My buddy Mike texted me yesterday, all excited, “Bro, check this out.” It was a photo of his new phone. There were three camera circles on the back, and it looked exactly like my iPhone 15 Pro.

“Nice,” I text back. “Which iPhone did you get?” He replied, “It’s not an iPhone, lol. Honor something. Cost me 240 bucks.” I began laughing, as Mike has always been stingy when it comes to phones. But then I started wondering: why do these companies even bother making phones that look like iPhones? As I started digging, it turned out there’s some pretty sneaky stuff going on.

Mike’s Fake Camera Situation

A week later, Mike started complaining. His phone with three cameras takes bad pictures. It turns out that one of those camera circles was only the flash. They made it look like a camera lens to fool people.

That’s not right, is it? But it seems like a lot of companies are doing this now. Honor, some lesser-known Chinese brands, and even bigger names like Xiaomi sometimes.

Terry, my girlfriend, works at Best Buy. She says that customers are always asking for “phones that look like iPhones but don’t cost iPhone money.” They usually notice the camera bump first.

One woman told Terry last month, “Three cameras must mean it’s good.” The lady bought a knockoff phone and came back two weeks later angry that her pictures looked bad.

The Psychology Thing

This is what I think is going on. Apple taught everyone for years that having more cameras makes a phone better. Do you remember when the iPhone 7 Plus first had two cameras? Everyone went crazy. Then the iPhone 11 Pro had three? Totally mind-blowing.

People now think “premium phone” when they see more than one camera lens. Businesses figured this out. Why spend millions making real good cameras when you can just copy Apple’s?

Danny, my cousin, fell for this hard. He bought a Vivo phone because it had four camera circles. Four! It has to be better than the iPhone’s three, right? Nope. Half of them were for show. Danny was mad.

It’s Everywhere Now

Why are some phone companies copying iPhone camera lenses instead of making their own designs? Easy money, basically.

Look at this Honor 200 Lite thing that just came out. They even copied Apple’s new camera button. Call it an “AI Camera Button,” but it does the exact same thing as Apple’s version. Not even trying to hide it.

Sarah showed me this Xiaomi phone last week that had the camera bump in the exact same spot as the iPhone 16. Same size, same shape, just different colors. Like they traced Apple’s design and changed the logo.

My Dad’s Confusion

My dad called me confused about this whole thing. “Your brother got a new phone,” he says. “Looks exactly like yours but cost way less. How’s that possible?”

Had to explain that looking like an iPhone doesn’t make it an iPhone. Dad didn’t get it. “But it has the same cameras,” he kept saying.

That’s the problem. These companies know most people can’t tell the difference between real cameras and fake ones from across the store. They’re counting on that confusion.

The Business Side

Talked to this guy Kevin at a party who works for some phone company. Won’t say which one, but they definitely make knockoff designs. Asked him straight up why they copy Apple.

“Market research,” he says. “People want the iPhone look without iPhone prices. We give them what they want.”

“But the cameras don’t actually work like iPhones,” I said.

Kevin shrugged. “Most people don’t know that until after they buy it.”

Pretty scummy if you ask me.

When I Almost Got Fooled

Almost bought one of these copycat phones myself last year. My iPhone was broken; I needed something quick. Saw this Samsung Galaxy that looked similar to mine from the back.

The sales guy was pushing it hard. “Same camera system,” he kept saying. “But half the price.”

Thank God I waited. Got my iPhone fixed instead. But I can see how people get tricked.

The Fake Feature Problem

Here’s what really bugs me about why some phone companies are copying iPhone camera lenses; they’re not just copying the look. They’re faking features that don’t exist.

Mike’s Honor phone has a “Pro Photography Mode” that doesn’t do anything different from regular mode. Just changes the interface to look fancier. Terry’s seen phones with “AI Ultra Zoom” that’s worse than basic digital zoom.

It’s like selling someone a car that looks like a Ferrari but has a Honda Civic engine. Then calling it “Ferrari-inspired performance.”

Terry’s Store Stories

Terry sees this stuff daily. Last month, some teenager came in with his mom. Kid wanted the “iPhone-looking phone,” but mom didn’t want to pay iPhone prices.

They bought some Chinese phone with triple cameras. The kid was happy for about a week. Then he tried taking photos for Instagram. It looked terrible compared to his friends’ iPhones.

“We get returns on these knockoffs constantly,” Terry told me. “People expect iPhone quality, get disappointed, and bring them back.”

The Apple Copying Thing

Fair’s fair; Apple copies stuff too sometimes. They borrowed the notification dropdown from Android years ago. Face ID came after Android had face recognition. Even their widgets were Android’s idea first.

But here’s the difference. Apple usually improves on whatever they borrow. These camera copycats just straight-up xerox Apple’s homework without understanding why it works.

My Brother’s Disaster

My brother Tom bought one of these copycat phones last Christmas. It looked identical to my iPhone 14 Pro from the back. Three camera circles, same arrangement, even similar colors.

Tom was so proud. “Got the same phone as you for 300 bucks less,” he bragged at Christmas dinner.

Then he tried taking family photos. Blurry, washed out, terrible colors. Everyone’s iPhone and Samsung photos looked great. Tom’s looked like they were taken with a potato.

He returned it January 2nd.

The Innovation Problem

What worries me most is how this copying might hurt actual innovation. Companies like Xiaomi and OnePlus used to push boundaries. Faster charging, better screens, and unique features Apple didn’t have.

Now they spend time figuring out how to make their camera bumps look more like Apple’s. Instead of making better cameras, they make fake ones that look like Apple’s better cameras.

Seems backwards.

International Differences

Noticed this copying thing is way worse in certain countries. Went to Thailand last year; phone stores were full of iPhone knockoffs. Some looked so close you had to read the logo to tell the difference.

In America, companies are more subtle about it. They can’t straight-up copy everything or Apple’s lawyers will destroy them. But the camera copying is definitely getting bolder.

What Consumers Actually Want

Spent some time thinking about this. Do people actually want iPhone-looking phones, or do they just want good phones that don’t cost a fortune?

I think it’s the second thing. People see iPhones take great photos and assume it’s because of the camera bump design. Companies exploit that misunderstanding.

If these copycat companies spent their energy making legitimately good cameras instead of fake-looking ones, everyone would win.

The Reality Check

Here’s my take on why some phone companies copying iPhone camera lenses. It’s working in the short term because people don’t know better. But it’s not sustainable.

Word gets around. Mike tells people about his fake camera experience. Tom warns friends about his photo disappointment. Sarah sees the returns pile up at work.

Eventually consumers get smarter. They learn to look past the camera bump and focus on actual performance.

The Future

Think this copying trend peaks soon. Apple keeps changing their designs anyway. By the time companies perfect copying the iPhone 15, Apple releases the iPhone 17 with something completely different.

Plus, some Android companies are finally doing interesting camera innovations again. Real ones, not fake ones.

Maybe competition will get back to being about who makes the best cameras instead of who makes the best-looking fake cameras.

That would be refreshing.

Mike ended up returning that Honor phone, by the way. Got a Pixel 8a instead. Similar price, way better cameras. No fake lenses, just actual good photos.

Smart move. In this whole copying mess, the companies doing real innovation instead of fake imitation are the ones worth buying from.

Even if their camera bumps don’t look exactly like Apple’s.