Some Chinese users are allegedly giving a makeover to their iPhone 6 and 6s to fake iPhone 7 looks on their older iPhones as they don't have enough money to afford the latest flagship phone from Apple. It is reported that these users are resorting to replacing the back cover of their phones with a fake iPhone 7 casing integrated with false dual-cameras and dust plugs to hide the missing headphone jack.
"The makeover quirk mirrors a broader view among some Chinese users that the iPhone 7 doesn't have enough new features to convince them to trade up," says Reuters.
Popular aftermarket retailers like Alibaba's Taobao offer a bunch of mods ranging from stickers and engraving services to outer shell replacement parts to make your older iPhones look like the flagship iPhone 7. Given the common notion among the iPhone community members that the iPhone 7 is barely a cosmetic upgrade over the iPhone 6s series, there are hardly any takers for the new iPhone.
Reuters' recent polling event suggests that out of the nine Chinese Note 7 owners who participated in the survey, only one opted for an iPhone exchange. The rest of the users stuck with the subsidy offers from Samsung for trading in their Note 7 for another Galaxy phone.
"Some carriers have made a marketing push on the iPhone 7 to fill the Note 7 vacuum, but the effect is limited partly due to Samsung's own declining market share and to shoppers possibly holding off until Apple launches a new model, expected next year," adds the report.
The Jet Black and Black variants of iPhone 7 Plus are immensely under stocked in China, which could be another reason for some users trying to duplicate the looks of the new iPhone on their older phones like iPhone 6 and 6s. With China still being the largest potential market for iPhone sales, Apple's revenue has slipped 30% to $8.79 billion in the last quarter of 2016 in Greater China.
It is estimated that the total sales revenue generated for the iPhone 7 has been significantly better than the iPhone 6s series with a net 8.4% smartphone share in the Chinese market. Other vendors like Huawei [HWT.UL], Oppo and Vivo are reportedly doing better than Apple.
