Author here. I did consider this, as others have reported getting ADS1015 marked as ADS1115. If it were an ADS1015 the readout would be truncated at 12 bits. These parts definitely delivered 16 bits of readout.
Getting full spec performance out of an ADC requires having good layout power supply routing etc.
I would transplant the chips from PCB A to PCB B and vice versa. See if the performance follows the chip or the PCB.
Also check power consumption before / after board swaps. If they are fakes, that would be significantly different.
Many of these Dev boards are not produced with as much care or knowledge as the chip design itself.
Analogy: https://datasheet.lcsc.com/lcsc/2302211830_analogysemi-ADX11...
TI: https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ads1115.pdf
Analogy's datasheet is directly cribbed from TI's (see TI Fig. 7-7 / Analogy Fig. 22½, pg. 18).
This already passes my "run away screaming" threshold for trust, but a decapping would help me understand whether they've stolen the physical design (bad) or just cloned it (bad).
See also: https://community.element14.com/members-area/f/forum/53365/n...
What's wrong with cloning a chip functionality-wise? This is basically how the industry has operated since its infancy, and what gave us jelly bean logic parts and transistors, x86 and the PC revolution, ...
(just talking about the cloning part here, not counterfeit markings or datasheet copyright infringement, or copying mask work)
Every clone of any sufficiently complex Thing will have subtle quirks and edge cases compared to the original and as long as I can work around them for only that specific clone model, that's easy.
But clones that have no way of determining if the part is a clone? That's bad to even exist because unscrupulous actors will go and repackage "legitimate clone" chips into faked originals if the price difference is big enough.
That defeats the point of it being a clone. 100% the same is the goal.
However, there's nothing more toxic to an OEM than a vendor relationship founded on dishonesty. I know I shouldn't trust them, they know it too, and even if it seems advantageous at first I shouldn't be surprised when they turn on me.
Since these parts are being sold as genuine TI parts, I don't care whether the clone is physically faithful or just functionally faithful - I should treat it like it's poisonous.