Seeing the growing desire of consumers for powerful, and at the same time affordable smartphones, the leading Chinese smartphone manufacturers in 2017 continue their expansion into Western and European markets. Companies such as Xiaomi, ZTE and Asus regularly delight users with new flagships and successfully compete with such "mastodons" of the mobile market as iPhone, Samsung, Sony, etc.
We present to readers a list of Chinese smartphone brands, ranked based on global sales statistics and reviews users of various online stores and specialized portals about product quality.
- Smartphone rating 2017
- 2017 ranking of Chinese smartphones
10. OnePlus
2017 flagship - OnePlus 5
Opens a selection of the best Chinese smartphone brands, a subsidiary of Oppo. And the Oppo and Vivo brands, in turn, are owned by BBK Electronics Corporation.
OnePlus is a very young player in the mobile market. The brand was founded on December 16, 2013 by Pete Lau and Karl Pei. Their goal was to develop a smartphone that combines high quality with a lower price than competitors. And in 2014, the first “flagship killer” OnePlus One appeared, which was initially sold only on special invites on the manufacturer’s website. In 2015, they were canceled.
The “flagship killer” at one time disappeared from the sale due to the fact that the developers violated the exclusive rights of Micromax Mobile to distribute CyanogenMod-based devices in South Asia. After that, OnePlus created the original firmware called OxygenOS.
The advantages of OnePlus smartphones are: a very elegant appearance, energy-efficient and fast processors from Qualcomm, a well-thought-out and comfortable shell even for beginners, and excellent “music data” comparable to gadgets from Apple and Samsung.
9. Lenovo
2017 flagship - Lenovo P2
A well-known manufacturer of PCs and laptops is successfully mastering the field of production of smartphones. The company introduced its first LePhone smartphone in 2010.
In 2016, Lenovo was the first to partner with Google on the Tango project (augmented reality platform) and launched the Phab 2 Pro smartphone. It has a huge 6.4-inch display, a dual camera, depth and motion sensors that scan 3D space at a frequency of 250 thousand times per second. For the most part from three-dimensional entertainment, the user can access games from the Play Store, but there are also useful programs, for example, arranging furniture in three-dimensional space or measuring objects at a distance.
Of the best Chinese brands, Motorola's daughter products stand out with bright screens with excellent color reproduction, beautiful design and excellent autonomy.
8. Coolpad
2017 flagship - Coolpad Cool M7
In Russia, Coolpad smartphones are not too common. But in China, this brand is the first largest among other smartphone manufacturers. In 2015, Coolpad successfully launched the first smartphones under its brand in Europe.
In 2016, the largest share of Coolpad was acquired by the media giant LeEco. The combination of the Coolpad professional research team and significant financial support from LeEco will allow us to produce better products at a very affordable price. The first jointly made smartphone of Chinese manufacturers was LeEco Cool1 with two camera modules on the rear panel, a Snapdragon 652 chip and a price of 10,600 rubles.
We can say that the Coolpad gadgets are strong middles, both in terms of specifications and cost.
7. ZTE
2017 flagship - ZTE Axon 7S
ZTE Corporation is China's second largest manufacturer of mobile devices and telecommunications equipment. Its representations and research centers are in the USA, Korea, Sweden and a number of other countries (in all 13).
Outside the home country, ZTE is known for its powerful smartphones with drop-resistant cases, displays with good viewing angles and rich colors and long-lived batteries. One of the advantages of the company's new models is noise-canceling microphones with great “range”. For example, the microphone range of the Axon 7 is 7 meters.
6. Meizu
2017 flagship - Meizu Pro 7
Initially, the company was engaged in the production of MP3 and MP4 players, but since 2008 its priorities have been revised in favor of smartphones. This year, Maze managed to enter the top ten smartphone manufacturers in 2017 by sales of devices in the world.
Meizu is committed to developing its own unique software, the Flyme operating system. It is being developed in the same building where the phones are made. "So what?" - the reader will ask. The fact is that close cooperation between hardware and software teams allows Meizu to quickly create user-friendly innovations. A striking example is the mBack mechanical touch key, which not only scans fingerprints, but essentially eliminates the need for a special return button.
Thanks to the thoughtful interface of its devices, combined with the constant introduction of new technologies, Meizu is unlikely to disappear from the top ten “smart masters” from the Middle Kingdom.
Note that the flagship Meizu Pro 7 has a unique dual-display system that allows, in particular, to take excellent selfies, to keep notifications on the second screen so as not to “clog” the main one and set the wallpaper to your liking.
5. LeEco
2017 flagship - LeEco Le Max2
Founded in 2004, the company is currently one of the largest Chinese technology companies and has a wide range of tasks: from Internet television to the production of electric vehicles and the production of smart devices such as mobile phones and televisions.
Le Mobiles, a subsidiary of a smartphone company that is fancifully called “superphones,” has already released several models of mobile phones. The most popular of them are Le 1, Le 1 Pro, Le Max and Le 1S.
LeEco has big plans for Russia, in 2017, together with Coolpad, it will launch the LeRee line of smartphones on the Russian market. It will be aimed at a youth audience and, according to the manufacturer’s calculations, will allow LeEco to occupy up to 10-12% of the budget smartphone market.
4. Xiaomi
2017 flagship - Xiaomi Mi Mix
Qualitatively, functionally, inexpensively - these are three words that can characterize Xiaomi brand products. And you do not need to choose two words from three, all three are suitable. We even dedicated our brand to the best Xiaomi smartphones.
Xiaomi managed to take the mobile world by storm in 2014. Their flagship Mi 4 was one of the best-selling mobile phones in history and paved the way for mid-range smartphones. At the moment, in the "piggy bank" of the company there are such hits as Redmi Note 4, Mi5 and Mi Max. And in 2017, the assortment was replenished with a frameless Mi Mix with a 6.4-inch display and Mi Max2 with a fantastically durable battery of 5300 mAh. And all this at a very affordable price.
3. Huawei
2017 flagship - Huawei P10
One of the most respected and popular brands of Chinese smartphones in 2017 currently produces devices with fast Kirin 960 processors. Such chipsets cope with the latest games and gain about 53 thousand points in the AnTuTu test.
Also, camera users of top-end Huawei smartphones, such as Huawei P9 and Huawei P10, received high ratings from users, they have dual cameras from the well-known German manufacturer Leica and shoot, if not at the level of the latest iPhone, then very close to it. Many Huawei models have dual cameras with Sony matrices, the shooting quality of which also delights owners.
2. Vivo
2017 flagship - Vivo X9 Plus
Vivo was founded in 2009 as a sub-brand of BBK Electronics. The company entered the telecommunications and consumer electronics market with its landline and cordless phones. In 2011, Vivo began production and marketing of its own range of smartphones.
As of Q3 2016, Vivo had a 5.9% share in the global smartphone market. In the same year, she released the V5 / V5Plus with the world's first 20MP dual front camera. And in July 2017, Vivo demonstrated a working prototype of a smartphone with a scanner integrated into the screen. Thanks to this innovative approach to their gadgets, the brand is unlikely to disappear in the foreseeable future from among the world's popular mobile phone manufacturers.
In June 2017, Vivo entered into an agreement with FIFA and will become the official sponsor of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
1. Oppo
2017 flagship - Oppo R11
In the first place in the ranking of Chinese smartphone manufacturers is a relatively young company that has created one of the thinnest smartphones in the world - Oppo R5 and Oppo R5s with a case thickness of 4.85 mm. Oppo is the leading manufacturer of 4G smartphones in China, with a market share of 15.2%, although in general it is inferior to other brands, such as Chinese competitors Xiaomi and Lenovo, as well as the South Korean manufacturer Samsung.
The main activity of the company is the creation of mobile phones with some of the best selfie cameras in the world.
There are tons of “inexpensive” Chinese phones, what makes Oppo products stand out?
- Firstly, the brand’s philosophy, which is to maintain a very close relationship with both users and communities of developers involved in the creation of firmware and other “improvements” of gadgets that are on sale.
- Secondly, the company seeks to update its phones on a regular basis, adding new features and changes based on feedback received from users.
- Thirdly, Oppo engineers are not afraid to try new things and think outside the box when it comes to hardware and features.
As an example: Oppo has traditionally released various firmware updates at least once a week. While most users liked this, some also thought that a fast-changing firmware has eternal beta status. The solution was simple: Oppo now has two different sets of updates to choose from. The official release of the new firmware comes out every 2-3 months. The beta path is intended for those who crave the latest opportunities and are not against a minor “blow” to stability in exchange for quick updates.
To summarize: the Oppo brand has great potential, produces high-quality and quickly updated smartphones, takes into account the wishes of users and is an excellent alternative to more hyped and expensive brands.
