10 Things The Chinese Phone Industry Needs To Stop Doing

Every year we hope things are going to change, but time and time again the Chinese tech companies slip into the same paths as before. Let’s hope 2018 will be a little different.

On the whole, the Chinese tech industry is doing really really well. We’re seeing Chinese smartphone brands dominate sales across the world, and some of the best hardware on the market today comes from the likes of Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus or ZTE, but even with all this success, the majority of Chinese tech brands do need to improve things.

I’m not saying that all of these items on my list of things the Chinese Phone Industry Needs To Stop Doing relates to every phone maker, but at least one point on here will be true to most Chinese phone makers out there today.

Stop Using Chinglish

Chinglish is how the Chinese describe English sentences that have been written using Chinese grammar or spelling. Chances are you have seen odd descriptions for phones or products while browsing Chinese websites, perhaps even just spelling mistakes, but there really is no excuse.

Way back at the start of GizChina, most Chinese brands had no interest in markets outside of China so it was ok for them to spend no time on their non-native marketing, but these days, when some of these brands are selling outside of China only, there really is no reason not to have well-written copy on sites and in marketing materials.

Stop Copying Each Other

There are patterns that the Chinese phone market follows. Some of these patterns are obvious and simply have to happen, while others are just plain annoying.

We completely understand why after one brand launches a quad-camera phone, another might follow suit, but what we can’t stand is when every smartphone maker under the sun launches its version of the latest iPhone only powered by Android… This year we’ve seen handfuls of “Mix’ phones launch after the Mi Mix 2 release, there are also plenty of ‘S8’ models, and we’re already starting to see ‘S9’ phones too. Apparently ‘X’ is the next big trend in phone design, so watch out for a bunch of iPhone X clones launching over the next few months.

Start Thinking About User Experience

For years now Chinese brands have gotten the specs of their phones right (well except for Zopo). We know that all these brands have access to decent quality hardware and can build well-made phones, but we’re still waiting on good customer experience.

While OnePlus might not be the best brand in some respects they do have a very stable operating system and those who use their phones are generally very impressed and happy. Can more smartphone brands catch up?

Stop Being So Slow With Updates

This isn’t only down to Chinese phone vendors but the chipsets and PCB’s these brands have to use. While you might all believe that each phone maker designs its own PCB the reality is simply not the case. To get 6GB RAM phone on the market for less than $250, most brands are actually very small teams of marketers who outsource design and PCB development to other companies. If these other tech brands don’t offer updates then our phones get stuck on old Android systems.

We’re seeing much better update speed these days than I did way back at the start of GizChina, but there is still a long way to go to really get on top of things.

Stop “leaking” News Way Before Products Are Ready To Launch

Brand X is going to launch a 10GB RAM smartphone with Snapdragon 900 and dual screens! That’s the news we receive then report early at the start of the year, but then the phone doesn’t actually surface until the very end of the year.. This not only annoying for you guys but for us too.

Stop Using Benchmarks As Proof Of A Good Product

Again, this is something that we don’t see as often as we did in the past, but some phone makers still do try to impress potential customers with Antutu and other benchmarks.. When really was the last time that you bought a phone purely on benchmarks? When was the last time you even benchmarked your phone?

Stop Being Just A Smartphone Brand

We’re seeing more and more phone makers disappear, but it’s the phone brands that diversify into other markets that remain strong. Xiaomi makes everything from sofas to washing machines, Huawei makes tables and convertibles, and OnePlus even has a strong accessory market. UMi, Elephone, Ulefone and others should take note.

Start To Improve Customer Service And Report

A few years back we saw a few brands really try and improve their customer service, but we feel that recently they’ve been allowed to get away with substandard service and it’s not getting any better. We pour $millions into the Chinese phone industry every year, we deserve good customer service and aftersales care.

Stop Taking 2 Steps Back For Every Step Forward

This one is really just for OnePlus. Every time they make a good phone they receive rave reviews, their phones outperform everything else for the money and user experience is second to none. What could go wrong? Well, what about limiting how RAM is used in your phones or that time you were found collecting user data without their knowledge… Come on you can do better than that.

Stop Selling Phones Without An Included Case

Vivo and Oppo do sell their phones with silicone cases included (although they are the cheapest available), but with more phone brands releasing devices with glossy glass finishes, we really do need a way of protecting our handsets out of the box.

When even Chinese phones are reaching prices of as much as $800, we really should be getting a protective case thrown in the box too.

So those are my thoughts for the phone industry in 2018, what ideas do you have?