Despite the MWC 2019 taking place last month in Barcelona, we haven’t seen any interesting device in the sub $200 price range coming into the market. Nonetheless, if you still want to buy one of the many Chinese smartphones already out that cost less than $200, our following Top 5 might help you choose; keep reading!
Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $200
1. Redmi Note 7
Our first spot goes to the Redmi Note 7, the undisputed king of the sub $200 price segment. Xiaomi’s mid-range killer comes with a large 6.3-inch display of Full HD+ resolution with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.
Beneath the shiny and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 coated body we then find a powerful Snapdragon 660 coupled with a minimum of 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which is expandable via microSD.
The main selling point of the device is the camera though, coming with a resolution of a whopping 48MP, the Redmi Note 7 has no rivals in its price range. The 48MP provide extra sharp photos when the subject is well lit, while in darker scenarios the pixels are combined into larger 1.6um ones for better quality. At the front, we find a 13MP selfie snapper.
Finally, the smartphone packs a large 4000mAh capacity battery typical of the series, along with an USB Type-C port, which is actually something we’ve never seen before on a Redmi device.
2. Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite
Staying in the Xiaomi family, we find one of the best selling phones of the past months – the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite. This mid-ranger launched by Chinese giant a while back can now be found for less than $200, which makes it a great deal. For the low price you indeed get the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 CPU along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (expandable via micro SD).
The smartphone also comes with a big 6.26-inch display of Full HD+ resolution and a 24MP selfie snapper in the notch on top. Meanwhile on the back we find a 12MP main sensor with f/1.9 aperture and a secondary 5MP shooter to aid with the bokeh effect.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite packs an averagely sized 3350mAh capacity battery and runs Android 8 Oreo with the MIUI skin on top.
3. Huawei Honor 10 Lite
The Huawei Honor 10 Lite launched a couple months back is basically the answer to Xiaomi’s Mi 8 Lite, an alternative some may actual prefer. Huawei’s mid-ranger is powered by a Kirin 710 CPU coupled with 3GB of RAM (or 4GB if you find a good deal) and 64GB of internal storage, which is expandable via microSD.
The display on the Honor 10 Lite is 6.21-inch in size and sports Full HD+ resolution. In its upper part we find a water drop notch with a 24MP selfie snapper inside, meanwhile on the back we have a 13MP main camera along with a 5MP secondary sensor to recreate the bokeh effect in photos.
Finally, the Huawei Honor 10 Lite comes with a good 3400mAh battery, supports NFC and runs Android 9.0 Pie out of the box.
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4. HONOR 8X MAX
With its price dropping below the $200 mark, the Huawei Honor 8 Max has become a really interesting option in its price range, at least for phablet lovers. The 8X Max does indeed sport a massive 7.12-inch FHD+ display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 CPU which coupled with the massive 5000mAh battery should bring pretty epic screen-on times.
In the camera department the 8X Max packs a 16MP f/2.2 main shooter paired with a 2MP secondary to snap photos with bokeh effect, at the front we instead find an 8MP selfie snapper with f/2.0 aperture.
Other features on the Honor 8X Max include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage which is expandable, 18W fast charging and Android 8.0 Oreo as the OS out of the box.
5. Lenovo S5 Pro
Finally, albeit somewhat hard to find in this period due to low supply, the Lenovo S5 Pro GT is probably one of the more overlooked phones recently released in China. The S5 Pro GT is basically a beefed up version of the older S5 Pro that has now been equipped with the much more powerful Snapdragon 660 CPU. Along with the Snapdragon 660, we find a minimum of 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that is expandable via microSD.
All the other specs stay the same, so we find a large 6.2-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ resolution. Meanwhile cameras include a main 20MP shooter coupled with a 12MP secondary camera, with selfies taken care of by another dual camera setup of 20MP and 8MP resolution.
The Lenovo S5 Pro GT comes packing a 3500mAh battery which can be charged through the USB Type-C port at the bottom and runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $200
With the smartphone above we conclude our monthly rendezvous for the month of March. If you’ve found your next mid-ranger comment below, otherwise let us know which Chinese Smartphones under $200 you’d have liked to see on the list.