Utah man buys fake Apple products before they disappear to see what they're actually like

A tech expert bought some fake Apple products, including an iPhone 17, to take a closer look and find out if they’re worth it.

YouTuber and tech reviewer JohnZoid regularly buys fake items online and breaks down exactly what you’re getting for your money. 

He explained that once he buys something and makes a video about it, it’s usually swiftly removed from sale on Amazon, but that there are other websites where its still very easy to pick up fakes.

In a recent video, he bought fake Apple products, including an iPhone 17 Pro Max, some AirPods, and a pair of Beats – here’s what he discovered.

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His haul of fake Apple products included an iPhone 17 and AirPods

John explained in the clip that he makes the videos as an educational resource and to build some awareness around the fakes and dupes that can be picked up online for cheap. 

He kicked off the video by opening up the fake iPhone 17 Pro Max, and upon first glance, it looked ‘very convincing’. 

The packaging was as you’d expect, and the phone itself seemed like the real deal. 

But after switching it on, John noticed that the operating system the phone was running on didn’t look like the recently released iOS 26.

Taking a deeper dive into the phone’s specs, so opened up the settings to get a better look.

Here, he found that the phone was claiming to have 100GB of internal storage and 20 GB of RAM.

But using a secondary app, he discovered it had just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. 

The CPU was using a MediaTek Helio P22 chipset, which John tested and said scored worse than any phone he’d ever seen. 

He also discovered that despite having three lenses on the back of the phone, it only had one camera. 

Not only that, but when John tried to install apps on it, he found that most weren’t compatible, and even after putting in a test SIM card he wasn’t able to make a call or send a text. 

So, all in all, not a great buy. 

Next up, he looked at a pair of Beats, which looked very similar to the real ones but were missing a bunch of features, including the heart rate sensor. 

And – most importantly – the sound quality was ‘like you’re in a tin can’, which isn’t what you want from a pair of headphones. 

It was a similar story for the fake AirPods Max, which looked very similar to the real thing and even came with fake serial numbers. 

However, the sound quality was miles away from the real Apple AirPods, and they felt ‘flimsy’ and a bit worn out, despite seemingly being brand-new.

You’ve probably heard the expression, ‘if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is’, and that was certainly the case for these fakes. 

Despite more or less looking like real Apple products, the quality and technology just weren’t there, with John warning folks to avoid buying fakes as they’re simply not worth it.

He issued a warning to anyone hoping to grab a bargain

The YouTuber warned that even if you avoid buying fake Apple products from the likes of Temu, Wish, and AliExpress, it doesn’t mean you won’t get stung. 

Some unscrupulous sellers will buy a fake online and then relist it as a brand-new and legitimate product on Facebook Marketplace or other resale sites. 

And, because the packaging and products look so much like the real thing, an unsuspecting buyer might end up forking out top dollar for the fake. 

“I guess the point I’m trying to get across is how horrible it would be if you paid someone for this piece of junk,” he said after reviewing the fake iPhone.

John’s advice? If you want to buy a new Apple product, either buy it directly from Apple or head to a trusted retailer. 

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