The best Chinese smartphones on the market (2016)

The Chinese smartphone market is big, very big with hundreds or thousands of models to choose from. This situation confuses the less expert user who is involved in a sea of ​​devices, many of them completely unknown, when it comes to buying a new mobile. That is why we have prepared this guide to the best Chinese smartphones to help you choose a high quality model at an unbeatable price. The best Chinese smartphones on the market (2016).

Index of contents

Why buy a Chinese smartphone?

Many people are still suspicious when buying a Chinese smartphone, which is very logical when we consider that many of the products that we know as “Chinese” have a quality that leaves much to be desired in many cases. The world of Chinese smartphones has undergone a brutal change in recent years , long gone are the times when a Chinese mobile phone was synonymous with poor quality.

We recommend reading:

• The best smartwatch or smart watches on the market. The best tablets on the market. The best smartband on the market. The best PowerBank on the market.

Of course there are still bad, very bad Chinese smartphones but it is also true that there are excellent Chinese smartphones with a quality that, although it does not reach the level of the best terminals of Samsung and Apple among others, they come very close and have nothing to envy to most of the models of the brands with better reputation and they do it with much more competitive prices.

The best Chinese smartphones on the high-end market

If we talk about quality in Chinese smartphones there are four brands that we can stand out above the rest and that offer us excellent quality levels at very tight prices. These brands are Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo and Meizu, all four have proven to be one step above the rest in terms of quality.

Xiaomi Mi5: Nice, powerful and our first choice

We started our guide to the best Chinese smartphones with Xiaomi. First of all we have the Xiaomi Mi5 which is, surely, the best Chinese smartphone available on the market. Xiaomi has already amply demonstrated that its terminals have nothing to envy the main European brands both in terms of features and quality. The Mi5 is its flagship right now, a terminal with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor that we can find in the LG G5 and in some versions of the Samsung Galaxy S7 with which it is clear that it aims at the highest range. The processor is accompanied by 3GB / 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and with 32GB / 64GB and 128GB storage.

The Xiaomi Mi5 features a very careful design with an aluminum case and a very slim body with curved and angular lines. A home button is seen on the front that hides a fingerprint reader to manage it with greater security and also its operation is excellent. The Xiaomi Mi5 is built with a screen with IPS technology and a diagonal of 5.15 inches, it has opted for a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels that ensures excellent image quality with its 428 ppi.

The rear camera features a 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor with DTI pixel isolation technology to improve photo quality in low light conditions and a 4-axis stabilizer to minimize motion in videos.

As for the software it works with its MIUI 8 operating system based on Android 6.0.1 Marhmallow, it is a customization layer created by the manufacturer to improve the characteristics of Android stock and it works really well with an enviable optimization.

OnePlus 3: One of the brown beasts on the market

We continue with the OnePlus 3, undoubtedly Xiaomi's biggest rival in the highest range of Chinese smartphones. In this case we find the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor present in the Mi5 although with the great advantage of being accompanied by 6 GB of RAM, something that will undoubtedly help you improve its multitasking performance compared to the Xiaomi option. In this case we have 64 GB of storage space so we will not have problems in this regard.

As for the software, it works with the Oxygen OS operating system also based on Android 6.0.1 Marsmallow as well as the Mi5. A good software but that has shown to be greener than MIUI so in some respects it still has to improve a small step to be at the height of the Xiaomi system. A slight deficiency that compensates with its greater amount of RAM so that ultimately we are facing two very closely matched terminals.

In this case we find a 5.5-inch AMOLED screen with the same resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The use of an AMOLED panel allows a lower battery consumption and a better representation of colors, especially black, on the other hand it is much easier to be "burned" by static images.

As for the main camera of the OnePlus 3 we find a 16 megapixel sensor with phase detection focus and optical stabilization that provides excellent quality, both in photos and videos.

Oppo R9 PLUS: Sober and elegant design

The Oppo R9 Plus is built with a 6-inch IPS display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution for great image quality, plus it has Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection against scratches and bumps. Inside we find the Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor that is practically the same as the Snapdragon 808 and which consists of four Cortex A53 cores and two Coretx A57 cores along with the Adreno 510 GPU .

The processor is accompanied by 4 GB of RAM and a not inconsiderable 64 GB of expandable storage so that we do not run out of space for all our files. We have a main camera with a resolution of 16 megapixels that offers sensational quality in both video and photos. In addition, we also have a front camera that has a resolution of 16 megapixels.

The Oppo R9 Plus is powered by a 4, 120 mAh battery and runs on the Color 5.1 OS based on Android 5.1 Lollipop.

Xiaomi Mi4S: the best quality / price option on the market

The Xiaomi Mi4S includes a 5-inch screen with IPS technology and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a very successful combination that will provide excellent image quality. The display moves with the same heart as we found in the Mi4C, a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, consisting of four Cortex A53 cores and two Coretx A57 cores alongside the Adreno 418 GPU.

WE RECOMMEND YOU The price of the Galaxy Note 10 would be up to 20% higher

Accompanying the processor we find 3 GB of RAM along with 64 GB of expandable internal storage, a combination that will move with ease the MIUI 7 operating system (Android 5.1) and the entire set of applications and games on Google Play. All this powered by a generous 3, 260 mAh battery.

Regarding the optics of the terminal, we find a 13-megapixel main camera with dual-tone LED flash and PDAF autofocus . It also has a 5 megapixel front camera to satisfy selfie-takers and very useful for video conferencing.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4: The most cared-for Chinese phablet

We continue with another Xiaomi smartphone and it is that it is coming out this year 2016, the Redmi Note 4 is built with a 5.5-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a brightness of 450 nits to ensure an excellent quality of image at the height of much more expensive smartphones.

Its interior hides a powerful ten-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor next to the Mali T880-MP4 GPU accompanied by 3 GB of RAM, which ensure an excellent fluidity of its MIUI 8 operating system based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and expandable internal storage of 16 or 64 GB. All this powered by a 4, 100 mAh battery that promises excellent autonomy so it will last for many hours with the screen on before asking you to go through the charger.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 features a 13 megapixel main camera with 2.0 focal length, LED flash, and fast autofocus for much better quality snapshots. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera.

We highlight the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner on the back and an infrared port that will allow you to use the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 as a remote control to control the different devices you have at home.

Meizu M3 Max: One of the most tempting 6-inch options!

We finished our guide to the best Chinese smartphones with Meizu. The Meizu M3 Max is built with a large 6-inch IPS screen with a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Inside we find the MediaTek Helio P10 processor consisting of eight cores at a maximum frequency of 1.80 GHz together with the Mali-T860 GPU to offer a very solvent and efficient set with the use of the battery.

The processor is accompanied by 3 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage that we can expand with a microSD memory card, with this configuration there will be no performance problems in its Flyme OS 5.2 operating system based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, a software which has been shown as the best of China with MIUI. All this is powered by a battery with a large capacity of 4, 100 mAh that will give us excellent autonomy and also, it features fast charging technology to always have it ready to go.

As for the photographic section, the Meixu M3 Max has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera, so it is very well served in this regard, in the absence of knowing the sensors used. Finally we highlight the presence of a fingerprint reader on the physical Home button that will allow you to manage it with greater security.

With this we end the guide to the best Chinese smartphones. What's yours? Do you suggest inserting some more or adding other cheaper ranges?