...and sometimes the knockoff actually "feels" better. I have several electronic devices where the knockoff is actually a better experience to use than the official one. Of course we have to tear apart our devices to see inside vs having access to expensive equipment and 2 guys to run it.
@@PowerScissor Knockoff products are not counterfeit. Toasted Oats is a generic knockoff of Cheerios, for example. Counterfeit is selling Toasted Oats in a Cheerios box. It's fraud. You might find a generic item that is superior to the product they're knocking off, but you _will not_ find a "better experience" with counterfeit products.
It’s been known for years that the authorities that inspect currency only study the authentic articles. Such as bank notes and cash bills. When a fake gets passed to them they can tell something is out of specification. 💪👍💰
They have legit s/n too. Easiest way is to call either Apple or local authorized repair place, and ask them to check repair history of the serial. If they’re fake, they’ll have warranty claims from all over the world.
@@gesarts3625But that wouldn't sell, because it doesn't scream: _"LOOK AT ME, I'M AM APPLE PRODUCT!"_ As well as: _"LOOK AT ME, I OWN APPLE PRODUCTS!"_ 😉
@@gesarts3625 They could, but they couldn't sell if for the same price as Apple products, at least not as successfully. But by pretending to be Apple, they can.
My guess is that Apple sponsored Lumafield to make videos featuring their products, and Lumafield is fulfilling their obligation by sponsoring Tested in this video. So basically second degree advertising? Any version in which Apple didn't exert any influence that played into this doesn't make any sense to me. Tested most likely has obligations which force them to release this series even after the backlash of the first video. That must be tough, and I don't think any reaction to the backlash from the first video would've done them any good. Since Tested aren't sponsored directly, it may not have crossed their mind how much of an advertisement this series is going to become, and now they're in the crossfire. Tricky situation.
Between this and the freaking cruise ship series that were obviously hidden advertisement, I'm getting very scared for this channel. Never thought I'd see Adam Savage and Tested go down to this level.
This just look like genuine curiosity to me. Besides, who cares if they're sponsored? Adam and tested have the right to take sponsorships and make a profitable channel.
@@Zydros250 mate, just because you don't care about obscured advertising and don't see a problem, doesn't mean there isn't one. This is advertising that is not stated to be advertising. There is nothing wrong with being sponsored, but acting like your comments are genuine or endorsements, without admitting you are being paid is not only morally reprehensible, it is in most cases illegal, because people should know if they are being advertised to.
One of the principals of Lumafield was a significant person at Apple for a while who helped develop the iPod and the iPhone. He hasn’t worked there since 2008 so I don’t think that connection is the source of this, but in my opinion this series and this marketing push feels like a sales pitch to Apple. Like Lumafield tries to be VERY pro-Apple and paint them in the best light, and then approaches them to negotiate outfitting their engineering teams with scanners or even just setting up a sponsored press run in the future or get first looks at their new products. Apple products could also be chosen here because they are so ubiquitous and a lot of people want to see under the hood, but that theory is messed up by the overly positive tone and strange lopsided comparison of the cable video. I’m likely completely wrong about the motivations of this whole thing, but when videos like this feel so strange and one sided you have to wonder what that feeling goes back to.
This is just awful. I am so sad. The scanning tech is super cool - why on earth are you choosing to showcase it by exclusively looking at Apple products, in a deeply biased way, with guys that are just randomly speculating (often confidently incorrectly) about the items? It creates a terrible impression. I love Adam's usual content, and I'd even love to see more Lumafield dives - but good god, not like this.
I was hoping for some more interesting discussion of either the scanning tech or the counterfeits. I don't really care which, just expected more meat on this bone.
It's not novel, but tech for it has improved like GaN, and If you look around you'll find that chargers of different qualities do give different quality of power to the device, from good chargers you get cleaner power without so many spikes as it happens with not so good quality ones, this helps for the overall lifetime of your device
Once again,I wish humans would think lol Completely factoring OUT any possible financial incentive,which would only further the show,and Adam,and the team as whole anyhow,how else does one expect to see what's going in inside of an apple product? Without destroying it? Or,without the option of having Apple themselves provide any information about products,and their inner workings? Honestly.Give me ONE good reason why this is an issue,other than you just wanting to whine about it?
@@jeffdroog And then there's people like you that are self-righteously indignant. You can blame corporate greed for all of this. Corporate greed WANTS to keep wages low so they can further amass wealth. What's the wealthiest company in the world right now? Apple, at about $3,000,000,000,000 in market value. But it doesn't end there, no. Corporate greed and capitalism has pushed the majority of the citizens of the most powerful countries in the world into poverty. Unacceptable wages compared to cost to live are rampant in both the US and China as well as many others. Tell me how this happens in both capitalism and communism based economies. Pure, unchecked and unrestrained greed. Greed that knows the fines are often less than the profitability of illegal acts. This rampant greed pushes the masses into buying the cheapest functional products they can, but we're still vain. Apple is an image brand. If people can look like they use Apple, they get that escapism feeling of not being or appearing poor. if they can get that feeling without spending as much money, they will do it. Because Apple, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and all their copycats have raised two generations of narcissism into our societies now. I'll give you a good reason with complete disregard to all the above: Spotlighting Apple like this as "the only" premium brand is an endorsement exclusive to Apple and not others who also make premium products. It's not a fair distinction. If they aren't going to name the counterfeit, then they shouldn't be naming the original either. If they aren't going to present premium alternatives, then they shouldn't be naming Apple. In a nutshell; this is an ad that skirts around officially being an ad which comes off as scummy. "This video is part of a sponsored series with Lumafield, and is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Apple." rings very hollow with this presentation. That's how it feels to skeptics and cynics.
I wish they would compare similarly priced alternatives as well as other cheap products that are not trying to be deceptive; Earbuds that are made to be affordable, what is inside them compared to the fake apple look-a-likes?
I was impressed and entertained but would have been more so if you all did heat tests and looked at how clean the power output actually was rather than just guessing by what seemed to be missing.
Once they noted the lack of the ground pin being hooked up, I wish that one of them had suggested for end users who don't have an x-ray machine, a simple test. The grounding pin the plug or long corded plug attaches to should pass ground onto the outside metal of the magsafe plug. So in this counterfeit case, simply checking the resistance between the two with an ohmmeter/multimeter would clue you for comparing these two models. I've detected a couple power supplies that would otherwise pass casual inspection and discarded them. Presumably some counterfeit models do have the ground pin connected but obviously not all.
@@TheMonkeydood People who do basic repair around their homes likely have multimeters. I've owned a multimeter since I was a kid to check batteries. Checking a ground is as simple as flipping the meter into continuity mode. If it beeps, there is a connection.
I just tested this on my Magsafe 2 charger, and it had no continuity from ground pin to metal on the magnetic connector. I believe it's a real Apple charger (but I will test some of the others I also have laying around, later).
That is fascinating to find out. I'm not sure how Apple would have the MacBook deal safely with static electric sparks if it didn't have the case have a ground to go to. On an old original magsafe connector I get 0.6 ohm resistance. On a magsafe 2 for an air, I get much higher, just under 1k ohms (995 Ω) which typically won't trigger continuity beeps on multimeters. I do note that the anodizing on the outside of the magsafe magnetic head seems to have a high resistance so I check resistance on the flat face that sticks to the macbook body. I haven't had my morning coffee, but it's not clear to me why they'd add the resistance. It is still low enough that it would trigger a GFCI protection circuit which typically fire at 6 mA, so maybe that resistance is some attempt at limiting noise coming in on the ground line or for some reason do a slow discharge of static electricity to ground?@@patrikfloding7985
These CT scans are really cool to see what's going on. Would love to see you also do a tear down of the items also so we can see the actual components :)
We would like to know if Lumafield was in any way sponsored by Apple or an affiliate. Though Tested may not be associated with Apple, hidden third-party advertising is insidious.
I suspect Lumafield is using Apple products simply for the additional, free exposure. They benefit from all that Apple advertising and brand recognition attracting viewers to Adam's video at no expense beyond what they paid Tested.
Don't get me wrong. Adam is one of my heroes. But why would he make content like this if he wasn't affiliated with Apple? Same as with the Starfield series. This is such an obvious step away from much of his older content.
@georgg.5730 And I don't see any if you sending him money for his hard work lol How else is he supposed to get paid,and continue working,if he his "true fans" won't even send him 1$ to watch him build something worth 1000$ You people upset me lol
if they paid for the product, it's just fanboying, but yeah it gets to be a bit much of drooling over apple, when they (apple) start to support right to repair, I will be good with it, until then, it's just about the money grab.
Can't believe y'all are actually releasing this after the whole Thunderbolt vs USB-C Debacle...releasing this video without even acknowledging the problems with the other video is kinda insane.
@@jeffdroog they compared an apple Thunderbolt cable to a cheap $5 dollar USB-C cable and acted like they were supposed to be the same, that the usbc cable was a cheap "rip off" of the Apple cable, when Thunderbolt and USBC are 2 completely different standards...like literally 99% of the comments were ppl calling that out, but I haven't seen any response from tested.
@@leeward6762 This video is rip-off vs. authentic. The previous one was cheap vs expensive. The USB C one was a question of why the thunderbolt cable cost so much and looking at the tech inside, not making out the cheap one was a "rip-off" and I don't believe that word or "counterfeit" were mentioned at any point in the other video. Both videos are adverts for the CT scanning company, so they grabbed two items that would of course be different inside to compare.
@@ironcxctus The point they're trying to make is that you would never buy a plain USB-C cable to be used as a Thunderbolt cable. The two cables use the same connectors, but they are not the same, so comparing them as if they are interchangeable is disingenuous.
I don't think "fake" is an appropriate term. If I buy a pair of Reebok trainers, it's a bit unfair to call them fake if they aren't Nike. It's the same with peripherals. There are plenty of third party peripherals for use with Mac devices that are better than the first party ones that cost less...granted, there's a lot of cheap shit out there...but there's probably just as much good stuff. I've found some amazing "made in china tat" that was built to an incredible standard that looked like cheap knock offs...the thing with Chinese manufacturing is that they stop giving a shit when it comes to how a device looks and feels...but they put the effort in where it counts...for example, audio amplifiers...there are tons of cheap amps out there and they all look like garbage...but there are gems that can be found and sometimes those gems are better than a branded alternative that costs 10x the price. Yeah it'd be great if we could buy things at competitive prices from manufacturers in our own countries, but unfortunately that isn't possible right now with the way the global supply chain works and in a lot of cases, we produce inferior shit for orders of magnitude more cost.
back in the day (late 2008) when I bought my first macbook, it came with both the two prong plug, and a 3 prong extension cable as standard provision. Nowdays, many electronics seem to come standard with no charger at all :(
How to make an ad for Apple products without making an ad for Apple products. I know this is a sponsored series with Lumafield, but I have my doubts that Lumafield isn't getting paid by Apple for this.
Рік тому+18
I can't stand these sponsorships that have almost no connection to the spirit of the channel. I couldn't stand one second of the cruise ship videos, and this has the same vibe.
10:24 in the UK, if it is double shielded, it does not need to be grounded. It would need at least a plastic 3rd pin to open the shutter over the live and neutral. It does have a conductive pin, so well done Apple for taking the better engineered option 👍 Looks like Apple took the sensible overengineered approach with a universal adapter able to take 240V a/c. This tends to make the electronics run warmer, so I'll bet that large heat sink is to help compensate.
Except it did not make use of that grounded pin. The removable connector for the plug does not have any metal in the socket to connect it to the ground pin. Making it just a two-pin ungrounded connection. Such a simple thing to miss out on when going through the rest of the effort making it completely pointless.
@@nous404 but it's not pointless - by being double isolated it doesn't need a 'earth' pin at all. The 'earth' pin, metal or plastic, is only there to open the live / neutral shutters on the plug socket itself.
@@nous404 this is correct, however oddly the cables that you can attach to the power brick are grounded and do use this pin in the UK. I always prefer this as I can feel the voltage differential on a charging macbook case if only the snub plug is attached.
@@torquilh I haven't seen one, but I expect like most laptop power adaptors the adaptor is double shielded, delivering only 19V DC (or whatever voltage a MacBook uses). Not sure about the US or elsewhere, but if a device (power adapter in this case) in the UK has the symbol of a pair of squares, one inside the other, it indicates it is double shielded and does not need an earth/ground connection. Still needs the pin to open the safety shutters on the socket.
totally depends on the cheaper charger, especially with the USB-C ports. I've seen some adapters with USB-C and no power negotiation (USB power delivery) , that one put out one voltage that could destroy your hardware. as long as it has the Power Delivery with that cheaper one it should be fine
@@ShockburnVRI have no problem with counterfeit things if they do what they're functionally supposed to do because at that point you're paying extra for superficial details like if my 3 dollar charge brick charges my hypothetical iPhone and it won't light on fire illl take iiiiiiiiit
A (very)cheap standard USB charger completely killed my previous phone(with a bang in the charger), so yeah don't assume they're all "fine". In my life I'd never had a problem with power adaptors, let alone with what should always just have been a 5V DC output, so I didn't even think about it beforehand. Some are perfectly fine, others aren't.
I would be worried about the isolation in the fake. The wire insulation in the transformer could break down and all of the sudden, you've got 240V AC on your output. Cheap chargers can and have killed people. It may appear to be working fine until you touch your laptop or phone and something grounded at the same time and now you can't let go.
I bought some $10 lenovo airpods from Aliexpress about a year ago. Up until that point I was buying wired earbuds every 4-6 months. I am amazed by wireless buds, even the cheapo ones. I didn't even dream about this being possible 15 years ago, much less for just $10.
I've recently got myself Moondrop's Space Travel TWS. Active noise canceling, very good sound quality, all bells and whistles, a very nice design on top. 25$ with shipping. Daaaamn.
I got some fake airpod pro 2s to try out after always using wired earbuds forever, weird having this video pop up, and the fake airpods have quickly become my main earbuds. They actually sound great and they work exactly how I’d want. The battery life is probably not as good as apples though lol
The point is it doesnt matter if they are GOOD QUALITY, All "Apple" products are made by other companies anyway, their Phones are mostly Samsung components assembled by Foxconn.. The Label really doesnt matter in the end@@mrm1885
you can tell a real apple product when you ask for spares or a schematic. Apple just say no , ha ha you spent $3000 and a laptop and we refuse to sell you a screen.
It's because you aren't purchasing an apple product,as far as owning the thing goes.You're purchasing the agreement to use their product,until they decide they don't want you to use their product.They own everything real,and you own the sense of entitlement lol
Because if you or your ‘tech guy’ screws up with replacement of screen it was you to scream all over the world that their products are bad and work like POS. Eliminating third party interference in their products makes product handling way easier
I remember Adam's fervent advocation for Right to Repair back in the day. And now such obvious showcasing for one of the biggest and most arrogant opponents of that concept? I do hope so, so much that this is not what it looks like...
My guess is Apple paid Lumafield, the CT scan company, for a series of ads. Lumifield sponsors Adam Savage's Tested (this is disclosed in the text below the video, but not in the video itself). It will be pretty obvious if there is another Apple product examined against competitors.
Amazing how some radio stations can't mention brand names, like Samsung when they release superior phones, yet when a new iphone comes out with lower specs, they start talking about it.
It's both a question of finding counterfeit electronics, as well as consumer advice. Apple chargers and cables are expensive, so users can easily be tempted into buying similar-looking fakes. Showing the factual differences is important and it's good consumer advice. Apple devices are studied and copied by third parties to a far larger extent than any other brand which also means it's easier do find items to make a video about.
This was so educational! I just love my AirPods Pro and am so impressed by the quality of sound but the range of the Bluetooth from the phone is incredible!
@@jamespeirce2582 I'll let my brother know that after four laptops and seven phones all bloody useless from the get go due to piss poor QC. I called him an idiot after the third round, but he was an Apple "Fan" and couldn't resist...now he knows better.
@jamespeirce2582 having your new top of the line phone being able to be broken by someone's bare hands when no other major phone has done that before sure is quality
it amazes me on how these companies can visually make a perfect looking hooky electrical device but always fail on the packaging. I brought some dodgy "beats" ear buds once for my lad but the box looked like it was made in my garage, otherwise it was identical ,even in sound quality to my original ones. Its a really interesting video as I have some apple AirPods and always wanted to know what's in side the gloss white casing
I suspect most companies are happy to sell (or look the other way when their manufacturer) sells off excess casings for their products as a side deal. Like how Nike allows a certain number of "damaged" shoes into the local economy as a supplement to salaries, knowing the workers can just sew a check onto the shoes they "rejected" and failed to destroy.
@@littlekong7685 Yeah. There's a fairly long history of factory managers doing some undocumented overtime production, skimming off products marked defective or what have you and selling them through back channels. When it's a more modest product, they generally overlook it until such time as something happens that forces them to officially notice it. Luxury products... entirely different story. They don't want poor people walking around with anything that looks like their product, because a whole chunk of their customer base is only buying it for status reasons: they want to show off that they're wealthy, and that doesn't work if the poors are walking around with something that looks the same.
I would have like to see a sound quality test as that is the most important thing to me in audio devices... It would probably show more flaws in the knock-offs!
I mean if you want good sound there are plenty of tws earbuds that have good sound and are cheaper than the airpods pro, I don't think anyone would buy counterfeit airpods (knowingly) expecting similar sound quality
Perfectly acceptable for third party to design their own earbuds but not to create counterfeits. The consumer can end up with defective products and the manufacturer, in this case Apple, loses a sale.
Continue to be disappointed by this weird Super Pro Apple push, this weird pro bono marketing really puts me off from trusting anything being endorsed by the channel. The tech being demo'd is absolutely awesome, but I would love to see this series show the difference between more competing products and not the cheapest garbage versus Apple's super overpriced gear, I want to see a 130$ Apple Thunderbolt cable against an Thunderbolt cable, and not a throw away standard USB cable. I want to see Air Pod Pros up against similar ANC Stem style Ear buds like the Anker Sound Core 4s at less than half the price. By all means, include some cheap crap knock offs as well to show what bad quality looks like, but this series is doing more to make me not trust the channel, and I've been a viewer for years and have watched hundreds of their videos.
@@jsollowsphotography the lumafield is absolutely fascinating! But to a lot of people it felt like there was a bad comparison between the subjects. Those cables weren't even trying to come close to Apple's Thunderbolt 4, so it was disingenuous to call them knockoffs. Sort of like comparing a golf cart to a Rolls Royce and saying the cart is a poor imitation, that's how many viewers took it
I guess my only issue with using Apple as the bar is that yes, it's highly evolved but it's also priced based on its name, rather than the cost. It would be interesting to see something non fashion related with a similar comparison.
Uh this is the worst way I can think to compare them.. how they look on a CT scan? Who cares? Test their output on a scope.. open them and look at components with your eyes and explain why it's better. This is straight propaganda for apple.
and you really think taking things apart is the only way to solution? That you cant see the value of being able to see through how small products are constructed without taking them apart which could in the progress damaging the product itself?
@@JamieDelour Given that they were able to show missing components just by looking inside, I would say it's pretty conclusive that these are not providing the same level of features as the authentic version. And given the extra potential interference and noise there's no way they would be better.
@@gownerjonesthen more fool them for entering into a contract that doesn't include a get it clause for bringing the channel into disrepute or harming their reputation.
Seriously makes you appreciate the extreme attention to detail by Apple's engineering and industrial design teams, not to mention their managers and support staff to pull this together. It's just breathtaking.
Not sure if someone else already covered this, but the reason they have the grounding connection in the genuine one isn't just for UK users. The US version also has a 3-prong extension cord that can be swapped out for the 2-prong duckhead, so that ground connection needs to be there for the US, too.
Also (of course) most other countries use 3 wires for their power plugs. In Europe (for example) there are regulations when your power cord needs to have 3 wires.
Regarding UK and PSU grounding, part of the story is PAT testing requirements (it does not look like these units are double insulated). Therefore, these fakes can probably be classed as measurably "risky".
To be quite honest, I'm also disappointed about how fast my left earpod got significantly more quiet than the right one in such a short timespan. This is what keeps me from enjoying a set of airpods long term, and is exactly what they want: reoccurring customers.
People spending so much money on headphones make me laugh. I'd rather save for early retirement rather than some expensive earbuds that will break or get lost.
@@CT-vm4gf Right? What a stupid statement. I hope they also don't buy anything else expensive then ever, as every penny gotta be put into that early retirement bank-account!
Used to be in US you got a 6 foot three prong extender cord that snapped on as an alternative to the fiddly prongs in the box that was grounded and that is exclusively what I try to use. After a while the folding prongs tend to wear out and start arcing especially when not cared for.
that's not a MOV, it's an NTC thermistor. saying "i can tell by the way the legs are attached" is idiotic at best. Also, i would like to point out, that not only is there better heat dissipation, there is also much better separation between the high voltage, and the low voltage sides on the knock-off than on the genuine version. At the end of the day, there are only two things to think about. 1) Do you want to pay through the nose for apple's "handshake" protocol which serves no purpose other than to hike the price up on apple cables and chargers 2) Does the device safely, and cleanly deliver the required power for the device. That's it. Just because a product is over engineered does not make it better. Ask anyone who's had to have their iPhone cracked screen replaced.
It kinda goes to show you, that if you were happy with your ear bud quality 10-15 years ago, there is no reason to buy genuine ear buds that cost 6x more today. The fakes probably sound great compared to the headphones and earbuds we all used last decade.
@@InXLsisDeo Oh no doubt, but we all managed just fine without ANC back then, I personally don't like using it when I'm walking about outside and can't use it when I'm with my son or GF. I tend to use Open Shokz just so I can hear what's going on, so with my Pixel Bud Pros, I only really get to use the ANC by myself just to drown out the sound of the washing machine 😅 But realistically, I spent hundreds on earbuds that I basically don't need, I still have the wired Pixel buds that came with my Pixel 3
@@Michael-pi8ps Yes, why buy Adams apron when any apron will do? Well 1. Adam is an independent and worth supporting, Apple is not worth supporting and IP theft is fine when you're talking about multi billion dollar companies that routinely mark up their tech prices by 300%
It is funny how the last video had a lot of comments regarding it advertising apple products. Now there is a clear disclaimer in the description. For me it is still seems like the problem rubbing people the wrong way is still there. Why have the brand and product in the title? Leave it generic. Or why choose apple products for both examples? Something seems suss.
@@forrest225 apple products are a scam and always have been lmao They used apple, because apple paid for the video. It's as simple as that. Adam has sold out.
These "Lumafield" sponsored videos only promoting Apple products sure seems as though Apple sponsored Lumafield, who then sponsored Tested. Regardless, Tested has completely destroyed their reputation with these Apple shill videos. The silence from Adam and Tested regarding the controversy is deafening. I hope you got paid enough to compensate for the loss of viewers and customers. Now is the time for me to reevaluate my subscription and support for this channel.
Only because they compared it to the worst and cheapest knockoffs they could find. You can find far superior alternatives for 1/3 to 1/2 the price of these Apple-branded Chinese products.
In the U.K. the psu is also not grounded. The 3 pin uk adapter does not have any continuity to the grounded pin on the PSU. Some people attach a piece of wire from the 3 pin ground pin into the slot on the back so it grounds to the pin when it’s pushed on the psu. I’d suggest not doing that as no path to ground limits the potential for a shock if you have a grounded laptop on your knee and a voltage source touches you. However people do this a lot to avoid the tingle they get from touching the metal case of the MacBook and a ground/capacitive ground with the other hand.
this channel opened my eyes why apple is expensive because of its complex hardware component. and you can tell the difference between the real and fake in this video.
No no no, that would be crazy because it would show that you can get a comparable, or in many cases better product for a lower price. The whole point to this obvious paid advertisement is to prove that Apple makes the best products in the world (when compared to complete pieces of garbage).
Have a look around online for teardowns of pixel buds or Samsung ones, they’re nowhere near as polished on the inside as the AirPods, doesn’t make for a great video when they don’t look much better than the fakes
This video was really hard to watch and follow along. Please use the pointer to point at things! And please have better side by side comparisons, which are clearly labelled, of the real and fakes.
@@uriituw Uh huh. Ya reckon the next video WON'T be about about Apple then? "Here we compare a MacBook again an Etch-A-Sketch, look at how awesome the Apple product is..." You fanbois are funny.
@@fxm5715 That means it's a bad sponsorship. If I'm gonna sponsor tested to show my technology, I wouldn't have them use it for something it's not useful for.
I suspect these are apple aware counterfeits, this video explains a LOT of issues friends have had with Apple care warranty replacements. Like cases that rattle, shorter battery life, lighter cases, worse sound cancelling, etc. Or they make the counterfeits themselves using old processes to saturate the market and keep real counterfeiter companies out.
They're not grounding the box, the earth is connected to the output cable (low voltage) side. Y'know those stories you hear where they drop their phone into the bathtub and get electrocuted? Well, that's what the ground is for. Sometime plastic boxes are grounded, they're sprayed with nickel paint and that gets grounded, that's usually for reducing RF interference getting into the box though. While I'd agree that "fewer parts doesn't meant deficient", it would of been nice of the fake to add that grounding wire as they also cheap out of the parts that'll cause the electrocution risk in the first place.
@@3D_foos It is undeniable Apple products have exceptional quality of manufacture, you're fooling yourself if you believe otherwise. However the cost of Apple products is at the higher end of the scale, whether you wish to pay is your choice. The pricing model is their choice, clearly they have it right - just look at their sales figures. I'm sick and tired of people moaning about how much they charge, if it is too expensive for you buy a cheaper brand...
all the talk about the genuine apple magsafe charger having less heat to dissipate makes me laugh. My OEM apple brick can fry an egg when it's charging whereas my 20 dollar knockoff one is a lot cooler to the touch.
Yes, same here, the OEM brick can barely deliver enough power - given how hot it got from day 1 on - and definitely has less margin than some of the similar bricks from IBM/Lenovo, HP, etc. Apple products might look & feel premium, technically they're definitely not AAA products, I'd take any Taiwan or Korean brand over Apple branded products when it comes to reliability !
Being cooler to the touch on a power supply is not necessarily a good thing. You want the power supply to be efficient which means Les heat is produced overall but you also want for it to dissipate the heat produced as fast as possible and avoid concentrate it on one point, that could cause a lot of problems. Also you want to make it capable of handling a bad current (which definitely will cause more heat) without passing it to your device. You can bet the OEM charger will do this the right way, and there are third party companies that make even better chargers like those with properly applied GaN tech. That a cheap charger is not getting hot is not necessarily a sign that it's working right, it could be just fine but we won't without testing it.
@@walkinmn What a bunch of gibberish. A poor charger will cook itself or melt in short fashion if the heat doesn't dissipate. If a charger stays cool for a long time, that's a sign of an efficient charger.
When I use to look at counterfeit products on my channel I always thought that the fake items were coming out of the rear door of the factory. Sometimes the similarities are very scary. What's really sad is the 'online' marketplace is alive with fake goods. In the end it's always buyer beware especially if something seems very inexpensive. And what I can never work out is the vendors selling the fake items are not taken down by the big online retailers. And I suppose in the end they don't get taken out because the online site also profits in the selling of fake goods. They just wash their hands of the problem. A bit like the way UA-cam deal with copyright.
You’re absolutely right. I’m certainly no expert on the matter but I’ve been to/worked with suppliers in China. If an order falls through or a buyer wants 500,000 units, it takes some time to get up to speed and meet the buyers specs. Well guess where those “getting up to speed” units go? Hint: not in the trash.
I bought a wooden mask in TONGA about 25 yrs ago and another traveler said to me 'do you know anything about (war) masks ?' to which I answered 'I have to like it before anything else'. I said nothing about internal artistic consistency nor size and weight and appropriateness for the intended display space. It amazes me that so much engineering went into creating the 'apple fakes' yet they all failed on the moment the hand touched the product and inflected upon the senses a moment disingenuity; so sophisticated yet so apparent.
Here is the deal. Apple Airpods cost around $140-$180 USD. The fakes are $20. So you could buy 7-9 pairs of fakes for price of one real pair. I personally wear my headphones all the time, so they wear out fairly quickly. For watching UA-cam vids and stuff, the fakes are perfectly fine. When I go on an airplane and want the best noise-cancellation, I bring the real apple. Otherwise, the $20 pairs work perfect for work and around the house
What are you doing that make your AirPods "wear out"? I have owned my pair for nigh on 4 years now and I use them all day, every day. They're still as good as they were new. The only thing that slightly wore out is the hinge on the case, but no big deal.
When I first saw the advertisements for the AirPods I knew right away they were not going to fit in my ear canals because the part that goes into your ear is hard plastic. I had struggled with apple headphones falling out of my ears after the slightest movement for half a decade and I'd eventually gave up on them, then I found out there are headphones with silicone tips. So smooth And comfortable! A year or two after the AirPods released I saw them advertising AirPods with silicone tips but I already have a good pair of headphones that I didn't need to pay and extra 40$ for the silicone tip ones.
You don't even *have* to buy knock of airpods, there's plenty of professional branded blutooth headphones that works just as good if not better for a cheaper price. Sure it helps to do your research before you buy (looking at you beats) but I swear I'll never go back to apple headphones
The Lumafield imagery is fantastic and I’m really enjoying this way of examining devices and equipment. There is an important thing to keep in mind here about the safety of mains-connected stuff and that is creepage and clearances that separate the high and low-voltage sides of the circuitry, something not readily apparent in these 3D images so far. This is where fakes and cheap gear frequently fail and deaths from electrocution have resulted from not designing these circuits correctly. I would look for slots in PCBs in strategic places and sufficient gaps isolating the high-voltage sections. How can the Lumafield process help to reveal these features so that safety can be assessed more thoroughly?
@@brrrserkr Then this video should not have been a collab with them. I am now less likely to use Lumafield for anything because I saw how useless and borderline idiotic it is to use it for circuit reverse-engineering. This video left a wholly negative impression of their technology because they used it for something it's just not useful for.
"This video is part of a sponsored series with Lumafield, and is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Apple." Doesn't feel like it. Apple isn't the only premium brand worth comparing to here, and if you're only going to highlight and name-call Apple, then it comes off as an endorsement and spotlight which is a scummy way of getting around being an ad for Apple. Shame on you both, Tested and Lumafield. Your samples shouldn't have been named at all, or other premium brands should've been added to the testing and named as well with positive/negative remarked in comparison to Apple. Samsung (and others) all have their counterfeits, and a comparison of Samsung vs their counterfeit alongside Apple and theirs would've made all of this above board AND more educational.
I mean, Big Clive would probably throw up trying to make anything out in that blurry ass image. I think Big Clive would prefer to take something apart to having to guess whether something is a mosfet or a capacitor. And good luck trying to reverse-engineer any kind of circuit with this garbage, which is what Big Clive does.
@@gownerjones Could be handy showing you where the hidden screws and clips are so disassembly won't be as destructive as it usually is. A week back I pried off a retaining ring that I thought unscrewed, and indeed it did. If I'd have known I just needed a bit more brute force I would not have destroyed all the retaining lugs. Hot glued back on, it'll be fine...
Around 3:18, John asks if they want to look at the fake one. At around 4:33, he said that it has less metal than the fake. It even seems like he treats the fake as if it were the real one, and the previous one the fake. I hope I missed something there.
I had the same confusion. I think the editing in this is horrible. They didn't clearly label which one is the fake's Luma scan and which one is the real one. And they constantly mention components like "here you can see a mosfet..." without actually putting any effort into the editing to show what they're pointing to.
Apple use silicone rubber pads for heatsinking, and as a bonus they act as shock absorbers. So yeah, the fakes probably do have more metal. Which one works better in practice who knows, because they never bothered to test the functionality. "Feel the quality of this amazing Apple product in our totally-not-an-ad video!"
One of the issues identifying fakes a lot of the times is that the person who gets the fakes doesn't have a real one next to it to compare.
...and sometimes the knockoff actually "feels" better. I have several electronic devices where the knockoff is actually a better experience to use than the official one.
Of course we have to tear apart our devices to see inside vs having access to expensive equipment and 2 guys to run it.
@@PowerScissor Knockoff products are not counterfeit. Toasted Oats is a generic knockoff of Cheerios, for example.
Counterfeit is selling Toasted Oats in a Cheerios box. It's fraud. You might find a generic item that is superior to the product they're knocking off, but you _will not_ find a "better experience" with counterfeit products.
It’s been known for years that the authorities that inspect currency only study the authentic articles. Such as bank notes and cash bills. When a fake gets passed to them they can tell something is out of specification. 💪👍💰
Nor do we have a CT scanner to look inside.
They have legit s/n too. Easiest way is to call either Apple or local authorized repair place, and ask them to check repair history of the serial. If they’re fake, they’ll have warranty claims from all over the world.
Thanks for sharing this so we can improve the quality of counterfeit airpods.
😂
I mean if they end up selling a better product than Apple, why not? Apple is a rip off even if they over-engineer
If they bothered doing that, then they would just sell their own quality product.
@@gesarts3625But that wouldn't sell, because it doesn't scream:
_"LOOK AT ME, I'M AM APPLE PRODUCT!"_
As well as:
_"LOOK AT ME, I OWN APPLE PRODUCTS!"_
😉
@@gesarts3625 They could, but they couldn't sell if for the same price as Apple products, at least not as successfully. But by pretending to be Apple, they can.
Gotta admit I've come to expect better from you Adam.
I hope this series of ads ends real soon.
I mean the real issue is it's not clearly presented as an ad , but that's a really big issue.
Yes, this is very disappointing behaviour from Adam and Tested.
Hope Adam reads these comments and realises that we aren't drinking his Coolaid.
Half his videos are him reviewing something he got sent for free, all in the hope that we the viewers will buy them.
This is no different.
My guess is that Apple sponsored Lumafield to make videos featuring their products, and Lumafield is fulfilling their obligation by sponsoring Tested in this video. So basically second degree advertising? Any version in which Apple didn't exert any influence that played into this doesn't make any sense to me.
Tested most likely has obligations which force them to release this series even after the backlash of the first video. That must be tough, and I don't think any reaction to the backlash from the first video would've done them any good. Since Tested aren't sponsored directly, it may not have crossed their mind how much of an advertisement this series is going to become, and now they're in the crossfire. Tricky situation.
Between this and the freaking cruise ship series that were obviously hidden advertisement, I'm getting very scared for this channel. Never thought I'd see Adam Savage and Tested go down to this level.
This just look like genuine curiosity to me. Besides, who cares if they're sponsored? Adam and tested have the right to take sponsorships and make a profitable channel.
@@Zydros250 mate, just because you don't care about obscured advertising and don't see a problem, doesn't mean there isn't one. This is advertising that is not stated to be advertising. There is nothing wrong with being sponsored, but acting like your comments are genuine or endorsements, without admitting you are being paid is not only morally reprehensible, it is in most cases illegal, because people should know if they are being advertised to.
This is the second Apple like add i have seen. The one about he charging cables was also sus. It didn't even use the same cable type to compair
One of the principals of Lumafield was a significant person at Apple for a while who helped develop the iPod and the iPhone. He hasn’t worked there since 2008 so I don’t think that connection is the source of this, but in my opinion this series and this marketing push feels like a sales pitch to Apple. Like Lumafield tries to be VERY pro-Apple and paint them in the best light, and then approaches them to negotiate outfitting their engineering teams with scanners or even just setting up a sponsored press run in the future or get first looks at their new products.
Apple products could also be chosen here because they are so ubiquitous and a lot of people want to see under the hood, but that theory is messed up by the overly positive tone and strange lopsided comparison of the cable video.
I’m likely completely wrong about the motivations of this whole thing, but when videos like this feel so strange and one sided you have to wonder what that feeling goes back to.
This is just awful. I am so sad. The scanning tech is super cool - why on earth are you choosing to showcase it by exclusively looking at Apple products, in a deeply biased way, with guys that are just randomly speculating (often confidently incorrectly) about the items? It creates a terrible impression. I love Adam's usual content, and I'd even love to see more Lumafield dives - but good god, not like this.
Couldn't agree more, these type of videos really hit the integrity of the channel.
What’s the problem with them comparing real vs fake apple products? Should he do Louis Vuitton instead?
@@billdivine9501 Them making false claims in favor of the Apple products based on pure speculation.
You are the droid we are looking for! Boy up!
I was hoping for some more interesting discussion of either the scanning tech or the counterfeits. I don't really care which, just expected more meat on this bone.
You know something is up when someone is pretending like AC to DC conversion is some novel and complex process.
It's not novel, but tech for it has improved like GaN, and If you look around you'll find that chargers of different qualities do give different quality of power to the device, from good chargers you get cleaner power without so many spikes as it happens with not so good quality ones, this helps for the overall lifetime of your device
Once again, I wish they would do a scan of other high quality cables and chargers. They keep on comparing it Apple to cheap junk.
I wonder why...
Once again,I wish humans would think lol Completely factoring OUT any possible financial incentive,which would only further the show,and Adam,and the team as whole anyhow,how else does one expect to see what's going in inside of an apple product? Without destroying it? Or,without the option of having Apple themselves provide any information about products,and their inner workings? Honestly.Give me ONE good reason why this is an issue,other than you just wanting to whine about it?
@@jeffdroog And then there's people like you that are self-righteously indignant. You can blame corporate greed for all of this. Corporate greed WANTS to keep wages low so they can further amass wealth. What's the wealthiest company in the world right now? Apple, at about $3,000,000,000,000 in market value. But it doesn't end there, no. Corporate greed and capitalism has pushed the majority of the citizens of the most powerful countries in the world into poverty. Unacceptable wages compared to cost to live are rampant in both the US and China as well as many others. Tell me how this happens in both capitalism and communism based economies. Pure, unchecked and unrestrained greed. Greed that knows the fines are often less than the profitability of illegal acts. This rampant greed pushes the masses into buying the cheapest functional products they can, but we're still vain. Apple is an image brand. If people can look like they use Apple, they get that escapism feeling of not being or appearing poor. if they can get that feeling without spending as much money, they will do it. Because Apple, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and all their copycats have raised two generations of narcissism into our societies now.
I'll give you a good reason with complete disregard to all the above:
Spotlighting Apple like this as "the only" premium brand is an endorsement exclusive to Apple and not others who also make premium products. It's not a fair distinction. If they aren't going to name the counterfeit, then they shouldn't be naming the original either. If they aren't going to present premium alternatives, then they shouldn't be naming Apple. In a nutshell; this is an ad that skirts around officially being an ad which comes off as scummy. "This video is part of a sponsored series with Lumafield, and is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Apple." rings very hollow with this presentation. That's how it feels to skeptics and cynics.
@XionEternum You can't admit to being a skeptic,and a cynic,and then expect anything you think,or believe,actually carries any weight.
I wish they would compare similarly priced alternatives as well as other cheap products that are not trying to be deceptive; Earbuds that are made to be affordable, what is inside them compared to the fake apple look-a-likes?
I was impressed and entertained but would have been more so if you all did heat tests and looked at how clean the power output actually was rather than just guessing by what seemed to be missing.
Hey, you sound just like my neurologist looking at my skull scan ;-)
Some talented engineers spent a lot of time designing counterfeits.
Once they noted the lack of the ground pin being hooked up, I wish that one of them had suggested for end users who don't have an x-ray machine, a simple test. The grounding pin the plug or long corded plug attaches to should pass ground onto the outside metal of the magsafe plug. So in this counterfeit case, simply checking the resistance between the two with an ohmmeter/multimeter would clue you for comparing these two models. I've detected a couple power supplies that would otherwise pass casual inspection and discarded them. Presumably some counterfeit models do have the ground pin connected but obviously not all.
Someone forgot to connect it; that’s all. lol
Do end users have multi meters and knowledge of his to use them? You lost me when you said grounding pin....
@@TheMonkeydood People who do basic repair around their homes likely have multimeters. I've owned a multimeter since I was a kid to check batteries. Checking a ground is as simple as flipping the meter into continuity mode. If it beeps, there is a connection.
I just tested this on my Magsafe 2 charger, and it had no continuity from ground pin to metal on the magnetic connector. I believe it's a real Apple charger (but I will test some of the others I also have laying around, later).
That is fascinating to find out. I'm not sure how Apple would have the MacBook deal safely with static electric sparks if it didn't have the case have a ground to go to. On an old original magsafe connector I get 0.6 ohm resistance. On a magsafe 2 for an air, I get much higher, just under 1k ohms (995 Ω) which typically won't trigger continuity beeps on multimeters. I do note that the anodizing on the outside of the magsafe magnetic head seems to have a high resistance so I check resistance on the flat face that sticks to the macbook body. I haven't had my morning coffee, but it's not clear to me why they'd add the resistance. It is still low enough that it would trigger a GFCI protection circuit which typically fire at 6 mA, so maybe that resistance is some attempt at limiting noise coming in on the ground line or for some reason do a slow discharge of static electricity to ground?@@patrikfloding7985
These CT scans are really cool to see what's going on. Would love to see you also do a tear down of the items also so we can see the actual components :)
I think the inside are potted and solid inside with no air space. You could slice it, but these scans are much better.
@@chiphill4856no someone stepped on my charger before and broke it open. All this is completely visible
Actually, the connection for the lanyard loop is an antenna, gives it a stronger signal for using “Find My” to locate the AirPods.
Damn, I'm buying a lanyard right now!
@@itemushmush well it’s only the metal part of the loop that acts as an antenna. Getting a lanyard doesn’t really make a difference for signal lol
@@huntershortrepairs😂
One lanyard= one metre?
@@NullScar only if it’s a metal lanyard 😅
This video may not be sponsored by apple, but I'm guessing the Lumafield guys definitely are.
We would like to know if Lumafield was in any way sponsored by Apple or an affiliate.
Though Tested may not be associated with Apple, hidden third-party advertising is insidious.
And many times, illegal.
I suspect Lumafield is using Apple products simply for the additional, free exposure. They benefit from all that Apple advertising and brand recognition attracting viewers to Adam's video at no expense beyond what they paid Tested.
Their previous cable comparison was so apples to peaches Brand shilling, they should have revoked their engineering degrees.
Don't get me wrong. Adam is one of my heroes. But why would he make content like this if he wasn't affiliated with Apple? Same as with the Starfield series. This is such an obvious step away from much of his older content.
@georgg.5730 And I don't see any if you sending him money for his hard work lol How else is he supposed to get paid,and continue working,if he his "true fans" won't even send him 1$ to watch him build something worth 1000$ You people upset me lol
Adam please label your "Apple commercials" as such in the future..I think that would save you alot of trouble 😂
if they paid for the product, it's just fanboying, but yeah it gets to be a bit much of drooling over apple, when they (apple) start to support right to repair, I will be good with it, until then, it's just about the money grab.
In the description of the videos they do mention that its a sponsored video
@@BenlshTrackeryeah sponsored by Lumafield, not Apple- they just make well designed products that engineers get excited about
@@BenlshTrackeryes, but not for Apple.
Not sponsored by Apple.
Can't believe y'all are actually releasing this after the whole Thunderbolt vs USB-C Debacle...releasing this video without even acknowledging the problems with the other video is kinda insane.
What issues are you referring to?
@@jeffdroog they compared an apple Thunderbolt cable to a cheap $5 dollar USB-C cable and acted like they were supposed to be the same, that the usbc cable was a cheap "rip off" of the Apple cable, when Thunderbolt and USBC are 2 completely different standards...like literally 99% of the comments were ppl calling that out, but I haven't seen any response from tested.
@@leeward6762 This video is rip-off vs. authentic. The previous one was cheap vs expensive.
The USB C one was a question of why the thunderbolt cable cost so much and looking at the tech inside, not making out the cheap one was a "rip-off" and I don't believe that word or "counterfeit" were mentioned at any point in the other video.
Both videos are adverts for the CT scanning company, so they grabbed two items that would of course be different inside to compare.
@@ironcxctus Cheap Orange vs Expensive Apple will still show you invalid results because they are different things.
@@ironcxctus The point they're trying to make is that you would never buy a plain USB-C cable to be used as a Thunderbolt cable. The two cables use the same connectors, but they are not the same, so comparing them as if they are interchangeable is disingenuous.
My foolproof method of avoiding fake Apple products is to not waste my money on Apple products.
Exactly!
You can't waste money you don't have. Big brain move. :D
I don't think "fake" is an appropriate term. If I buy a pair of Reebok trainers, it's a bit unfair to call them fake if they aren't Nike. It's the same with peripherals. There are plenty of third party peripherals for use with Mac devices that are better than the first party ones that cost less...granted, there's a lot of cheap shit out there...but there's probably just as much good stuff. I've found some amazing "made in china tat" that was built to an incredible standard that looked like cheap knock offs...the thing with Chinese manufacturing is that they stop giving a shit when it comes to how a device looks and feels...but they put the effort in where it counts...for example, audio amplifiers...there are tons of cheap amps out there and they all look like garbage...but there are gems that can be found and sometimes those gems are better than a branded alternative that costs 10x the price. Yeah it'd be great if we could buy things at competitive prices from manufacturers in our own countries, but unfortunately that isn't possible right now with the way the global supply chain works and in a lot of cases, we produce inferior shit for orders of magnitude more cost.
@@Yakuzaka1412 No, I just spend it on not shit products.
@@pipeninja4741 "Fake" is appropriate. They aren't genuine Apple products.
I don't need an irrelevant rambling essay.
This is easy... If the product is affordable, works well and connects to multiple devices easily then its obviously not an apple product.
Ah, i found some Apple Investors like Bruner Fadell are invested in Lumafield. Explains the Apple push from Lumafield.
As for the ground pin, Apple sells a 2m extension cable in the US which replaces the fold out prongs, and that does include a ground pin.
Came here to report this, so instead I’ll just concur!
back in the day (late 2008) when I bought my first macbook, it came with both the two prong plug, and a 3 prong extension cable as standard provision. Nowdays, many electronics seem to come standard with no charger at all :(
Another apple commercial!! That's two commercials already in a span of a month.
Two commercials that aren't disclosed as such, here lies the real issue.
How to make an ad for Apple products without making an ad for Apple products. I know this is a sponsored series with Lumafield, but I have my doubts that Lumafield isn't getting paid by Apple for this.
I can't stand these sponsorships that have almost no connection to the spirit of the channel. I couldn't stand one second of the cruise ship videos, and this has the same vibe.
Cruise ship one was pretty cool. These ones not so much
I feel the opposite. Cruise ships were cringe, these are neat as long as you look past the obsessive Apple fanboying.
Please tell me where you bought the fake AirPod, my original ones are always broken
10:24 in the UK, if it is double shielded, it does not need to be grounded. It would need at least a plastic 3rd pin to open the shutter over the live and neutral. It does have a conductive pin, so well done Apple for taking the better engineered option 👍
Looks like Apple took the sensible overengineered approach with a universal adapter able to take 240V a/c. This tends to make the electronics run warmer, so I'll bet that large heat sink is to help compensate.
Except it did not make use of that grounded pin. The removable connector for the plug does not have any metal in the socket to connect it to the ground pin. Making it just a two-pin ungrounded connection. Such a simple thing to miss out on when going through the rest of the effort making it completely pointless.
@@nous404 but it's not pointless - by being double isolated it doesn't need a 'earth' pin at all. The 'earth' pin, metal or plastic, is only there to open the live / neutral shutters on the plug socket itself.
But the metal macbook is not shielded, i have no idea but does it need to be grounded in the adapter because it is connected to a non shielded item?
@@nous404 this is correct, however oddly the cables that you can attach to the power brick are grounded and do use this pin in the UK. I always prefer this as I can feel the voltage differential on a charging macbook case if only the snub plug is attached.
@@torquilh I haven't seen one, but I expect like most laptop power adaptors the adaptor is double shielded, delivering only 19V DC (or whatever voltage a MacBook uses). Not sure about the US or elsewhere, but if a device (power adapter in this case) in the UK has the symbol of a pair of squares, one inside the other, it indicates it is double shielded and does not need an earth/ground connection. Still needs the pin to open the safety shutters on the socket.
Now I'm convinced the cheaper charger is a VERY GOOD choice lol
totally depends on the cheaper charger, especially with the USB-C ports.
I've seen some adapters with USB-C and no power negotiation (USB power delivery) , that one put out one voltage that could destroy your hardware.
as long as it has the Power Delivery with that cheaper one it should be fine
@@ShockburnVRI have no problem with counterfeit things if they do what they're functionally supposed to do because at that point you're paying extra for superficial details like if my 3 dollar charge brick charges my hypothetical iPhone and it won't light on fire illl take iiiiiiiiit
A (very)cheap standard USB charger completely killed my previous phone(with a bang in the charger), so yeah don't assume they're all "fine". In my life I'd never had a problem with power adaptors, let alone with what should always just have been a 5V DC output, so I didn't even think about it beforehand.
Some are perfectly fine, others aren't.
I would be worried about the isolation in the fake. The wire insulation in the transformer could break down and all of the sudden, you've got 240V AC on your output.
Cheap chargers can and have killed people. It may appear to be working fine until you touch your laptop or phone and something grounded at the same time and now you can't let go.
The surrounding 4 magnets are actually for the iPhone MagSafe charger. Only the central magnet is for the Apple Watch MagSafe charger.
best real vs fake comparision on youtube. Please make one with airpods max. Thank you.
More evidence that this channel has sold out to big corporate. This is just another Tested commercial...
Its a Lumafield sponsored video about their scanners. Its literally in the description.
I bought some $10 lenovo airpods from Aliexpress about a year ago. Up until that point I was buying wired earbuds every 4-6 months. I am amazed by wireless buds, even the cheapo ones. I didn't even dream about this being possible 15 years ago, much less for just $10.
But how do you know it's lenovo? Lots of fake sellers on Aliex...
I've recently got myself Moondrop's Space Travel TWS. Active noise canceling, very good sound quality, all bells and whistles, a very nice design on top.
25$ with shipping.
Daaaamn.
@@mrm1885 I don't care, tbh. I bought them because they were cheap and wanted to try this new-fangled wireless technology.
I got some fake airpod pro 2s to try out after always using wired earbuds forever, weird having this video pop up, and the fake airpods have quickly become my main earbuds. They actually sound great and they work exactly how I’d want.
The battery life is probably not as good as apples though lol
The point is it doesnt matter if they are GOOD QUALITY, All "Apple" products are made by other companies anyway, their Phones are mostly Samsung components assembled by Foxconn.. The Label really doesnt matter in the end@@mrm1885
you can tell a real apple product when you ask for spares or a schematic. Apple just say no , ha ha you spent $3000 and a laptop and we refuse to sell you a screen.
It's because you aren't purchasing an apple product,as far as owning the thing goes.You're purchasing the agreement to use their product,until they decide they don't want you to use their product.They own everything real,and you own the sense of entitlement lol
I don't need any . @@CaptainHoratioPugwash
@@jeffdroog That's not how European law works.
@@CaptainHoratioPugwash That's because getting a full replacement is cheaper than fixing it; that is fair game.
Because if you or your ‘tech guy’ screws up with replacement of screen it was you to scream all over the world that their products are bad and work like POS. Eliminating third party interference in their products makes product handling way easier
So Adam no longer supports right to repair? You can't be sponcered and support Apple and also suport right to repair.
I remember Adam's fervent advocation for Right to Repair back in the day. And now such obvious showcasing for one of the biggest and most arrogant opponents of that concept? I do hope so, so much that this is not what it looks like...
Exactly. It's like he's been paid off
Might not be sponsored by apple but you guys clearly are simping pretty hard for them.
My guess is Apple paid Lumafield, the CT scan company, for a series of ads. Lumifield sponsors Adam Savage's Tested (this is disclosed in the text below the video, but not in the video itself). It will be pretty obvious if there is another Apple product examined against competitors.
@@InXLsisDeo100% this is what is happening here.
A hit on the integrity this one..
Amazing how some radio stations can't mention brand names, like Samsung when they release superior phones, yet when a new iphone comes out with lower specs, they start talking about it.
This channel has turned into an Apple ad real quick.
It's both a question of finding counterfeit electronics, as well as consumer advice. Apple chargers and cables are expensive, so users can easily be tempted into buying similar-looking fakes. Showing the factual differences is important and it's good consumer advice. Apple devices are studied and copied by third parties to a far larger extent than any other brand which also means it's easier do find items to make a video about.
This was so educational! I just love my AirPods Pro and am so impressed by the quality of sound but the range of the Bluetooth from the phone is incredible!
"not sponsored in any way by Apple"
Yeah, sure. I'll believe that once you make videos like this that aren't about Apple products.
Which no-one would watch. I wonder why they don't make them. Like it or not, Apple gets clicks. For instance, from you.
@@ErwinPommel They'd get me to actually watch the video rather than call them out on their antics if it were something else.
Schilling for a company thay notoriously gives zero cares about quality control....priceless
Apple? They have some of the best quality control in the industry.
/me laughs in glued in spicy pillow.
@@jamespeirce2582 I'll let my brother know that after four laptops and seven phones all bloody useless from the get go due to piss poor QC. I called him an idiot after the third round, but he was an Apple "Fan" and couldn't resist...now he knows better.
@jamespeirce2582 having your new top of the line phone being able to be broken by someone's bare hands when no other major phone has done that before sure is quality
it amazes me on how these companies can visually make a perfect looking hooky electrical device but always fail on the packaging. I brought some dodgy "beats" ear buds once for my lad but the box looked like it was made in my garage, otherwise it was identical ,even in sound quality to my original ones. Its a really interesting video as I have some apple AirPods and always wanted to know what's in side the gloss white casing
I suspect most companies are happy to sell (or look the other way when their manufacturer) sells off excess casings for their products as a side deal. Like how Nike allows a certain number of "damaged" shoes into the local economy as a supplement to salaries, knowing the workers can just sew a check onto the shoes they "rejected" and failed to destroy.
@@littlekong7685 Yeah. There's a fairly long history of factory managers doing some undocumented overtime production, skimming off products marked defective or what have you and selling them through back channels. When it's a more modest product, they generally overlook it until such time as something happens that forces them to officially notice it. Luxury products... entirely different story. They don't want poor people walking around with anything that looks like their product, because a whole chunk of their customer base is only buying it for status reasons: they want to show off that they're wealthy, and that doesn't work if the poors are walking around with something that looks the same.
All that effort to make AirPods sound great, and yet no lossless audio.
I would have like to see a sound quality test as that is the most important thing to me in audio devices... It would probably show more flaws in the knock-offs!
I mean if you want good sound there are plenty of tws earbuds that have good sound and are cheaper than the airpods pro, I don't think anyone would buy counterfeit airpods (knowingly) expecting similar sound quality
You might be surprised. The sound quality on the airpods are actually pretty poor.
It would show huge flaws in the originals.
Perfectly acceptable for third party to design their own earbuds but not to create counterfeits. The consumer can end up with defective products and the manufacturer, in this case Apple, loses a sale.
@@funtechuit's not
Aren't they supposed to reveal sponsorships? Apple paid somebody!
Do you have evidence of this? If so I’ll be disappointed; they should disclose if Apple or anyone sponsored this.
Another great apple ad
Continue to be disappointed by this weird Super Pro Apple push, this weird pro bono marketing really puts me off from trusting anything being endorsed by the channel. The tech being demo'd is absolutely awesome, but I would love to see this series show the difference between more competing products and not the cheapest garbage versus Apple's super overpriced gear, I want to see a 130$ Apple Thunderbolt cable against an Thunderbolt cable, and not a throw away standard USB cable.
I want to see Air Pod Pros up against similar ANC Stem style Ear buds like the Anker Sound Core 4s at less than half the price.
By all means, include some cheap crap knock offs as well to show what bad quality looks like, but this series is doing more to make me not trust the channel, and I've been a viewer for years and have watched hundreds of their videos.
Hopefully this video is a bit more clearly objective than the charger cable one.
At least it's an actual bootleg and not a completely distinct class of product
I quite enjoyed the charge cable one!
@@jsollowsphotography lol
@@jsollowsphotography the lumafield is absolutely fascinating! But to a lot of people it felt like there was a bad comparison between the subjects. Those cables weren't even trying to come close to Apple's Thunderbolt 4, so it was disingenuous to call them knockoffs. Sort of like comparing a golf cart to a Rolls Royce and saying the cart is a poor imitation, that's how many viewers took it
CT scanner is an awesome tool that reveals the true quality and end purpose of the product. Outstanding comparison awareness.
I guess my only issue with using Apple as the bar is that yes, it's highly evolved but it's also priced based on its name, rather than the cost. It would be interesting to see something non fashion related with a similar comparison.
Love this commercial so much, I'm going to buy an Apple airpod now even though I don't own any Iphone.
Don't worry, the fake cheapass iPhone vs the Apple iPhone 13 Pro is coming next !
Buy Sony, Samsung or Sennheiser
@@hiltong524 Only if Tested do any commercials on them!
Uh this is the worst way I can think to compare them.. how they look on a CT scan? Who cares? Test their output on a scope.. open them and look at components with your eyes and explain why it's better.
This is straight propaganda for apple.
and you really think taking things apart is the only way to solution? That you cant see the value of being able to see through how small products are constructed without taking them apart which could in the progress damaging the product itself?
@@iforkinglovelemonade Face it, it's a sales pitch and a bad comparison. The fakes might actually perform better for all we know.
Its actually a sales pitch for the CT scanning software they're using.
To expensive . To open an apple would void the warranty.
@@JamieDelour Given that they were able to show missing components just by looking inside, I would say it's pretty conclusive that these are not providing the same level of features as the authentic version. And given the extra potential interference and noise there's no way they would be better.
Can't believe I'm seeing this video after the reaction to the other one, Tested has no shame.
They also probably have a contract that they can't get out of.
@@gownerjones If they valued the respect of their audience they would foot whatever early termination fee they need to to exit the contract.
@@gownerjonesthen more fool them for entering into a contract that doesn't include a get it clause for bringing the channel into disrepute or harming their reputation.
The amazing thing about the cheap, worst fakes is that if you took them back to 1985, they'd still blow every electrical engineer's mind.
Adam Apple's Tested
Seriously makes you appreciate the extreme attention to detail by Apple's engineering and industrial design teams, not to mention their managers and support staff to pull this together. It's just breathtaking.
engineers and designers? yes. managers? they're just drum beaters.
@@henhen7890 designers and engineers are lost without direction and problems to solve.
Not sure if someone else already covered this, but the reason they have the grounding connection in the genuine one isn't just for UK users. The US version also has a 3-prong extension cord that can be swapped out for the 2-prong duckhead, so that ground connection needs to be there for the US, too.
Also (of course) most other countries use 3 wires for their power plugs. In Europe (for example) there are regulations when your power cord needs to have 3 wires.
I absolutely *love* manufactured fakes. They're such an amazing window into the goals of production. Doubly so for everyday items!
And dangerous as shit.
The CT scans are amazing
Regarding UK and PSU grounding, part of the story is PAT testing requirements (it does not look like these units are double insulated). Therefore, these fakes can probably be classed as measurably "risky".
Funny part is $1 earbuds from dollar tree have always lasted me longer than the expensive apple earbuds.
😂 did ye aye?
To be quite honest, I'm also disappointed about how fast my left earpod got significantly more quiet than the right one in such a short timespan. This is what keeps me from enjoying a set of airpods long term, and is exactly what they want: reoccurring customers.
People spending so much money on headphones make me laugh. I'd rather save for early retirement rather than some expensive earbuds that will break or get lost.
@@FreejackVesaPeople who judge others make me laugh.
@@CT-vm4gf Right? What a stupid statement. I hope they also don't buy anything else expensive then ever, as every penny gotta be put into that early retirement bank-account!
Used to be in US you got a 6 foot three prong extender cord that snapped on as an alternative to the fiddly prongs in the box that was grounded and that is exclusively what I try to use. After a while the folding prongs tend to wear out and start arcing especially when not cared for.
Please! Why did you not take them apart to compare with the scans?
Here we go again
that's not a MOV, it's an NTC thermistor. saying "i can tell by the way the legs are attached" is idiotic at best.
Also, i would like to point out, that not only is there better heat dissipation, there is also much better separation between the high voltage, and the low voltage sides on the knock-off than on the genuine version.
At the end of the day, there are only two things to think about.
1) Do you want to pay through the nose for apple's "handshake" protocol which serves no purpose other than to hike the price up on apple cables and chargers
2) Does the device safely, and cleanly deliver the required power for the device.
That's it. Just because a product is over engineered does not make it better. Ask anyone who's had to have their iPhone cracked screen replaced.
It kinda goes to show you, that if you were happy with your ear bud quality 10-15 years ago, there is no reason to buy genuine ear buds that cost 6x more today. The fakes probably sound great compared to the headphones and earbuds we all used last decade.
The most important difference is the noise cancelling tech, which is at best primitive in the fake ones.
I mean that’s fine if you’re okay with supporting IP theft.
Why buy Adam’s Apron or pouch set when you can buy a just as good knock off?
@@InXLsisDeo Oh no doubt, but we all managed just fine without ANC back then, I personally don't like using it when I'm walking about outside and can't use it when I'm with my son or GF. I tend to use Open Shokz just so I can hear what's going on, so with my Pixel Bud Pros, I only really get to use the ANC by myself just to drown out the sound of the washing machine 😅
But realistically, I spent hundreds on earbuds that I basically don't need, I still have the wired Pixel buds that came with my Pixel 3
@@Michael-pi8ps Yes, why buy Adams apron when any apron will do? Well 1. Adam is an independent and worth supporting, Apple is not worth supporting and IP theft is fine when you're talking about multi billion dollar companies that routinely mark up their tech prices by 300%
@@InXLsisDeo There's something off sounding even with the real ones. I rather hear a little background noise than have the audio distorted.
It is funny how the last video had a lot of comments regarding it advertising apple products. Now there is a clear disclaimer in the description. For me it is still seems like the problem rubbing people the wrong way is still there. Why have the brand and product in the title? Leave it generic. Or why choose apple products for both examples? Something seems suss.
um… because other brands dont get exact copies like Apple?
Like it or not apple products are associated with quality and frequently faked, which makes them a perfect subject for this series.
@@forrest225 apple products are a scam and always have been lmao
They used apple, because apple paid for the video. It's as simple as that. Adam has sold out.
Next week on Tested... we compare the new Apple iPhone 15 to a Carrier Pigeon. Totally not sponsored content.
These "Lumafield" sponsored videos only promoting Apple products sure seems as though Apple sponsored Lumafield, who then sponsored Tested. Regardless, Tested has completely destroyed their reputation with these Apple shill videos. The silence from Adam and Tested regarding the controversy is deafening. I hope you got paid enough to compensate for the loss of viewers and customers. Now is the time for me to reevaluate my subscription and support for this channel.
Hilariously the first add that played during this video was for a cheap charger billed as the fastest charger available on the internet. LOL
I didn't have Adam Savage selling out to Apple on this years bingo card.
First it was USB C cables now it's Airpods. Of course there's no Apple involvement, we believe you Adam!
The ones that cost 10 times more are better....wow im shocked!!😂
Only because they compared it to the worst and cheapest knockoffs they could find. You can find far superior alternatives for 1/3 to 1/2 the price of these Apple-branded Chinese products.
In the U.K. the psu is also not grounded. The 3 pin uk adapter does not have any continuity to the grounded pin on the PSU. Some people attach a piece of wire from the 3 pin ground pin into the slot on the back so it grounds to the pin when it’s pushed on the psu. I’d suggest not doing that as no path to ground limits the potential for a shock if you have a grounded laptop on your knee and a voltage source touches you. However people do this a lot to avoid the tingle they get from touching the metal case of the MacBook and a ground/capacitive ground with the other hand.
As much as I love Adam and the team, this channel is becoming an ad for Apple huh.
this channel opened my eyes why apple is expensive because of its complex hardware component. and you can tell the difference between the real and fake in this video.
Out of the unfathomable number of interesting and obscure objects in the world to scan, we scan anti-right to repair Apple accessories.
Hard pass.
It would be cool to compare the Apple to Google equivalent. How do the pixel buds look?
No no no, that would be crazy because it would show that you can get a comparable, or in many cases better product for a lower price. The whole point to this obvious paid advertisement is to prove that Apple makes the best products in the world (when compared to complete pieces of garbage).
@@CarbonatedTurtle on California they aren't aware anyone else makes devices
Have a look around online for teardowns of pixel buds or Samsung ones, they’re nowhere near as polished on the inside as the AirPods, doesn’t make for a great video when they don’t look much better than the fakes
Blaaah.... Apple ad..... Pass.......
This video was really hard to watch and follow along. Please use the pointer to point at things! And please have better side by side comparisons, which are clearly labelled, of the real and fakes.
first time seeing this kind of comparison against the fake ones, love it.. thanks for all the info
This episode brought to you by Apple.
Nonsense.
@@uriituw Once is accidental, twice is coincidence, third time is -enemy action- paid advert.
@@j.f.christ8421 There’s no evidence that’s the case.
@@uriituw Uh huh. Ya reckon the next video WON'T be about about Apple then? "Here we compare a MacBook again an Etch-A-Sketch, look at how awesome the Apple product is..." You fanbois are funny.
Woulda been a far more interesting and comparable demo if you actually broke them all open and compared them.
But then the Lumafield check would have bounced.
And that would completely defeat the purpose of the Lumafield sponsorship.
@@fxm5715 That means it's a bad sponsorship. If I'm gonna sponsor tested to show my technology, I wouldn't have them use it for something it's not useful for.
the important question here is... where can I get the counterfeit version at a good price?
AliExpress
I suspect these are apple aware counterfeits, this video explains a LOT of issues friends have had with Apple care warranty replacements. Like cases that rattle, shorter battery life, lighter cases, worse sound cancelling, etc. Or they make the counterfeits themselves using old processes to saturate the market and keep real counterfeiter companies out.
There is no way to usefully ground a plastic box. There is no reason to believe a device with fewer parts is deficient, It could be a better design.
They're not grounding the box, the earth is connected to the output cable (low voltage) side. Y'know those stories you hear where they drop their phone into the bathtub and get electrocuted? Well, that's what the ground is for.
Sometime plastic boxes are grounded, they're sprayed with nickel paint and that gets grounded, that's usually for reducing RF interference getting into the box though. While I'd agree that "fewer parts doesn't meant deficient", it would of been nice of the fake to add that grounding wire as they also cheap out of the parts that'll cause the electrocution risk in the first place.
Big question - how stable and accurate is the power output?
They don't test if it's worth the cost.
Probably because they don't want to upset Apple xD
they can't show that as it would show that apple is the real fraud and the payola for undisclosed advertisements would dry up.
@@3D_foos It is undeniable Apple products have exceptional quality of manufacture, you're fooling yourself if you believe otherwise. However the cost of Apple products is at the higher end of the scale, whether you wish to pay is your choice. The pricing model is their choice, clearly they have it right - just look at their sales figures. I'm sick and tired of people moaning about how much they charge, if it is too expensive for you buy a cheaper brand...
"Sketchy Something" on ebay
😂😂😂
Yes, please talk about why laptops have the whole electrical feel to them.
this feels like a great avenue for you to explain to consumers why cheaper - can be dangerous, and a great way for anker to sponsor a video. lol
all the talk about the genuine apple magsafe charger having less heat to dissipate makes me laugh. My OEM apple brick can fry an egg when it's charging whereas my 20 dollar knockoff one is a lot cooler to the touch.
Yes, same here, the OEM brick can barely deliver enough power - given how hot it got from day 1 on - and definitely has less margin than some of the similar bricks from IBM/Lenovo, HP, etc. Apple products might look & feel premium, technically they're definitely not AAA products, I'd take any Taiwan or Korean brand over Apple branded products when it comes to reliability !
Being cooler to the touch on a power supply is not necessarily a good thing. You want the power supply to be efficient which means Les heat is produced overall but you also want for it to dissipate the heat produced as fast as possible and avoid concentrate it on one point, that could cause a lot of problems. Also you want to make it capable of handling a bad current (which definitely will cause more heat) without passing it to your device. You can bet the OEM charger will do this the right way, and there are third party companies that make even better chargers like those with properly applied GaN tech. That a cheap charger is not getting hot is not necessarily a sign that it's working right, it could be just fine but we won't without testing it.
@@walkinmn What a bunch of gibberish. A poor charger will cook itself or melt in short fashion if the heat doesn't dissipate. If a charger stays cool for a long time, that's a sign of an efficient charger.
Disappointed that Adam didn’t whip out a scale to weigh the items they kept trying to compare by hand.
When I use to look at counterfeit products on my channel I always thought that the fake items were coming out of the rear door of the factory. Sometimes the similarities are very scary. What's really sad is the 'online' marketplace is alive with fake goods. In the end it's always buyer beware especially if something seems very inexpensive. And what I can never work out is the vendors selling the fake items are not taken down by the big online retailers. And I suppose in the end they don't get taken out because the online site also profits in the selling of fake goods. They just wash their hands of the problem. A bit like the way UA-cam deal with copyright.
You’re absolutely right. I’m certainly no expert on the matter but I’ve been to/worked with suppliers in China. If an order falls through or a buyer wants 500,000 units, it takes some time to get up to speed and meet the buyers specs. Well guess where those “getting up to speed” units go? Hint: not in the trash.
I bought a wooden mask in TONGA about 25 yrs ago and another traveler said to me 'do you know anything about (war) masks ?' to which I answered 'I have to like it before anything else'. I said nothing about internal artistic consistency nor size and weight and appropriateness for the intended display space. It amazes me that so much engineering went into creating the 'apple fakes' yet they all failed on the moment the hand touched the product and inflected upon the senses a moment disingenuity; so sophisticated yet so apparent.
i dont care about the products.. but these videos are so entertaining
If you use a cord on the brick, it has a 3 prong plug (in the US)
Here is the deal. Apple Airpods cost around $140-$180 USD. The fakes are $20. So you could buy 7-9 pairs of fakes for price of one real pair. I personally wear my headphones all the time, so they wear out fairly quickly. For watching UA-cam vids and stuff, the fakes are perfectly fine. When I go on an airplane and want the best noise-cancellation, I bring the real apple. Otherwise, the $20 pairs work perfect for work and around the house
What are you doing that make your AirPods "wear out"? I have owned my pair for nigh on 4 years now and I use them all day, every day. They're still as good as they were new. The only thing that slightly wore out is the hinge on the case, but no big deal.
When I first saw the advertisements for the AirPods I knew right away they were not going to fit in my ear canals because the part that goes into your ear is hard plastic. I had struggled with apple headphones falling out of my ears after the slightest movement for half a decade and I'd eventually gave up on them, then I found out there are headphones with silicone tips. So smooth And comfortable!
A year or two after the AirPods released I saw them advertising AirPods with silicone tips but I already have a good pair of headphones that I didn't need to pay and extra 40$ for the silicone tip ones.
You don't even *have* to buy knock of airpods, there's plenty of professional branded blutooth headphones that works just as good if not better for a cheaper price. Sure it helps to do your research before you buy (looking at you beats) but I swear I'll never go back to apple headphones
@@johnrivers3813 States cheaper headphones work better than airpod pro, while also stating you don't have the pro's. What a dumb comment.
The Lumafield imagery is fantastic and I’m really enjoying this way of examining devices and equipment. There is an important thing to keep in mind here about the safety of mains-connected stuff and that is creepage and clearances that separate the high and low-voltage sides of the circuitry, something not readily apparent in these 3D images so far. This is where fakes and cheap gear frequently fail and deaths from electrocution have resulted from not designing these circuits correctly. I would look for slots in PCBs in strategic places and sufficient gaps isolating the high-voltage sections. How can the Lumafield process help to reveal these features so that safety can be assessed more thoroughly?
Scans are awesome, but those totally should just have been disassembled and observed by Zach directly. It's not like its hard at all.
This is a show and tell for what their company does, disassembling it would not really show what they do.
@@brrrserkr fair enough
@@brrrserkr Then this video should not have been a collab with them. I am now less likely to use Lumafield for anything because I saw how useless and borderline idiotic it is to use it for circuit reverse-engineering. This video left a wholly negative impression of their technology because they used it for something it's just not useful for.
@@gownerjonesdude, shut up already.
I'm not sure the apple products would (by design) survive disassembly. The fakes would for sure though.
to be honest this needs to just be its own channel or reoccurring series of videos just looking inside things.
does this channel value integrity or should we consider that myth busted?
"This video is part of a sponsored series with Lumafield, and is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Apple."
Doesn't feel like it. Apple isn't the only premium brand worth comparing to here, and if you're only going to highlight and name-call Apple, then it comes off as an endorsement and spotlight which is a scummy way of getting around being an ad for Apple. Shame on you both, Tested and Lumafield. Your samples shouldn't have been named at all, or other premium brands should've been added to the testing and named as well with positive/negative remarked in comparison to Apple. Samsung (and others) all have their counterfeits, and a comparison of Samsung vs their counterfeit alongside Apple and theirs would've made all of this above board AND more educational.
This seems like something big clive could use instead of the old brute force methods.
But, but, I love the Vise of Knowledge!
I mean, Big Clive would probably throw up trying to make anything out in that blurry ass image. I think Big Clive would prefer to take something apart to having to guess whether something is a mosfet or a capacitor. And good luck trying to reverse-engineer any kind of circuit with this garbage, which is what Big Clive does.
@@gownerjones Could be handy showing you where the hidden screws and clips are so disassembly won't be as destructive as it usually is. A week back I pried off a retaining ring that I thought unscrewed, and indeed it did. If I'd have known I just needed a bit more brute force I would not have destroyed all the retaining lugs. Hot glued back on, it'll be fine...
Where can I buy these beautiful knockoffs? Best value for the price.
Around 3:18, John asks if they want to look at the fake one. At around 4:33, he said that it has less metal than the fake. It even seems like he treats the fake as if it were the real one, and the previous one the fake.
I hope I missed something there.
I had the same confusion. I think the editing in this is horrible. They didn't clearly label which one is the fake's Luma scan and which one is the real one. And they constantly mention components like "here you can see a mosfet..." without actually putting any effort into the editing to show what they're pointing to.
Apple use silicone rubber pads for heatsinking, and as a bonus they act as shock absorbers. So yeah, the fakes probably do have more metal. Which one works better in practice who knows, because they never bothered to test the functionality. "Feel the quality of this amazing Apple product in our totally-not-an-ad video!"
Not sure why they didn’t just take the power supplies apart and look at the components directly. 🤔