So after a decade of Apple I bought what I consider a 'noname' china phone (specifically a Meizu m2 note).
I paid what I consider peanuts for great specs. And I have proved I can do Android, and have found quite a few benefits.
So now I am curious about more "top end" China phones like some from Xiaomi or Oneplus, maybe Lenovo. Can somebody who knows these product range help explain the value tiers and where i should be looking? and maybe what is upcoming? I am not really interested in Samsung or other "traditional" android phones, unless they are pushing the value edge like the China brands.
I guess if I had to state my requirements, they would be, general office apps, light gaming, lots of storage and good battery life (I would take smaller screen for better battery).
Curious to see what is the best price/performance/quality outcome.
China phone newbie - ranking brands?
Comments
I find the OnePlus One is still quite competitively priced for it's specs. Still a very good modern phone.
Oneplus would be the only one of the box that would work great imo. The bulk of Chinese phones need some messing around with (e.g flashing new roms) and come with lots of bloatware which both I just can't be bothered with anymore.
Not saying that all Chinese phones are bad, but I still prefer to use phones from manufacturers that make me feel confident.
I'm just not so convinced the OS will get updated frequently enough and there is always something weird installed on the devices, or the keyboard doesn't work as I want etc.
For example now my daily driver is HTC M8 (new from below $400) and backup is Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (a wee bit more than $400).
I also am not afraid of buying refurbished phones if they come with 12 month local warranty and look 100% new. Of course I should get a great deal before putting money on refurbished ones.
But if I should put my money now to a Chinese phone, I might probably get a late release of XiaoMi Note or One Plus One/Two.
Hardware these days is so powerful that hardware specs are almost irrelevant, unless you're into complex gaming.
Battery capacity
Camera quality and most importantly,
Software support are the 3 defining features you should be looking at in my opinion.Software support has to be a major concern given the major Android security bugs that have been discovered through 2015.
If your phone has outdated software, you may as well post all your passwords and bank details on this forum, it's almost that bad!Personally I think avoid anything that uses an MTK chipset unless it's a Xiaomi.
They're the only ones who seem to provide any long term software support for their phones no matter the chipset.I say avoid MTK, because (to date) they don't release source Code for their chipsets, so you're stuck with the software that the manufacturer provides or mods of the software that the manufacturer provides.
Continuing that focus on software, OnePlus or Xiaomi are pretty much the only "safe" brands to buy from. Everyone else is too busy designing and promoting the next model every quarter to bother with maintaining software updates for anything older than 6-9 months it seems.
Can you elaborate on how Android viruses are most commonly obtained? I am running old firmware because the latest ROM just wasn't stable. But I avoid dodgy apps.
Look up Stagefright bug
You don't need to install dodgy apps to get hacked.
Just another question, why do some manufacturers lock their boot loaders?
I understand they want to keep control, maybe to make support easier perhaps, but with so many people keen to try other ROMs and things it seems a strange decision.
Also, why does every little phone company make their own Android skin, and make it hard to just have stock Android? I understand they want to differentiate, but why not make it easy to have a vanilla Android phone?Unlocked bootloaders and Custom ROM's allow users to keep their phones up to date and add features that the manufacturer only offers in their Flagships.
The official excuse is to prevent users from bricking their handsets by tweaking things that they don't understand.
In reality, it's pretty difficult to Brick a phone. It might take some work mucking about in ADB to recover. But you really have to try to totally kill the hardware.Another significant reason they lock the bootloader is for security. If the bootloader is unlocked then it doesn't matter if you have a screen lock/pin, anyone that finds your phone can very easily retrieve all the data from it (unless you have encrypted the whole device).
Personally, I like it when manufacturers lock the bootloader out of the factory, but have a very simple way to unlock it (where unlocking it erases all data from it, for security purposes). The Google Nexus phones have this feature pretty well sorted IMO.
Recently in the case of Xiaomi, it was discovered that unofficial resellers (where people from outside of the native country) buy the phone, often preload the phone with malware or adware. This is bad not only for the customer, but also for Xiaomi, who would receive poor publicity on the back of it.
One plus One !
i bought one about 14 months ago from their US website n shipped here. Phone is still going strong now, i am on whatsapp, FB chat & Spotify all day at office, Google map when driving (GPS is fairly accurate and fast) and Strava on weekends when riding my bikes.
battery can last me from 7am - 11pm on heavy usage, too easy
Really, 16hrs is good battery life these days?
Is this likely to improve any time soon?
Meizu M2 note apparently has reliability issues. search the deals posted here
Adding into your consideration: Asus and Huawei
+1 ASUS
But I'd hardly call Huawei a China brand given you can buy them in store here.
May as well add ZTE and Oppo for completeness.True.
I saw Huawei on JB Hifi. Might be able to trade in the old phone for $200?
A colleague bought the latest Asus Laser something in China, he said, it is just released. It looks good.Very responsive. Cant find the review on the net though.He said he could use the phone for Google related services unless he rooted it.
My daughter has been using a Xiaomi Redmi 2 for about 12 months. Great phone and hasn't missed a beat. Cost me less than $200 and ideal for a year 7 who might lose/break a phone. I was impressed enough with the Redmi 2 to order a Redmi Note 3 for myself after my HTC One recently got wet and died.
There are a mind blowing amount of very decent looking low cost phones and brands coming out of China. Almost overwhelming looking at them all, but I decided to go with Xiaomi as I at least have some hands on experience of the brand. Also the Note 3 looks great and appears to be excellent value for money. Good to see comments here backing Xiaomi as one of the better Chinese brands.
Huawei /Xiaomi/Meizu all sell well.They all have their features.
I'm a fan of Huawei. Looking forward to their next release.
Oppo is putting a fair bit of effort as to providing proper support in Australia
Do not go Xiaomi … It is the worst rubbish phone you will ever buy.
Lenovo and Huawei is decent
Hi mskeggs, we have been here for years and skirted around each other in various forums and discussions. check out the thread from a few hours ago regarding the new onePLusX. my thoughts are that if your want a phone to do what you you are requesting then a phone like the Lenovo K3 note is fine (which I own). The Meizu M2 note reads equally well in specs and will also do the job.
Many of these phone run on the same or similar hardware platforms so they do much the same.
My opinion is that you don't need to spend more than $200 to get a phone a that will do what you want.
Meizu M2 note is good.
elephone 8000 good.
lenovo k3 note good