Remember all the hubbub around the “ugly” notch on the iPhone X just a few months ago? Well, it looks like some Android smartphone makers got a case of notch envy. At this year’s Mobile World Congress we saw a range of iPhone X clones ranging from awesome to absolutely awful. Here’s a few of our favorites.
Asus Zenfone 5
There’s no question that the new Asus Zenfone 5 is an absolutely stunning device. It features a gorgeous 6.2-inch IPS display and a pretty capable dual-camera setup. But let’s be honest, it looks a whole lot like the iPhone X on steroids.
And no, it’s not just the top notch (that Asus wants you to know is 26 percent smaller than the iPhone X); you’ll also find the placement of the rear-camera lenses to look quite familiar.
While the Zenfone 5 has a lot in common with the iPhone X when it comes to design, it comes in at several hundred dollars cheaper than the Apple flagship.
Leagoo S9/S9 Plus
Can’t decide between the Samsung Galaxy S9 or the iPhone X? Well, Leagoo may have the answer. The S9 sports Apple’s now-iconic top notch, as well as well as the name of Samsung’s newest flagship. Coming in at $150, it’s way cheaper than either of the phones from which it draws inspiration.
While the Leagoo S9 and S9 Plus does pack in 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a dual-pixel camera, you’re never going to mistake this phone for a flagship. We did a brief hands-on with the phone and it was incredibly buggy and slow. To be fair, it is running what we hope is preproduction software, but there was still incredible lag between app changes.
Noa N10
First introduced at Mobile World Congress, the Noa N10 looks an awful lot like the iPhone X. For its price, $350, it packs some pretty nice specs. The N10 has a dual-camera, 64GB of onboard storage (with MicroSD slot), and 4GB of RAM. It will ship with Android 8.0 Oreo.
While it sounds like a pretty attractive phone for the price, we didn’t have a chance to test it out; Noa representatives were fiercely protective of the phone and kept it under a plexi-glass display throughout the show. The N10 will be available in April or June, according to two different Noa representatives.
Vinci 6205
We’re not entirely sure you’ll ever see the Vinci 6205 in stores. It appears to be more of a concept phone marketed by a Chinese OEM device manufacturer. The phone should ship with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, though a representative told us we could easily upgrade RAM for $10 a gig. It also features a facial authentication system called FaceID, of course.
We were unable to get exact pricing on the 6205, but one representative told us $120 while another said $340. The device may ship in June.
Ulephone T2 Pro
At first glance, the Ulephone T2 Plus is quite beautiful. Definitely derivative of the iPhone X, it comes in more color options and has a slightly chunkier bottom bezel.
The T2 Plus features a Helio P70 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It also features a dual-camera setup with 21- and 13-megapixel cameras, and a front-facing camera that can unlock the phone.
While it looks pretty good at first glance, we definitely found some issues. We were told the model we looked at was basically ready to ship with the exception of a camera bug that caused a continuous bootloop, but once we tried to actually use the phone, Android apps like Gmail and Chrome immediately crashed. There was also issues with the power button, so it was nearly impossible to turn it on once the screen turned off.
The Ulephone T2 Plus should ship in July. A Ulephone representative assured us the device would be available in the United States if you’re inclined to give it a try. It comes in at $380, which is about $600 less than the iPhone X.
