There are so many things I don’t understand about technology companies, and even more I don’t understand about users. We are almost predisposed to pick a side and sick with them to the bitter end (not being a fan boy is hard). Yet the companies we stick by make the strangest of decisions for us, locking down customisations, installing default apps or even ripping off brands users claim to hate.

Brands copying Apple has been the norm for as long as I can remember. It felt like every Windows Laptop for years looked like the MacBook Air, every Samsung phone looked like the iPhone 3g(s) and even now manufactures put in a needless notch after criticising Apple design.

When using Android I defended the OEM for being able to do as they please, and it must be what users want. Huawei made their version of Android as close to iOS as they could, Xiaomi did even worse and everyone carried on regardless. This in itself isn’t a massive deal, but I cant shake the feeling that blatantly ripping off other companies design must feel a little insulting as a user.

Yes, Huawei is copying Apple; but I’m not a patent lawyer, I just want to see good tech proliferate — Vlad Savov, The Verge

I completely understand where reviewers like Vlad are coming from, good technology should spread through the whole industry so everyone can use it. It doesn’t have to be a carbon copy of the originator though surely. Why must they do it so blatantly, is it to dupe users into thinking they have the ‘real’ version? For users to trick other into thinking they have spent more money than they have? I cant think of a single reason outside of brand culture that explains why everything looks almost the same.

This isn’t even a design issue, its purely an aesthetic issue. Brands such as Huawei are more than capable of distinguishing themselves, phones such as the Honor 9 are brilliantly designed. Users should demand more from companies and not blatant copies of other products.