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Goophone beats Apple to the punch with an iPhone “5S” knock-off for $99 [VIDEO]

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Seeing Chinese Android-based knockoffs of Apple’s products isn’t anything new these days — it’s a big reason why Apple is looking to step its game up in China — but it’s not often you see someone beating Apple to the punch. Assuming Apple continues its tradition of releasing an “S” variant this year, Goophone has taken it upon itself to release the Goophone i5S. It’s visually similar to the current iPhone 5, and that’s fine: Apple’s iPhone 5S could look identical just as the 4S was to the 4, after all.

It’ll cost $99 for the first 1,000 buyers starting tomorrow, and $149 thereafter. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with a heavily customized skin to make it look like iOS, though Goophone gives users an easy option to switch between stock Android and the ripoff skin. Under the hood is Mediatek’s 1GHz MT6577 processor with 512MB of RAM, and it has a 4-inch display with that same weird aspect ratio Apple uses for the iPhone 5.

We obviously wouldn’t recommend this phone to those looking for a serious smartphone to walk around with, but if for some reason you’re in the market for a cheap iPhone 5 knockoff then I suppose this is one to keep an eye on. Retailer AndroidSale has posted a quick video recording of the abomination so be sure to check that out above if you’re curious.

[via GizmoChina]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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36 Comments

  1. honestly, that’s awesome

  2. What camera is he using to record? I need to know so I never buy one. That auto-focus

    1. I don’t think you need to be concerned about that.

    2. It must me a real iPhone 5 :D

  3. Dang is it thinner and longer though? now apple gonna have to up the design lol

  4. I’d buy it for $99 lol actually better than the real thing lol

    1. Um, not at all.

      The real iPhone has what many consider to be the best build quality in the industry, one of the best mobile cameras bar the Nokia Lumia 920, one of the smoothest mobile operating systems, and the strongest collection of high quality mobile apps and games.

      Your $99 knock off is not going to have any of those.

      1. Woooooosssshh!

        You hear that? That’s the sound of Jamille’s joke flying over your head…

        1. ‘Jokes’ have punchlines. Jamille’s post (as also his other one) just sounds like a troll with bad humor thrown in.

          1. Erm. He said a $99 knockoff is better than the real thing, which is obviously ridiculous. And he used not one, but TWO “lol”s.

            Seriously, lighten up.

          2. Thanks for summarizing the comment to me — not being as smart as you, I couldn’t read Jamille’s original comment because it had too many polysyllabic words.

            But if you don’t mind, I’m fine with the way I am. It’s weird, I know, but I rather not devolve to a point where I laugh at various half-assed troll jokes.

          3. But… y u so serious bro lol p.s. everyone is laughing at you. all of you.

          4. I’m not stupid, I understood the comment. Mario seems to be the only other one who sees what I’m saying.
            The amount of circlejerking that goes on in the comments section of this site is what I’m referring to.
            I’m sure many of the people here would actually prefer the $99 knockoff just because of their hate towards iOS.

          5. Oh boy, you guys… :S

            Nowhere did I even _begin_ to insinuate that you were stupid or not as smart as Jamille or me.

            All I’m saying is that you took the light-heartedness of his comment way too seriously, hence my response, which, if you’d allow me to paraphrase, simply meant – “his joke was lost on you”.

            I meant no offence at all. C’mon… We’re still friends right? … Right?

      2. Inability to Detect Sarcasm, Lies May Be Early Sign of Dementia, UCSF Study Shows

        http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/04/9719/inability-detect-sarcasm-lies-may-be-early-sign-dementia-ucsf-study-shows

        1. What if, by chance, that person who answered was being sarcastic as well?

        2. Not being able to detect sarcasm through text doesn’t indicate anything.

  5. “… it has a 4-inch display with that same weird aspect ratio Apple uses for the iPhone 5.”
    It’s 16:9, just like nearly EVERY phone today. What do you mean ?

    1. Cuz 1136×640 is out of norm.

      1. Out of norm, yes, but not detrimental to user experience (ratio and ppi are in the norm, the rest is clueless).
        What would you say about the Nexus4’s ratio ? “Not in the norm” ? What is the “norm” ? 800X480 ? 960X540 ? 1280X768 ? 1280X720 ? 1980X1080 ? 1980X1200 ?

        1. Those are different ratio, but those ratios have also been used on different devices. Some of those were tablet only, or also only used on devices on certain sizes. I’d assume the person is referring to a norm of devices that are 4 inches. Of course 800×480 is standard. But now we have 1280×720 on these things.

          1. No : nobody makes 1280X720 on 4″ screens.
            Seriously, why care about normalized resolutions ? Most of the content we look at is scaled up or down most of the time. The only factors that have an incidence on user experience are :
            – ppi for sharp text and icons : good enough from 300ppi (if RGB color pixels)
            – brightness for outdoor legibility : 500nits minimum
            – ratio : depends on usage (squarish for browsing, 16:9 for movies)
            – colors : depends on personal preference (exaggerated : sexy – faithful : natural colors)

    2. Everything media wise is in 16:9 period. Any other aspect ratio is just tarded. Yes all the androids vary but it’s only slightly. The iphone 5 is crazy offset.

      1. Offset ?? Because it’s 16:9 just like GS3/GN2/ONE/DNA…. WTF ?
        BTW, I prefer 16:10 for larger web pages and just ordered a Nexus 4 to replace my GS2. To me, it’s the best compromise (with 4:3 for tablets, which is another story…).

        1. wait so you are telling me the iphone 5 is 16:9?

          1. Yes, at least in this space/time.

  6. Damn… Quick, someone make a home switcher that uses a special code in the dialer app!

  7. I actually have a Goophone 4S at home. Didn’t get much time lately to hack inside though. It’s been bought overseas as a genuine iPhone, to only been uncovered as a rip-off here. It looks almost exactly as an iPhone, including the looks of iOS. That is not only to my own perspective, who’s been allergic to Apple products, but a die-hard iFan friend of mine could recognize the fake only after very careful look at details. What triggered the “investigation” was incompatible SIM-card slot.
    I’m looking forward to installing CM on it. Gotta say – the screen is total crap, almost like a good old G1.

    1. It’s pretty weak as far as specs and the screen but honestly it has to be cool just to have a goophone. I would rock it lol link a pic sometime!

  8. Just because you’re copying the iPhone doesn’t mean you have to copy the hardware. 512MB of RAM? On Android!? I don’t think so. LoL!!

    1. Especially when the model just got upgraded to 1GB :-)

  9. I really wish the back of it didn’t have that ugly ass logo.

  10. The only advantage this pos device would have is the options in cases that apple products get due to the lack of innovation.
    this is also the only real bummer (in my opinion) to the open source nature of Android. I do believe that my Razr is a damn fine device, but the way Android changes and evolves and device manufacturers continue to evolve to keep up nobody can make super dope accessories for every good device every 4 months.

  11. Um… why is everyone getting all excited over a story that’s already SIX MONTHS OLD? This was reported by Wired along with other outlets back in September 2012. Old news, folks…

  12. White version of the GooPhone i5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LhSSCdkWUc

    It’s the $249 version, with 32GB storage, looks the same as the 5S though.

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