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Top 10 best dual SIM Android smartphones

Andi February 14, 2014

China remains the market to look when purchasing a dual sim Android Smartphone. There are 1000’s of top dual sim phones available in China, however we have managed to narrow down a list of just 10 which we think are worth buying.

How we choose these top 10 dual SIM Android smartphones

These phones have been chosen to fit a criteria which includes;

Value for money,
Ease of availability.
Design and build quality.
WCDMA 3G support.

Most importantly though we have only listed phones which we ourselves would be more than happy to buy and run as our daily devices.

Star HD5000

Most of our time at GizChina is spent either searching the Chinese news and tech sites to uncover the best China has to offer. This explains why we don’t tend to report on Star phones very often as this small Chinese brand has always focussed on international markets.

The Star HD5000 is a phone which many had hoped would have made it on to previous ‘Best ‘ lists, and after going over the specifications and speaking to people who have the phone we can’t think of a reason not to included it here.

Costing from as little as $150 (that’s international reseller price), the dual SIM Star HD5000 packs a 5-inch 720p display, quad-core 1.3Ghz MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal memory, SD card support, dual-SIM, WIFI, Bluetooth and GPS. Physically the Star HD5000 looks very much like the iNew V3, but has a larger 2500mAh battery, unfortunately that larger battery comes at the expense of the main camera which is just a 5 mega-pixel unit interpolated to 10 mega-pixels. Still at this price, and this design, the Star is a very capable dual-sim Android smartphone.

Xiaomi Hongmi

The Xiaomi Hongmi (now known as the Redmi) has been on the market for around 12 months now and is due to be replaced with a rumoured octacore phone. Even at 12 months old the Xiaomi Redmi is still one of the best dual SIM Android phones money can buy and deals are getting better all the time.

The Redmi has a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720p display, 1GB RAM, 1.5Ghz MT6589T quad-core processor, 4GB internal memory, SD memory expansion, dual SIM support and 8 mega-pixel Samsung rear camera. The Xiaomi Hongmi also ships with MIUI V5, Xiaomi’s own ROM, which is updated on a regular basis. If you are in the market for the Hongmi ensure that you buy the WCDMA model as other version offer just TD-SCDMA or CDMA support.

iOcean X7HD

The iOcean X7HD takes the winning formula of last years flagship iOcean X7 and remixes it with a 720p display and lower cost quad-core MT6582 processor. The result is a phone which looks as good as the original flagship device from last year but costs significantly less.

Other features of the iOcean X7HD include the 5-inch display, 1GB RAM, options for either 2000 or 3000mAh battery, and 8 mega-pixel rear camera. Of course the phone also has WIFI, GPS, Bluetooth, micro SD and dual SIM support and is easily available online for around $170.

JiaYu G5 / G4

The JiaYu G4 and G5 have both been available online for months now. The G4 was one of the first quad-core MT6589 phones to hit the market last year, and the G5 is one of the best made Chinese phones of recent time with a full stainless steel body.

Both phones have near identical specifications and come with a range of options, but the ones to go for are the 2GB RAM version with 1.5Ghz MT6589T processor. Each model has the option for a larger battery and they both ship with a 13 mega-pixel rear camera and wonderful 720p HD display.

Read the JiaYu G4 review here.

JiaYu phones also enjoy good 3rd party ROM support with even Xiaomi releasing an official MIUI V5 ROM for the phones.

Huawei Honor 3C 2GB

The only reason we aren’t listing the 1GB version of the Huawei Honor 3C in our list of top dual SIM phones is due to the fact that the WCDMA model has yet to be released. The 2GB RAM version of the Huawei Honor 3C will go on sale in China in the next few days, so we can expect to see resellers around the world offering the phone in a few weeks time.

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The Huawei Honor 3C enjoys a 720p display, 8 mega-pixel F2.0 rear camera, 1.3Ghz quad-core MT6582 processor and all the usual Android phone features. Pricing outside China hasn’t been set, but we can predict this top dual SIM phone will cost around $190.

CoolPad 7298A HD

CoolPad phones are usually unique to China Mobile TD-SCDMA 3G network, but the recently announced CooPad 7929A HD will ship with WCDMA 3G support from the start which is just what most users outside of China require.

Measuring in at 5.5-inch the 7298A is one of the latest phone on the list and also gets a rather smart narrow bezel design with holographic rear panel similar the LG Nexus 4.

Hardware is similar to other phone on the list and includes a 1.3Ghz quad-core MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB memory expandable with a micro SD card, and 2500mAh battery. Pricing in China is 1199 Yuan.

Zopo ZP998

The first phone to launch with an octacore MT6592 Mediatek processor, the Zopo ZP998 is possibly the best value phone in the current Zopo line-up. While most of Zopo’s low-mid range phones suffer from low-resolution display, the ZP998 is a true flagship device and quite affordable too.

Read the Zopo ZP998 review here.

Hardware includes a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display which can be uses when wearing gloves, up to 2GB RAM, 14 mega-pixel rear camera, and some nice built-in gesture controls. If the Zopo ZP998 is a little on the large size for you the Zopo ZP980+ also looks like a great dual SIM phone with similar hardware but smaller 5-inch FHD display.

iNew V3

The iNew V3 has been such a surprise phone this year, and everyone who has used or reviewed the device has been really impressed by the design, build-quality and specifications the phone offers.

Read the iNew V3 review here.

What’s more iNew have been quite active in listening to customers and have been rolling out updates to the phone with added feature and enhancements. Hardware on the iNew includes a quad-core MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM, 13 mega-pixel rear camera, 5-inch OGS 720p display and great looking design. Our only issue with the iNew is the small battery, but carrying a spare or a USB wire easily solves this and the phone really is a joy to use.

Elephone P7

Elephone are another phone maker who are more focussed on bringing it’s products to customers outside of China. The Elephone P7 is their second smartphone since the original P6 but has a more unique design.

From the official website the Elephone P7 can be seen in a number of colour options including black with red highlights, white and red plus white and gold. The display is a lower resolution 960 x 540 5.5-inch panel, but the rest of the hardware is comparable to other dual SIM phones listed, 1.3Ghz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8 mega-pixel camera and 2300mAh battery.

The Elephone P7 costs around $140 and there is also a P7 Mini with 5-inch display and similar specs for a slightly lower price.

TCL Idol X+

Last but not least we have the TCL Idol X+, another octacore flagship Mediatek phone, but this time with a more potent 2.0Ghz clock speed. The rest of the TCL Idol X+ hardware is of a similar calibre and includes 2GB RAM, 5-inch IPS FHD display, 13 mega-pixel main camera, 2500mAH battery, micro SD card slot and even has a range of bluetooth wearable companion devices designed to be used with it.

The TCL IdolX+ is the official name of the phone here in China which is also available on reseller sites, but the phone is also available under the Alcatel brand outside of China.