Here’s proof that an Apple Watch knockoff is a terrible deal

In case you were looking to save some money on a smartwatch that looks just like an Apple Watch, here’s a reason to be very careful about what you spend your money on. Because while the outside might be similar, you’re definitely not getting the same experience.

Lumafield’s First Article blog has an interesting article about the differences between knock-off products and their real counterparts. They used an industrial CT scanner to see inside each product and point out the differences in construction, components, and features. And one set of products that Lumafield looks at is an $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 and a smartwatch from Oiciido, which ranges in price from $15 to $40.

Lumafield

And to no one’s surprise, you get what you pay for. The Ultra 3 is packed with components (indicative of a feature-rich device), while the Oiciido watch, “looks almost empty next to it.” The scans also show how the Ultra 3’s parts are sophistically integrated, while you can see loose wires in the Oiciido watch “that would not survive the mechanical and thermal demands of a legitimate wearable.”

One of Lumafield’s most interesting scans is of the Ultra 3’s optical heart rate sensor and its photodiodes for heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring. The Oiciido watch has a “basic” LED heart rate sensor, and no hardware for multi-wavelength SpO2 measurement.

Lumafield’s findings are a good reminder that knockoffs often make big promises and take huge shortcuts to deliver prices that are too good to be true. I do recommend checking out Oiciido’s Amazon store, because its AI-generated images are so bad that they’re funny.