So he was talking about Xiaomi Mi 4 right? Why did he think it was a copy? Because it was a phone that came in white and black colors and had a chamfered metal rim. It didn’t matter that that’s where the similarities ended with the other phone having different buttons, actual capacitive keys instead of that tired home button, different bottom speaker design, used USB not Lightning, had the headphone jack at the top, didn’t have a lock switch and even had a 100% unrelatable back with a different camera placed in a place no iPhone ever places their camera.
It was "theft" then. So what would Jony Ive have to say now with the release of the iPhone X? Since bezel less is the trend this year it does make sense for Apple to follow along but the thing is the phone that started everybody down on this trend just happens to have come from the same company he called “thieves.” The Xiaomi Mi MIX released in 2016 over a year before Apple made the iPhone X available for purchase. And of course if we follow along with Ive's guidelines on what counts as a copycat it would have been enough for the phone to just be bezel less alone right? After all according to Ive a copycat just has to make the phone bear one of the original’s main traits like a metal rim or a bezel less one. So just like the company was a copycat of Apple for having a phone with a chamfered metal rim the same can be said about Apple’s iPhone X being nothing more than theft of the bezel less phone that started the trend over a year ago.
But the sad truth is that there’s more. Not only was the bezel less design stolen directly from Xiaomi but the actual design from start to finish came straight from the company. The “notch” that caused a stir in the American smartphone community was considered when a sequel was going to be made for the original company’s bezel less phone. Due to poor fan feedback the design was scrapped for an updated version of the original design.
A working model was never made but one of the company’s display suppliers worked up a prototype
https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cfeceb0d9d8d207e792bbad06982f3b5.webp
Look familiar? Well minus the huge 3mm rim that Apple came up with. This rim is similar to the original phone’s which was under 2mm.
And even better is Jony Ive admitting that the iPhone X took 5 years to create. Exactly how long it really took Xiaomi and its designer Philippe Starck to design the Mi MIX. Looks like Apple still have a lot of faith in their marketing power if they could blatantly state they stole something that took 5 years for a smaller less profitable company to design. Shame on you Mr. Ive. I hope more people realize just how disgusting of a liar you are.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
