Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Xiaomi's Next OS Looks Strikingly Similar To iOS

Posted by samzenpus on from the imitation-is-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery dept.

stephendavion writes Looks like Chinese device maker, Xiaomi, is taking its "Apple of the East" tag too literally. First, their CEO brazenly copies Steve Jobs' signature look, sitting cross-legged on the floor. And now, Xiaomi's latest version of Android shamelessly rips off iOS 7. MIUI 6, which is Xiaomi's upcoming edition of Android for its latest phones and tablets, looks almost exactly like Apple's operating system for iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. It features the same bright color palette and a flat design. Heck, it even does away with Google's "app drawer" and puts all apps on your home screen. It's like the CEO handed iPhones to the design team and barked: "Here, copy this!"

99 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Sitting on the floor? by timeOday · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Darn those people from the east, always copying western practices.

    1. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Damn i just dropped my kids off at pre-school i better let them know that sitting cross-legged is steve jobs thing with any luck i'll make it before his estate sues.

    2. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Darn those people from the east, always copying western practices.

      They haven't.

      I have both MIUI and iOS devices and can confidently say they are very different to use. MIUI is incredibly clever and intuitive, truly thoughtful touches like a zoom bubble when you're editing text pervade the whole UI. iOS feels quite dated and primitive by comparison.

    3. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Tough+Love · · Score: 4, Funny

      Does he also park in the handicap space?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    4. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      excuse me sir but this thread is about sitting cross-legged please keep it on topic

    5. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Nosretep1 · · Score: 2

      And how much does Xiaomi pay you?

    6. Re:Sitting on the floor? by slew · · Score: 2

      Next thing you know they'll start practicing buddhism...

    7. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Spy+Handler · · Score: 1

      Except that sitting on the floor isn't an Eastern practice, it's a Japanese/Korean practice. Chinese sit in chairs like the rest of Asia/world.

    8. Re:Sitting on the floor? by retchdog · · Score: 1

      probably between 0.1 and 200 yuan per post.

      and don't be silly; xiaomi doesn't pay for propaganda in a capitalist paradise like China. i'm sure it's covered for 'free' by the government.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    9. Re:Sitting on the floor? by schnell · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Does he also park in the handicap space?

      I have no idea if it's true, but a story used to circulate among Apple employees that one engineer worked up the bravery to leave a note on His Steveness's windshield that suggested he "Park Different." There was reportedly an effort to track down the offending employee by Apple security but it never bore fruit.

      --
      "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin
    10. Re:Sitting on the floor? by Sesostris+III · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I think it got modded -1, Offtopic because they couldn't mod -1, IDisagreeWithThis.

      --
      You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. - Blake
    11. Re: Sitting on the floor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I couldn't find the -1 industry shill option

    12. Re:Sitting on the floor? by the_arrow · · Score: 1

      Does he also park in the handicap space?

      While handicapped people make handicapped faces?

      --
      / The Arrow
      "How lovely you are. So lovely in my straightjacket..." - Nny
    13. Re:Sitting on the floor? by bitSmiter · · Score: 1

      More importantly, does he have pancreatic cancer?

    14. Re:Sitting on the floor? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Everyone sits in chairs in 'ordinary' live and at work.
      But traditionally 'all' asians sit on the floor, that includes the chineese: hint watch a kung fu movie ...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  2. They licensed it from Xerox by NotDrWho · · Score: 3, Funny

    They figured turnabout was fair play.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    1. Re:They licensed it from Xerox by FRAKK2 · · Score: 2, Informative

      They paid Xerox to use it, so what s the problem ??. The fact that xeroz did not realise how big it would become is there problem. What is happening now is just blatant copying.

    2. Re:They licensed it from Xerox by exomondo · · Score: 2

      What is happening now is just blatant copying.

      And what is the problem? They are pretty clear about it not being an iPhone. Exactly what elements did Apple invent and how long do you suggest they have exclusivity on those elements for?

  3. vs Material Design by brunes69 · · Score: 2

    It is going to look pretty jarring when you launch any of Google's apps from that launcher. Material Design looks nothing like iOS.

    1. Re:vs Material Design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Fortunately, MIUI is an unauthorized (no GMS certification) Android fork ala Fire OS. So no Google apps will ever touch this thing anyway.

    2. Re:vs Material Design by Sideswiped · · Score: 1

      Actually, material design looks a heck of lot more like iOS 7/8 than Holo theme ever did. It's (material) also a recommended design pattern for iOS apps by Google. They want material design to span across Android, iOS, and html websites.

    3. Re:vs Material Design by Horn · · Score: 2

      They can't ship the playstore but there's nothing stopping someone from installing gapps separately, much like you can do on the fire.

    4. Re: vs Material Design by poity · · Score: 1

      Private use is different. Parent anon is talking about proper licensing, with future access to Google's code base at stake. Official releases by XioaMi has not and will continue to not have Play Store access in compliance with Google's terms. That's probably fine for them, since most of China don't use the Play Store anyway.

      --
      your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
  4. I don't see it.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As someone who has used both iOS and Android devices I thought all the screenshots looked like an Android device. I wouldn't of been confused at all. Is someone *trying* to manufacture a controversy?

    1. Re:I don't see it.... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As someone who has used both iOS and Android devices I thought all the screenshots looked like an Android device.

      Exactly. Arguably Microsoft was the first to introduce a really flat look with Windows Phone and Windows 8. Google had been moving that way for years too on the web and with 4.x gave Android a bit of a make-over to look similar. iOS seems to have been last to join the flat look crowd.

      This whole article is just a fanboy whining that a ching-chong-Chinese OS looks a bit like his beloved iPhone. It's borderline racist. If it looks like iOS that's only because iOS looks like Android and Windows Phone now.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:I don't see it.... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

      It's almost as if the UI is changing on different platforms in accordance with current popular design trends...

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    3. Re:I don't see it.... by denmarkw00t · · Score: 1

      Right? The only one that looked remotely similar in an "almost too similar" way was the home screen, and I'd only believe that were iOS if it were jailbroken. They sure did borrow a lot of similar design patters and I can equate parts of the UI to their components in iOS (the camera app's ordering of My Photos -> Capture Still -> Capture Video, or the calendar app style), but none of it would be confusing for me either.

    4. Re:I don't see it.... by vakuona · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Which Android device did you think all the screenshots looked like? If you were referring to any Android maker besides Xiaomi, then I may have agreed. But we are talking about the one company that has copied Apple right down to the "One More Thing" slide, in a presentation that was all in Chinese no less.

      These guys could not be more shameless about copying if they tried. But in case you haven't been able to pick up how they aped Apple. I will give you a few examples.

      The Calender App is quite blatantly a copy of the iOS one in look (I couldn't say anything about the feel and how it works). Right down to the colour scheme.

      The icons are all straight out of the Apple playbook. Borderless rounded-corner squares with a symbol in the middle. Android icons tend not to have any border around the "symbol". Not even Samsung ones, which have been fairly blatant in the past.

      They even have the row of fixed icons at the bottom a la Apple. No, not the usual Back, Home and Menu soft keys on Android. Just a fixed set of four,just like Apple. It looks like they have ditched the standard soft keys altogether.

      The music icon app has the same colour as the Apple one. I can accept that a green icon for a phone is kind of obvious, but to have the same colour for the music player app is more than a coincidence.

      Check the colour scheme of the calculator app. Again, quite a blatant copy of Apple's.

      The camera app has a round soft button as well. Just like, wait for it, the iOS 7 camera app.

      Of course, it is not an exact replica, but at first glance, it could easily fool anyone.

      In fact, I challenge anyone to put stock Android (KitKat), iOS and MIUI side by side, and it would be quite clear which two are most alike.

    5. Re:I don't see it.... by Yebyen · · Score: 1

      It's mock-racism. He's trying to play back the overtones (subtext?) from the article. I didn't read the original story, but even I can see this line is supposed to sound unapologetically racist, in a blatant way which maybe the original comparison didn't make so obvious. Haven't you ever heard the meme that Chinese make only cheap copies of American inventions? It's a totally racist idea, unless it's actually true. (Which I'm sure it's not.)

      --
      Restating the obvious since nineteen aught five.
    6. Re:I don't see it.... by Bogtha · · Score: 1

      iOS seems to have been last to join the flat look crowd.

      It's not really accurate to say that iOS 7's design is flat. It actually has more depth than the earlier design, it's just that the individual items in each layer are flat.

      So, for example, the Apple application's icons on the home screen are flat, but they are floating over a parallax background that gives the feeling of depth. The buttons in the control centre are flat, but the translucent background of the control centre gives the impression that it's sitting on top of the home screen.

      They even spell it out explicitly on their website when they talk about iOS 7's design:

      Distinct and functional layers help create depth and establish hierarchy and order. The use of translucency provides a sense of context and place.

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    7. Re:I don't see it.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't of been confused at all.

      Wouldn't have. You wouldn't have been confused at all.

    8. Re:I don't see it.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Because "ching-chong-Chinese" is not racist?

    9. Re:I don't see it.... by dowens81625 · · Score: 1

      All I want is my slide out keyboard and the thing to boot up to a CLI where I can type,

      Call XXXXXXX hit return and it brings up the phone app and dials. When the call ends I get a CLI again.
      Launch Store > Install an App
      Launch App

      Give me the control to only run the things I want. If I wanted processes running while the application wasn't I would buy a Mac....

    10. Re:I don't see it.... by poity · · Score: 1

      Me neither. It's just a white background with pastel hues. XiaoMi isn't doing anything out of the ordinary when it comes to "borrowing ideas".

      --
      your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
    11. Re:I don't see it.... by exomondo · · Score: 1

      It's not really accurate to say that iOS 7's design is flat. It actually has more depth than the earlier design, it's just that the individual items in each layer are flat.

      And how is that different from say Android? Which is layered flat design and has its "desktop" over a parallax background and the notifications bar is overlaid atop that.

      Or from Windows 8? Which is also layered flat design and has the tiles overlaid on a parallax background and other various "layers" (charms, multitasking, etc..) are overlaid atop that.

    12. Re:I don't see it.... by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Seriously who cares? So what if they used the same color schemes or whatever?

      Of course, it is not an exact replica, but at first glance, it could easily fool anyone.

      And what exactly are the dire consequences of being fooled at first glance? I mean it clearly isn't an iphone, it has the xiaomi branding on the front along with the standard Android capacitive buttons.

    13. Re:I don't see it.... by exomondo · · Score: 2

      So customize an existing device to do that. Obviously the market for such a thing is probably just you so no company is ever going to make such a thing but instead of whining about it you could quite easily just do it.

    14. Re:I don't see it.... by mjwx · · Score: 1

      As someone who has used both iOS and Android devices I thought all the screenshots looked like an Android device. I wouldn't of been confused at all. Is someone *trying* to manufacture a controversy?

      Because IOS7 looks so much like Android 4 that people are getting confused.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  5. It's like a thousand apple fanbois... by Rigel47 · · Score: 4, Funny

    cried out at once in terror that their over-priced Apple "innovation" was merely rounded corners and off-white color.

    1. Re:It's like a thousand apple fanbois... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And this, ladies and gentleman, is how one loses all Star Wars creds in a single sentence.

  6. I like... by rwven · · Score: 1

    I used to use MIUI when I had a compatible android device. I absolutely loved it. Google themselves should take some design ques from them...

    1. Re:I like... by ilsaloving · · Score: 2

      I have to agree. I found Miui significantly more straight forward to use than stock android, and infinitely better than those half-assed UIs that various android manufacturers feel compelled to slap on top.

      Is it a rip off of iOS? Maybe. Do I care? Not in the slightest.

      Under the hood, a phone may be a full fledged computer with linux, but that doesn't mean I want to use it like one.

  7. Okay, then... by Shoten · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...who's going to make the obligatory, in-poor-taste cancer joke?

    --

    For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
    1. Re:Okay, then... by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      China's copying of everyone else's technology is a cancer on the world's economy

  8. I do not like by yezhan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I do not like xiaomi,even if i am from China.

  9. Strikingly similar? by MikeRT · · Score: 1

    Finding differences between that UI and iOS 7 is harder than finding Waldo while legally blind.

  10. Apple owns curvy corners by Saint+Gerbil · · Score: 4, Informative

    The home screen is a list of 4x5 apps with 4 apps on the hotbar.
    The compass seems to have ripped off the look of a compass.
    The settings menu has been taken more from the samsung S5 than the iphone
    The camera has a take picture button.

    Does apple own having a reasonable number of apps on a grid ?

    Of course its proven at least once that its "invented" things other people made first.
    http://apple.slashdot.org/stor...
    http://www.patentlyapple.com/p...

  11. I am Jack's utter lack of surprise... by Assmasher · · Score: 2

    ...seriously, why wouldn't they?

    It is charmingly naive to think that morality/ethics would prevent a CEO (in ANY country) from doing whatever they thought would generate them the most money with the smallest risk...

    --
    Loading...
  12. Here, copy this! by james_van · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's like the CEO handed iPhones to the design team and barked: "Here, copy this!"

    there's a pretty good chance that's exactly what happened

    1. Re:Here, copy this! by Mysticalfruit · · Score: 1

      I've handled one of these phones and holy crap... Until I dug down into it, I *thought* it was running iOS. It's a straight up, shameless copying on the entire interface, down to the configuration menus. Even then, unless you knew what you were looking for, an end user would just assume it was iOS.

      I can't imagine Apple not going to the WTO and waving their hands ineffectively as the Chinese make a mockery of international copyrights.

      --
      Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
    2. Re:Here, copy this! by Mysticalfruit · · Score: 1

      I can only imagine in some weird way, Google/Android would be against this though. I think Android wants to think of its self as an equal or better to iOS not a VHS.

      --
      Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
  13. MIU5 was released before IOS7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    MIU5 was released before IOS7, so apple is copying miui, this update doesn't change that much to skin/theme.

    1. Re:MIU5 was released before IOS7 by hnjjz · · Score: 1, Informative

      You're right. This video from April 2013 (nearly half a year before the release of iOS 7) shows MIUI V5 using "the same bright color palette and a flat design" that iOS 7 later adopted. They should be suing Apple. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  14. The predator strikes again. by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 1

    I'm sure China has stolen iOS's source code just like they've stolen every other Western (no longer) secret.

    1. Re:The predator strikes again. by Tough+Love · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh right, those sneaky socialist capitalists must stolen Apple's iOS linux source code, where else could they have gotten it?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  15. Re:And yet by MightyYar · · Score: 1

    Perfectly allowed? ISIS is being bombed by the US military!

    (sorry for the obscurity)

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  16. It doesn't look anything like iOS by gunner_von_diamond · · Score: 3, Funny

    Look at the screenshots! The text is in chinese! It's clearly different!


    It just looks like an Android phone with a makeshift iOS theme on it. If that's what the demand is for, why not supply it?

    1. Re:It doesn't look anything like iOS by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      There is a young chinese girl on the screen with her breasts showing. That is clearly not what Apple would do. Apple uses stoners.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  17. Look at the Calendar - Red Circles by glennrrr · · Score: 2

    Did you see the calendar app? It's got the red theming and elements such as today's date being circled.

    1. Re:Look at the Calendar - Red Circles by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Looks more orange to me, in keeping with the colour scheme of the rest of the OS. Are we really at the point where "it's a similar colour and shape" = clone?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:Look at the Calendar - Red Circles by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Did you see the calendar app?

      If that is a ripoff of iOS 7's calendar then clearly iOS 7's calendar is a ripoff of the meego calendar, in fact I would say it looks a lot more like the Meego one than the iOS 7 one.

  18. China: Theft is mandatory! by Chas · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Seriously. Stealing there is a way of life.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
    1. Re:China: Theft is mandatory! by celeb8 · · Score: 1

      Seriously. Stealing there is a way of life.

      I know I hate how Chinese people are always so racist oh wait that's you

    2. Re:China: Theft is mandatory! by Chas · · Score: 1

      No. But thanks for pulling the race card moron.

      I'm stating a simple fact of doing business over there. Sooner or later, regardless of the precautions you take, someone working for or with you in China is going to fuck you over and steal your stuff.

      Period.

      Several of my clients, who've never DONE business in China have had their entire COMPANIES cloned.

      Suddenly they're getting parts in that don't match any of their specs, and, eventually, entire units that their company has never produced from disgruntled "customers".

      This is not a slur against the Chinese people.

      It is merely that the business atmosphere over there is one gigantic den of thieves.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
  19. Not so much by MoronGames · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here are some comparison screenshots between MIUI 5 and 6: http://www.gadgetsofworld.com/...

    --
    hey!
    1. Re:Not so much by hnjjz · · Score: 2

      IMHO, these screenshots confirm that both MIUI 5 and 6 "features the same bright color palette and a flat design", which is what Xiaomi is being accused of copying from iOS 7, even though MIUI 5 actually significantly predates iOS 7.

    2. Re:Not so much by gnupun · · Score: 1

      Sorry, from the webpage it appears MIUI 5 had 3D effect icons with dimmer colors (like iOS6 and before) whereas MIUI 6 has a flat icons/look with bright colors similar to iOS 7. I personally don't like the iOS 7 look and feel and whoever copied it must have no design sense to copy an inferior look and feel.

  20. So what's the next step here... by grumpyman · · Score: 1

    ...allow protection to UI design? Put legislation around it, negotiate them into free trades agreement and try to enforce them?

  21. Not Steve Jobs by king+neckbeard · · Score: 2

    Jobs might have picked up the posture on account of being a buddhist. I associate "sitting cross-legged on the floor" with the band Chicago from their song "25 or 6 to 4."

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  22. MUI by war4peace · · Score: 1

    In my language, "Mui" = "Blowjobs".
    Ahem...

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    1. Re:MUI by war4peace · · Score: 1

      I didn't say it was an EXACT MATCH, douchebag.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    2. Re:MUI by mjwx · · Score: 1

      In my language, "Mui" = "Blowjobs".
      Ahem...

      Which language is that (it might come in handy one day).

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    3. Re:MUI by war4peace · · Score: 1

      Romanian.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  23. Flat is where it's at? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    I don't get the flat design. We have all that graphics capability now, yet are going back to the 80's GUI look? What's next, pixellation? I like shadows and gradations and metals and wood and marble and textures; screw the flat fad. (Excluded temping jokes about "flat chicks".)

    And get off my lumpy, textured lawn!

    (Well, okay, a Trek NG GUI would be cool...for a while.)

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  24. *sigh* by ilsaloving · · Score: 2

    Why is it that whenever Apple comes up with something, every else has to copy it (although Microsoft may have started this fad of flatness, I can't remember the timeline anymore)?

    Apple is not the be all and end all of industrial design. This fad of flatness is really annoying, and IMO counter intuitive. It's no longer clear what widget is a button, for example. The user now has to guess, based on proximity of a given thingy to the other thingies on the screen.

    When the gumdrop iMacs came out, I was eeing transluscent plastic micro waves, clothes irons, you name it.

    Thank Dog that companies haven't en masse copied Apple mouse designs. Half the continent would have RSI by the end of the month.

  25. So what? by erp_consultant · · Score: 2

    I mean, how many ways are there to present a touch interface on a small screen anyhow? When one company copies another it's the closest thing we can get to a standard. Android and iOS copy each other all the time. All that really matters is how well it all works together, not which icon someone is using for the Calendar app.

  26. In fact, they copied KDE Plasma 5 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    /.ers are just going overboard. They simply copied KDE Plasma 5.

  27. Worked for Samsung by 2ms · · Score: 1

    Well, you can't blame him. It's clearly worked for Samsung. Samsung's devices have always been significantly more similar to Apple devices than any of its major competitors' have been. And guess what, they've also been the most successful. It's only logical that the competitors should move in this direction as well. Some would even say that it is fair to make things the same way as Apple has done them, on the basis of that Apple already found the best/öbvious way of doing things from the start. Even Google itself has been moving in that direction with Play, which was originally substantially different from Apple's App Store.

  28. Patent infringement by satuon · · Score: 1

    sitting cross-legged on the floor

    He is violating Apple Patent #032185: A method or system for sitting directly on a surface such that one leg is crossing the other in a diagonal fashion.

    And his knees better not be rounded when he's sitting like that.

  29. Re:These are not the droids you're looking for by perpenso · · Score: 1

    I think the key date is when discontinued not launched. The 4s is still being sold.

  30. Re:Will Apple sue ? by dowens81625 · · Score: 2

    Android ever behaves like ios's walled garden - I'll dump my devices for a Windows phone and tablet.

  31. Y'all should really check out... by matttreintayseis · · Score: 1

    Y'all should check out the Redmond theme on your linux desktop. I guess it has to be Chinese malware because no Westerner would do something so outrageous...right?

  32. I dont get it by future+assassin · · Score: 1

    Are the side by side images suppose to be comparisons of each os gui? http://gizmodo.com/xiaomis-nex...

    If so can I plz have your drugs? They don't look anthing alike...

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
    1. Re:I dont get it by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Take a look at the settings app. A settings app that's a grey grouped listbox with separation rules going part way across the screen and rightward facing chevrons indicating that a tap will pan in another screen from the right. Almost identical pallette. And whilst they've changed the icons there from rounded squares to circles, the symbols are mostly the same. Look at the "Do Not Disturb" item. Identical "moon" concept, drawn in the same way, other than outline rather than filled in. And exactly the same color.

      Tell me that's coincidence or not copying, and I say you're the one in drugs.

    2. Re:I dont get it by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Tell me that's coincidence or not copying, and I say you're the one in drugs.

      I'd ask for some of your drugs, but I've got to drive home.

      If you think those are the same colour, you must be legally blind.

      It's far closer to Android 4 than IOS7 (OK, to be fair, IOS7 ripped off so much from Android 4 that people get confused).

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    3. Re:I dont get it by future+assassin · · Score: 1

      Wow imagine MTB bike companies fussing over tiny similarities.

      --
      by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
    4. Re:I dont get it by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      If you think those are the same colour, you must be legally blind.

      They're both purple, asshole. I wasn't saying they were the same RGB, HSV or fucking Pantone.

      There's nothing intrinsically purple abut "Do Not Disturb". It COULD just be a coincidence without the fact that the image is the same (only differing with bing filled in or not), and the fact that most of the other icons share the same color (in the non-asshole meaning of the word.)

      It's far closer to Android 4 than IOS7

      You're an idiot or a liar. Don't you realise you're not fooling anyone, you just make yourself look bad.

    5. Re:I dont get it by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Point out that the similarities are widespread and it's just denied by Android fanboys. Get down to specific examples, and they are called "tiny similarities".

      There's no accident here, there is widespread copying.

      Not sure what MTBs have to do with it. Maybe it's your hobby. But it's an even worse than the usual car analogies. Unless you want to be specific about specific aspects of two models.

  33. What is really funny.... by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    is that Xiaomi, and many other chinese phone makers, are using FoxxConn. So, Jobs funded a company, so that they can produce even more competition at a lower price that will steal any and all trade secrets from Apple.

    Apple made the same mistake with Samsung and continues to do it in China.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:What is really funny.... by NoKaOi · · Score: 1

      This is about the software. Did FoxxConn develop the OS for the iPhone? And even we were talking about hardware design, did FoxxConn design it, or are they just manufacturing it? I'm pretty sure they're just manufacturing it. Did Apple come up with any innovations to manufacturing processes that FoxxConn is now copying to make other devices with? I doubt it.

      Ironically, the article flames a company for copying Apple's UI. Conversely, and the sort of article we usually see here, if Apple were trying to prevent anybody from copying it there would be a /. article flaming Apple and saying anybody should be allowed to copy it.

    2. Re:What is really funny.... by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      No, it really is NOT about the software. It is about a company that is not only copying an interface, but using all of the IP that others developed. It was Apple that FOOLISHLY moved their production, but then taught foxconn how to do it cheaper and with higher quality. Now foxconn is doing the same work for other companies, such as Xiaomi.

      The more information that companies with MBA's send to CHina, the faster that they will get unfair competition that will destroy them.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    3. Re:What is really funny.... by aybiss · · Score: 1

      Erm... Foxxconn was around LOOOONG before iPhones were.

      --
      It's OK Bender, there's no such thing as 2.
  34. 2-language word play by AstroSurf · · Score: 1

    Let's see... Xiaomi. I note they use Mi as a stand-in for English "my". If used as a stand-in for "me" and xiao meaning little, the company's name signifies... Mini-Me! That's hilarious!

    --
    Astro
  35. Re:These are not the droids you're looking for by mjwx · · Score: 1

    I'm using an iPhone 4s, it's still pretty awesome and still being actively sold and supported. Release date late 2011.

    OTOH, Nexus 3 users, release date late 2011, no longer supported.

    Thats because there was no Nexus 3.

    There was the Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 5.

    And my 2011 Galaxy Nexus still does things the latest Iphone doesn't. I just want a phone that does what I want it to, not what the manufacturer wants me to.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  36. Re:These are not the droids you're looking for by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1

    I know the phone well.

    Battery life, camera, sound quality, gps resolution aren't as good. You have to root the phone to be able to control your privacy, and if you're talking about privacy, forget Google apps. Best go go Cyanogenmod.

    Wasn't your last update was 10 months ago? http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/31/google-galaxy-nexus-kitkat/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Jelly_Bean

    Leaving three unpatched vulerabilities?

    http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224/product_id-19997/version_id-161187/Google-Android-4.3.1.html

  37. Re:Will Apple sue ? by Rick+in+China · · Score: 1

    Apple *should* sue Xiaomi in any country Xiaomi is selling, except China..where they would waste a ton of money on a lawsuit that is pretty much guaranteed to fail, for reasons other than the company's HQ being in Beijing city proper's CBD with close gov't support. Xiaomi's entire concept, at the beginning, was to duplicate an iPhone at a far lower price point..wait, not just an iPhone, but *all* of the products Apple puts out there, look at their line-up. They have copied presentations, commercials, even Jobs himself, so UI similarities are to be expected.

    I am curious whether Apple even cares. Xiaomi competes in the 'shanzhai' level of pricing, very low priced devices aren't really in the same park as Apple's premium priced devices, even though the Xiaomi's actually have reasonably valued hardware for what you're paying....so, while Apple *should* be suing them from a principal standpoint, maybe Xiaomi just isn't competing for the same customers in a significant enough way yet or something?

  38. Fanboi troll? by aybiss · · Score: 1

    So you mean it has things like a background, icons, and a screen you interact with by touching it? FFS would you also like a patent for those rounded edges?

    --
    It's OK Bender, there's no such thing as 2.
  39. Xiaomi MIUI v6 compared to MIUI v5 with screenshot by parneet · · Score: 1

    Xiaomi MIUI v6 compared to MIUI v5 with screenshots Read more at http://www.gadgetsofworld.com/...

  40. Xiaomi MIUI v6 compared to MIUI v5 by parneet · · Score: 1

    Xiaomi MIUI v6 compared to MIUI v5 with screenshots Read more at http://www.gadgetsofworld.com/...