California man buys fake tech from AliExpress and ends up finding some hidden gems

A California man decided to buy some fake tech from AliExpress.

And some of the items ended up really surprising him.

The YouTuber wanted to put the Chinese online platform to the test.

But he accidentally ended up finding some hidden gems in the process.

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YouTuber puts AliExpress tech to the test

Have you ever considered buying tech from AliExpress?

Various figures online have tried similar things – with varying results.

Some have had true horror stories, while others have dug up unexpected successes.

Well, YouTuber Austin Evans wanted to see the results for himself.

So he decided to put AliExpress to the test with an order of his own.

But what tech did Austin decide to try out?

Well, it was a variety of gaming and mobile phone tech.

And the results were varied.

First up was what AliExpress calls the ‘FPS Controller.’

This is a joystick-shaped gaming device that cost $31.

The YouTuber actually found this surprisingly decent, but he did have concerns about the long-term quality of the product.

Next up was the ‘S25 Ultra’, and you can probably guess what this is.

It’s a direct clone of the Samsung S25 smartphone.

In fairness, it actually did look the part from a distance.

Unfortunately, however, the camera quality was poor, and the performance was sluggish.

Then there was another Samsung ‘alternative’ to test – a fake pair of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

Like the phone, these looked very similar to the real thing.

But they noticeably lacked the sound and build quality of the real product.

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One highlight actually stands out

But there was a major highlight of the haul: The ‘R36S Emulator,’ a hand-held retro gaming console.

It actually performed very well for the price, and is capable of running several games smoothly.

So what overall conclusion did Austin reach from the AliExpress haul?

The best fake by far was the R36S Emulator.

It provided genuine quality for those gamers on a budget.

Smartphones, however, like the S25 Ultra, continue to be the biggest gamble.

Most of these products tend to use ancient versions of Android software.

These are then modified to look like modern software – but they have significantly weaker processors than their genuine counterparts.

The most damning verdict, though, comes with overall build quality.

Most of the products tested suffer from ‘creaky’ plastic and poor haptics.

“Every time y’all do an AliExpress video, you end up finding some excellent hidden gems,” was the top comment.

The video serves as a reminder to viewers that you get what you pay for.