panel and the plastic panel is not flush.

Customers should be on the look out for these knock offs and report any store selling these to warn the Chinese smartphone community.

[ Weibo ]
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16 Comments

  1. Airyl
    February 12, 2015

    First time I could easily distinguish between the fake and real one just from looking at them. That plastic is a dead give away.

    • Rob
      February 12, 2015

      Trouble is some sellers don’t give you nice close images to examine, very difficult to tell when looking at the fronts.

    • Akimitsui
      February 12, 2015

      The problem with any clones… From clothes to phones, is that sellers use pictures of the real item on their websites, rarely do they take pictures of the fakes unless they let you know upfront it’s a clone.

  2. February 12, 2015

    China copy China! World gone crazy 🙂

  3. wildlime
    February 12, 2015

    Thanks god I got an official one from Xiaomiworld 🙂

    • Airyl
      February 12, 2015

      Good for you.

  4. Airyl
    February 12, 2015

    First time I could easily distinguish between the fake and real one just from looking at them. That plastic is a dead give away.

    • Rob
      February 12, 2015

      Trouble is some sellers don’t give you nice close images to examine, very difficult to tell when looking at the fronts.

    • Akimitsui
      February 12, 2015

      The problem with any clones… From clothes to phones, is that sellers use pictures of the real item on their websites, rarely do they take pictures of the fakes unless they let you know upfront it’s a clone.

  5. Dmitry Lupich
    February 12, 2015

    China copy China! World gone crazy 🙂

  6. Guest
    February 12, 2015

    This comment was deleted.

    • Airyl
      February 12, 2015

      Good for you.

  7. balcobomber25
    February 15, 2015

    This is a cheap knockoff but quality clones will be released soon. KVD (Doogee, Elephone, Zeaplus, No. 1) did an excellent job cloning the Mi4. It was the first clone I actually bought and I couldn’t tell the difference at first glance between it and my real Mi4.

  8. balcobomber25
    February 15, 2015

    This is a cheap knockoff but quality clones will be released soon. KVD (Doogee, Elephone, Zeaplus, No. 1) did an excellent job cloning the Mi4. It was the first clone I actually bought and I couldn’t tell the difference at first glance between it and my real Mi4.

  9. relu1989
    May 7, 2015

    hello everyone. i need help i am desperately trying to find a good online store to buy this phone from but most of them have bad reviews. anyone can give me any pointers on good online store?

  10. Guest
    May 7, 2015

    hello everyone. i need help i am desperately trying to find a good online store to buy this phone from but most of them have bad reviews. anyone can give me any pointers on good online store?