20 best Chinese phones 2016: Best Chinese phones and how to buy them in the UK - why you should (and should not) buy a Chinese phone - best Chinese phone reviews
You've probably heard of brands such as Huawei/Honor, ZTE and Lenovo, although you might not be aware that the latter makes phones as well as laptops. Xiaomi, too, is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, and in China it's bigger than even Apple and Samsung.
But the problem with many Chinese phones is that they can be difficult to get hold of in the UK. To buy a Chinese phone in the UK you'll either need to look on a site such as eBay orAmazon, or go through a grey-market importer such as Geekbuying, GearBest or Coolicool. Be sure to read up on our grey-market tech buying advice before you do so.
Should you buy a Chinese phone in the UK? Why you should and should not buy a Chinese phone
Pros:
• Excellent value for money
• Competitive specification
• Usually dual-SIM
• None of your friends will have the same phone
Cons:
• Without an official channel through which to purchase you may unintentionally buy a counterfeit product
• Faulty devices may be difficult to return
• You may incur import duty
• The phone may not work with your network
Best Chinese phone specifications: What to expect from a Chinese phone
The majority of Chinese phones we've reviewed have been dual-SIM dual-standby. We've found this to be a standard feature of Chinese phones at any price point. However, as is the case with Huawei/Honor phones, which are among those that are officially sold in the UK, the UK variant is often not dual-SIM. You should also check whether the second SIM slot is in addition to or replacing the phone's microSD slot. Also see: Best dual-SIM phones 2016 and dual-SIM buying advice.
4G is a common feature even at the lower price points. A handful of phones will support 4G on both SIM slots, but in many cases only the first SIM will be used for data. And while we're used to seeing phones that standardise on nano- or Micro-SIM, Chinese phones can often feature full-size SIM slots. Of course, you can pick up an adaptor from somewhere like Amazon for as little as a pound. Also see: What is 4G? Complete guide to 4G.
The fact that a Chinese phone supports 4G doesn't necessarily mean it will work on your UK network, mind. Always check a phone's frequency bands before purchase. In the UK we use LTE bands 3, 7 and 20, or look for 800-, 1800- and 2600MHz. EE operates on all three, Three on 800- and 1800MHz, O2 on 800MHz, and Vodafone on 800- and 2600MHz. Also see: How to tell if a phone is supported by your mobile network.
MediaTek processors are a common feature within Chinese phones. These are usually marketed as octa-core and 64-bit, but whereas many UK-sold flagships are sold with four cores tuned for performance and four for efficiency, here you'll usually find all eight cores running at the same speed. Two- or even 3GB of RAM is not uncommon, and expect to find 16GB of storage, with microSD support (often only to 32- or 64GB, rather than 128GB). Also see: What's the fastest smartphone 2016.
Rather than NFC, phones with MediaTek processors often come with a feature called HotKnot. This works in a similar way, allowing you to do such things as share files and play multiplayer games with other HotKnot-capable phones. You may also find a fingerprint scanner, but if it's a swipe- rather than touch-style scanner then it won't be a lot of use.
In the photography department a 13Mp Sony sensor with f/2.2 aperture is often found at the rear, while you'll usually get a 5Mp selfie camera at the front. The camera functionality is very similar to that of any other Android phone, but you may find the Face Beauty mode whitens your skin tone - the painting of a face white is a cultural tradition. There will be a slider somewhere that lets you turn off this effect. Also see: Best sounding phone 2016.
An HD or full-HD screen is common, and we've reviewed many a 5.5in-screen Chinese phablet, but expect to pay more if you want Quad HD. The screen is usually a good-quality IPS panel, but may often be marketed as having 2.5D Arc glass. This does not mean the screen is curved, but rather that the edges of the screen are slightly curved (like on the iPhone 6). Gorilla Glass 3 is another common feature, which is fortunate because getting hold of a case for a Chinese phone is just as involved as buying the phone itself (we advise getting one at the time of purchase).
Customisable gestures are not built into Android, but they are very common in Chinese phones. This means you are likely to be able to double-tap to wake the screen, and by drawing a letter onscreen in standby mode you will be able to launch an app of your choice. Many Chinese phones will also allow you to use gestures to trigger the camera shutter.
While we're on the subject of software, be aware that some Chinese phones are sold rooted. For many people that's a bonus - for example UMI's Rootjoy app lets you easily install any OS you like, including Lollipop - but it will put off some customers. We advise you to check whether wireless updates are available or if you will have to manually update the phone before you buy, if you think the latter may cause you grief.
Best Chinese phones 2016
We've been reviewing Chinese phones supplied to us by Geekbuying, Coolicool and GearBest for many months now, but the honest truth is there are still many Chinese phones out there we have yet to review, and many, many Chinese phone manufacturers we've never even heard of. Some of those phones, such as the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, probably deserve to sit at the top of our best Chinese phones chart, but Xiaomi phones are not officially available in the UK and landing a review sample is nigh on impossible - also see: How to buy Xiaomi phones in the UK.
We won't recommend any Chinese phone we haven't physically held and tested. Over time we will build up our collection of Chinese phone reviews, and hopefully include some Xiaomi products too, but we offer this chart not as a definitive guide to buying Chinese phones, but as a guide to what you can expect for your money when you buy from China. If you've found a Chinese phone not listed in our chart then check its spec and compare it to the phones we've reviewed here.
Read next: Best new phones coming in 2016.
20. Bluboo Xtouch
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 15 December 15
- Buy for £123.71 plus import duty
The Bluboo Xtouch offers great value, with a strong set of specifications all round and a design that is mostly very good for a phone at this price point. Storage and connectivity are excellent, the screen decent, software just right, performance sufficient and the cameras quite acceptable. It's really rather difficult to fault for the money.
19. UMI eMax Mini
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 17 November 15
- RRP: £95.19 from China (plus import duty); £122.39 from Europe
The UMI eMax Mini is a very decent attempt at a budget Android phone with mid-range specs, and a strong rival to the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 that tops our budget phones chart. It's slower than the original UMI eMax in our benchmarks, but in real-world use it feels just as fast. The cameras have been improved and also the design, in our opinion, resulting in a cheap phone that offers strong value for money.
18. UMI Hammer S
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 November 15
- RRP: £108.79 inc. VAT
We really like the UMI Hammer S. It's not the fastest phone you'll find at this price, but it's fast enough for daily use. The design is nice, and genuinely useful technology - USB-C and the fingerprint scanner for example - comes at an attractive price. A strong rival to the excellent Vodafone Smart Ultra 6.
Read our UMI Hammer S review.
17. UMI Iron
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 October 15
- RRP: £149.99 inc. VAT
The UMI Iron is a good buy at £149.99, and the first we've seen to include eye-scanning security. This is a cool feature, if no more secure than the requirement for a four-digit PIN. Although the heart-rate scanner didn't work in our tests and the Micro-USB charging port seemed oddly misshaped, the UMI Iron nevertheless offers a good set of hardware and more than acceptable performance for the money.
16. UMI Iron Pro
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 11 December 15
- Buy for £122.59 plus import duty from China
Aside from a new fingerprint scanner and USB-C, there's not much new in the UMI Iron to justify the Pro moniker in this phone's name, especially given that it's no faster than the original. However, for the money it's a decent mid-range Android phone, and the EyePrint ID eye scanner is pretty cool, if no more secure than your PIN. Given that you can buy it for around the same price as the original UMI Iron, it makes sense to plump for the Pro version.
15. UMI eMax
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 9 July 15
- RRP: £115.59 (plus import duty)
UMI's eMax offers superb value for money. It's not as good-looking as other UMI phones we've reviewed, but the eMax has a big and bright full-HD screen for enjoying media and more, and showed very capable performance in the majority of our benchmarks. Photography is decent at this price, and enthusiasts will appreciate the Rootjoy support. At £115 you can't go far wrong with the UMI eMax.
14. Honor 6 Plus
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 18 June 15
- RRP: £299
For anyone looking for a smartphone with a large screen, the Honor 6 Plus is absolutely worth considering. It has great specs, a good-looking and sleek design and a cool camera, all at a surprisingly low price.
13. Ulefone BeTouch
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 14 July 15
- RRP: 147.06 (plus import duty)
Ulefone's BeTouch is an unrivalled deal at £147. It's fast, it's dual-SIM with 4G connectivity, it has a working fingerprint scanner for security, the screen is large and with an HD resolution plenty crisp enough for the money, and there is absolutely no bloatware. A few minor quibbles aside, it's genuinely difficult to fault this phone at this price.
12. Elephone Vowney
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 7 March 16
- Buy for £235.78 (plus import duty from China)
Elephone has focused so hard on the specs, it’s dropped the ball somewhat on the build quality. The Vowney has an awesome specification for the money, but at a glance you really wouldn’t know it.
11. Xiaomi Mi 4C
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 23 November 15
- RRP: £159.20 (from China)
On paper the Xiaomi Mi 4C is an excellent mid-range Android phone, with a fantastic spec for the money - it's half the price of the Nexus 5X and can be just as fast. There's a generous battery, a fairly good camera and some interesting new features such as USB-C. However, our benchmarking showed overheating to be a problem, and the issues we experienced with software out of the box make it difficult to recommend to less techie users.
10. Bluboo X9
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 25 January 16
- RRP: £98.67 from HK warehouse (plus import duty); £110.92 from UK warehouse (currently out of stock)
We never fail to be impressed by how much value you can get for your money if you're prepared to buy a smartphone from China rather than the UK. Bluboo might not be well known over here, but its X9 is a stylish phone that packs in both a fingerprint scanner and a 5in full-HD screen for just £110. General performance is capable, and there's plenty of space here for all your apps and media.
9. Xiaomi Redmi 3
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 2 February 16
- RRP: £114.95 inc. VAT
The Xiaomi Redmi 3 is a very decent budget Android phone, but it isn't intended for a UK audience and doesn't come with Google Play installed out of the box, so we wouldn't recommend it for those not familiar with Android. It has a plasticky but decent build, with good performance for the money.
8. OnePlus One
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 April 15
- RRP: From £229 inc VAT
There are only two, possibly three, bad things to say about the OnePlus One, if you are happy to buy online direct from OnePlus. We wish there was expandable storage, and it's bigger than other smartphones with similarly sized displays. And if we are being really harsh, we would hope for a better camera. But at the price the OnePlus One is an amazing deal. It's a flagship smartphone for a mid-range price. Bargain. Get them while they are hot.
7. Honor 6 (by Huawei)
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 6 November 14
- RRP: £249 inc VAT
We're seriously impressed by the Honor 6 which costs just £249 while providing specs you would normally pay a lot more for. It has a decent 5in Full HD screen, high quality cameras, good battery life, 4G support, good performance, expandable storage and wireless features like NFC and an IR blaster. The microSD cards slot is limited to 32 GB and Emotion UI isn't the best Android software but these don't stop the Honor 6 being the best value smartphone around.
6. Lenovo ZUK Z1
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 6 November 15
- RRP: £228.47 inc VAT (free shipping from EU warehouse)
The Z1 is a good first attempt from ZUK. It's not a super-cheap budget phone, but we think the price is about right given the hardware inside. Standout features include the 5.5in full-HD screen, large battery, 64GB of built-in storage and USB-C port. Although there's no removable battery or microSD card support, you could argue that you need neither.
5. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 3 March 16
- Buy for £118.27 plus import duty from China (16GB storage, 2GB RAM)
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 may not be best suited to UK users out of the box, but with some simple setup tweaks it is an excellent budget Android phone with a fantastic design and performance for the price.
4. OnePlus X
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 8 March 16
- RRP: £199 (Onyx); £269 (Ceramic)
The OnePlus X is the best value smartphone of the year. We love the premium design in a smaller form factor to the firm’s other phones. Software is a strong point and you get a gorgeous screen. However, cuts had to be made somewhere and the X is lacking features such as NFC, 11ac and Wi-Fi. It also is missing the fingerprint scanner and USB Type-C port found on the OnePlus 2. Battery life isn’t great and cameras aren’t best in class but this is a great phone for the price.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 8 March 16
- RRP: £239 16GB, £289 64GB
The lack of NFC, a microSD card slot, a removable battery, and quick- and wireless charging means the OnePlus 2 is not a flagship killer. It does have some killer new features though, including USB Type-C, 4G dual-SIM support and some powerful hardware. At the reduced price of £249 (we don't recommend the 16GB OP2), it's an unrivalled deal.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 11 March 16
- Buy for 193.98 (plus import duty from China)
We’re very impressed with the Elephone P9000, which is a great all-round Android phone at an unbelievable sub-£200 price. It’s fast, battery life is good, it’s feature-packed and it even runs Marshmallow. Wireless- and quick-charging-, NFC-, USB-C-, dual-SIM- and microSD support are the icing on the cake. Recommended.
1. Xiaomi Mi 5
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 8 April 16
- RRP: £286.09 (plus import duty)
A fantastic Android flagship that comes in at an outrageously low price, the Xiaomi Mi 5 has the braun and the beauty to match the greats. Perhaps not a wise choice for first time Android users, but those comfortable in customising the setup will love the excellent-value, gorgeously designed Xiaomi Mi 5.
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