July 19, 2021

To compete with Apple, many counterfeit wireless earbud makers are tapping Apple’s $16 billion AirPod market by making fake copies of the company’s product.

This can be seen in the number of confiscated goods that have already been seized.

In a major seizure, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized approximately 6,400 counterfeit AirPods, including the Pro version. In the fiscal year 2021, CBP has so far seized approximately 360,000 sets of wireless headphones worth an estimated $62.2 million.

While not all counterfeit products are directed against Apple, various intercepted products show that many counterfeit manufacturers will try to produce something similar, as Apple holds the largest share of the wireless earbuds market.

Around 80% of counterfeit consumer goods come from China.

In 2016, Apple bought 100 “Apple-made” products on Amazon and found that 90% of them were counterfeit, even though they came directly from Amazon.

For more information, read the original story in Arstechica.