An iPhone X clone called the S9 spotted at MWC – CNET

It’s probably not a surprise anymore when a Chinese company blatantly clones other phones to catch eyeballs, but you have to give it to Leagoo for having the gall to do it at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where Samsung’s currently showing off its new Galaxy S9.

The phone in question, the Leagoo S9, basically is a $150 (around £110 and AU$190 converted) Android-powered device boasting a notch similar to the one found on Apple‘s iPhone X while sharing the same name as Samsung’s latest. The notch apparently lets you unlock the phone with your face, but it doesn’t appear to have the infrared dot projectors found on the iPhone X.

Other features include a 5.85-inch display, 4GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage as well as dual 13-megapixel rear cameras. That’s actually pretty decent for its price, and mind you, you do get a iPhone X clone that you can proudly show off to your Samsung loving friends who may or may not have already preordered the new Galaxy S9.

But it’s not fair to paint all Chinese electronics companies with the same brush, as some really are trying to innovate. Take Vivo, for instance. It showed off a new concept phone at MWC that features minimal bezels and a crazy, pop-up selfie camera.

Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus: Hands-on with Samsung’s iPhone X fighters.

MWC 2018: All of CNET’s coverage from the biggest phone show of the year.