Just like every month we’re back yet again with another top Chinese smartphones for under $200 list – which is probably the most interesting price segment. In October’s list we aren’t going to see too many surprises as most smaller phone manufacturers seem to have focused completely on Samsung S8 / Xiaomi Mi MIX “inspired” devices, making it really hard for us to pick any of them before getting our hands on one.
1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X
The first smartphone on the list is – as it’s been for almost a year – the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X in any of its plethora of variants. The top one is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
The Redmi Note 4X features a 5.5-inch FHD IPS display, a 13MP rear shooter (either a Sony IMX258 or Samsung S5K3L8) with F/2.0 aperture which can shoot videos at 120fps, and a 5MP selfie snapper.
The smartphone also packs a massive 4000mAh capacity battery that paired with the efficient CPU delivers outstanding autonomy; in its Global Edition the Note 4 supports a tons of 4G LTE bands, with band 20 being among them.
2. Meizu M6 Note
Next we have the recently launched Meizu M6 Note, which is Redmi Note 4X’s best contender as of now. The handset features the same 5.5-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 CPU and either 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 16GB/32GB or 64GB of internal storage respectively (the latter versions are above the $200 mark, though).
What differentiates the Meizu M6 Note from the Redmi Note 4X is the presence of a dual camera setup on the back of the phone. In addition to that, the primary shooter also sports a wider aperture of F/1.9 (it’s F/2.0 on the Note 4), meanwhile the secondary camera is a 5MP with F/2.0 aperture. At the front we find a really high-res 16MP selfie snapper with the same F/2.0 aperture.
The Meizu M6 Note does come with a 100mAh smaller 4000mAh battery but I think we can get over that, we have an additional camera on the back, after all. The smartphone supports pretty much every 4G LTE network, including band 20.
3. Bluboo S8
The Bluboo S8 makes it on the list as it has passed our review with a relatively good score (check it out here) and for its affordable ($149) price tag. The Samsung S8 clone features a beautiful design with a large 5.7-inch IPS HD+ display and is powered by a MediaTek MT6750 clocked at 1.5Ghz coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage (expandable).
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Bluboo’s phone packs a Sony dual rear camera setup composed of a 13MP with F/2.0 aperture + 3MP combo, meanwhile on the front we find a 5MP shooter for selfies.
The Bluboo S8 comes packing a good sized 3450mAh capacity battery, runs Android 7.0 Nougat OTB and supports 4G LTE connectivity including band 20.
4. ZUK Z2
If you’re looking for a smaller 5-inch phone then the ZUK Z2 is still one of the best devices you can get for less than $200 or so. The handset coming from Lenovo’s sub-brand – ZUK – sports a crispy 5-inch FHD display and top notch internal hardware. We’re talking about last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 flagship processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
The ZUK Z2 sports a 12MP Samsung S5K2M8 rear shooter with F/2.2 aperture and 120fps slow-mo video recording capability; on the front we instead find an 8MP OmniVision OV8865 selfie snapper.
ZUK’s phone comes with a 3500mAh capacity battery and it can be updated to Android 7.0 Nougat. The Z2 also supports lots of 4G LTE networks but no band 20.
5. LeEco Le Pro 3 X722
The LeEco Le Pro 3 X722 is yet again on our list as it’s probably the best bang for the buck phone at the time of writing. You can indeed get this high-end device packed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage for as low as $169.99.
The smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch FHD display coated in 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a 16MP with F/2.0 aperture, 4K and 120fps video recording capability rear camera, and an 8MP selfie shooter with 1.4μm large pixels.
The LeEco Le Pro 3 X722 is equipped with a large 4070mAh battery and supports most 4G LTE networks around the globe, including band 20.
Use the coupon code LEPRO3LITE to get it for $169.99 over at Gearbest.
Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $200
This concludes our top 5 list for the month of October. We hope you guys found a good smartphone for yourselves or somebody you know. If you’d like to suggest any other device to the fellow readers then leave a comment below and let them know!