Our top 5 Chinese smartphone list sees some new addition in the month of May, which means your options just got better overall. So, if you’re looking for your next daily driver for under $200, then stick around to check out what you can get from China in this price segment!
Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $200
1. Redmi Note 7
The Redmi Note 7 is still 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. Meizu Note Note 9
Meizu is finally back in the fight with their recently launched Meizu Note 9. The handset does indeed feature a great Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, all for less than $200.
Meizu’s phone then packs a 6.2-inch display with Full HD+ resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Meanwhile cameras include a 48MP main paired with a 5MP secondary on the back and a 20MP selfie snapper in the notch at the front.
Finally the handset comes with a large 4000mAh battery supporting 18W fast charging and runs Flyme 7.2 based on Android 9 Pie out of the box.
3. Redmi 7
Entering the list with the lowest price at just above the $100 mark, we have the Redmi 7 battery king. The company’s latest entry-level phone is powered by a a really efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 CPU along with 2GB, 3GB or 4GB of RAM and either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.
The Redmi 7 then comes with a large 6.26-inch HD+ display sporting an 8MP snapper for selfies, meanwhile on the back we have two rear cameras of 12MP and 2MP resolutions.
Other specs include a large 4000mAh capacity battery, a P2i Nano hydrophobic coating and MIUI 10 based on Android 9 Pie as the OS.
4. HONOR 8X MAX
Gizchina News of the week
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. Meizu X8
Finally, another phone that dropped in price and can now bring a powerful Snapdragon 710 CPU for less than $200 is the Meizu X8. The handset does indeed come with the aforementioned processore along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of fast UFS 2.1 internal storage.
The Meizu X8 also packs a 6.15-inch FHD+ display with a notch at the top within which we find a 20MP selfie snapper, while on the back we have two cameras of 12MP and 5MP to snap photos with a shallow depth of field.
Other specs on the phone include a 3210 capacity battery, mCharge 4.0 quick charge support and runs Flyme UI based on Android Oreo.
Honorable Mentions
Lenovo Z5s
Coming now a just over $200, the Lenovo Z5s is an extraordinary phone for the money. The handset does indeed pack a powerful Snapdragon 710 paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (expandable). We then have a large 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a notch which integrates a 16MP selfie snapper.
On the back there’re a total of three cameras including a primary 25MP sensor, a secondary telefoto 8MP camera and a third 5MP shooter to capture depth data.
Finally, the smartphone is fueled by a 3300mAh battery, has an USB Type-C port which supports 15W fast charge and runs Android 9 Pie OTB.
Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $200
With the smartphone above we conclude our monthly rendezvous for the month of May. 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.
Don’t mean to be contradictory, but I currently see half a dozen places selling it for under $190. For what it’s worth, as someone who has owned the meizu, x8 and currently owns a redmi note 7 and a meizu note 9, the Redmi is the best phone of the bunch.