Instead of buying a new iPhone model, some Chinese iPhone owners are giving their old models a makeover to look like the latest version — a trend that could dent Apple’s efforts to boost sales in what has been its biggest growth driver. Catherine Cadell, reporting for Reuters: Online sites offer shoppers makeover kits, false cameras and even dust plugs to hide the removed headphone jack to give their iPhone 6 or 6S the appearance of the iPhone 7 — Apple’s latest flagship product which launched last month. The makeover quirk mirrors a broader view among some Chinese users that the iPhone 7 doesn’t have enough new features to convince them to trade up. “I don’t have the money to upgrade, and the (iPhone) 7 is just so-so,” said a Beijing-based sales worker, who said he was getting a Shenzhen firm to replace his iPhone 6 back casing with a fake iPhone 7 shell. “I’m changing it to show off,” he said, giving only his surname Gao as he wasn’t sure that what he was doing was legal. Searches on platforms including Alibaba’s Taobao showed a range of products to transform older phones to an iPhone 7 — from stickers and engraving services to replacing the outer casing and even some of the hardware.

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Source: Slashdot – In China, Some Apple Users Opt For iPhone Makeover Rather Than Buy New