Counterfeiters are fooling YouTubers with fake Apple Watch Ultras with cameras in the crown.
If you find a viral video claiming the Apple Watch Ultra has a hidden camera in it, what you’re actually watching is a reminder that some unethical sites and companies will stop at nothing to fool the gullible.
Videos claiming that the Apple Watch Ultra has a hidden camera in it have recently appeared on social media sites, particularly TikTok. Counterfeit Apple products are nothing new, but knock-off manufacturers generally try to get as close as possible to copying the hardware.
One of the sure giveaways that you might have bought a counterfeit Apple Watch is the presence of a Google Play Store icon, a sign that the watch is actually running Android. The other giveaway, of course, is a camera — located in the digital crown.
Protecting yourself from buying a fake
Not all counterfeit Apple Watches have a hidden camera in the crown, but the lack of watchOS as the operating system is a reliable indicator that the watch isn’t a genuine Apple product. If the “Apple Watch Ultra” is being sold as new for a notable discount compared to the usual retail price, that’s another red flag that it isn’t genuine.
Authentic Apple Watches run watchOS, and do not have cameras as of September 1, 2024. A plethora of teardown videos of real Apple Watch Ultras have made this clear.
Many of the Chinese sites advertising the fake Apple Watch Ultra actually list Android v8.1 — from 2017 — as the operating system on board. This is why they have the Google Play Store as a prominent icon.
Some of the videos have claimed that they received their fake Apple Watch Ultras from resellers hosted on Amazon. Others ordered from popular Chinese e-commerce sites like AliExpress.
As always, the safest route for buying a genuine Apple Watch Ultra or any other Apple product is directly from Apple’s website, or from any well-known Apple-authorized reseller. When buying an Apple Watch Ultra through Amazon, it’s best to order it directly from Amazon itself — an authorized Apple reseller — rather than a reseller hosted on Amazon.
