Major electronics retailers have confirmed an increased demand for fake premium headphones. The demand for fakes began to rise this spring after the departure of many brands from the Russian market.
In just 11 months, according to MTS, 12.2 million wireless headphones were sold (we are talking about original models). This is more than last year, but the growth dynamics have decreased.
In terms of sales, JBL remains the leader – 13% of the market. In second place is Xiaomi with 12%, and third is Apple with 6% of the market. Last year it was 20.2%, 14%, and 11%, respectively.
AirPods remain the leader among copies: about 80% of all headphones up to 3.5 thousand rubles.
By the end of the year, sales of copies may reach 200-300 million rubles. And it is becoming more and more challenging to identify a fake: high-quality copies cost a little less than the original against the backdrop of a shortage, although earlier, the price was one of the primary measures of “original / copy.”
iOS 16 will help identify fake AirPods: the system has a headphone check function. When connecting non-original headphones, the message “These headphones cannot be identified as genuine AirPods” appears.
Headphones will work, but you will surely know that you have a fake in front of you.