Top 10 highly-rated Android smartphones in China for March 2021

The Chinese smartphone market is the most competitive in the world and also the largest. So much attention is on the Chinese market because grabbing China is almost impossible for any manufacturer. Today, we will look at the top 10 Android smartphones which happen to be the most accepted or highly-rated devices in China for March 2021. This list is based on a recent survey from AnTuTu.

While Huawei used to be a “King” in China, it appears that its popularity is slowing down. Embattled Meizu seems to be picking up as it claims four spots in the top 10 list. Of course, this is a list for Android smartphones so there is no device from Apple here. However, another Android giant, Samsung, had to settle for only two spots

Notable absentees from this list are Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Vivo. In all honesty, their absence is nothing short of a surprise. Oppo is doing well globally but it does not seem to be highly rated in China. Only the Oppo Find X3 Pro made this list.

Like we said earlier, the data comes from AnTuTu’s evaluation, and the data spans from March 1st to March 21st, 2021.

Here are the top 10 highly rated smartphones in China for March 2021

1. Huawei Mate 40

It is not entirely a surprise that a Huawei phone is on top of this list. However, the surprise is that this is the only Huawei device on the list (excluding Honor). The Huawei Mate 40 has been in the top 3 Android smartphones in China for several months now. It has a high rating of 98.04%. This smartphone was released in December 2020 and it is the cheapest model in the Mate 40 series. It comes with Huawei’s Kirin 9000E SoC which is a little bit lower than the Kirin 9000. However, the chip’s overall performance is still flagship level.

2. Meizu 17 Pro

The Meizu 17 Pro is the first of four Meizu smartphones that get a lot of praise in China. The is smartphone has a 97.97% rating and could have easily been on top. Well, this device comes with an “old” 7nm Snapdragon 865 SoC thus it is not a 2021 flagship smartphone. It also comes with LPDDR5 RAM + UFS3.1 flash memory. Thankfully, this rating mostly considers the design, appearance, screen material, and other details. If the chips come into play, we are very sure this device will drop down this list.

3. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G

In third place is the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G with a favourable rating of 97.82%. This smartphone beats its senior colleagues to claim a spot on this list. In this highly-rated smartphone list, the Galaxy S20 has been constant for quite some time. This is an early 2020 smartphone thus it uses a 7nm processor – Snapdragon 865.

4. Honor 30 Pro+

If we consider Honor as part of Huawei, this will be the second and last Huawei device on the list. The Honor 30 Pro+ was released when Huawei was still in charge of Honor. This smartphone hit the market in April 2020 and it comes with a 7nm+ Kirin 990 SoC. Its dual curve screen, thin bezels, dual punch-hole camera design as well as its rear camera module coupled with its price earned this device a place on this list. It has a 97.75% rating

5. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G

The acceptance rate of this smartphone is 96.55 and we are not entirely surprised here. Of course, this is a Galaxy Note phone and it is always a good sight to behold. A couple of highlights from the design of this device includes its super square-ish appearance and well as its stylus pen support. Although this is nothing new for the Galaxy Note series. This device also uses an ultra-thin bezel and the rear camera module design is attractive.

6. Black Shark Gaming Phone 4 Pro

The Black Shark Gaming Phone 4 Pro is the only gaming smartphone on this list and it racks up an acceptance rate of 96.36%. While many people think that Black Shark is owned by Xiaomi, it is not. Black Shark is an individual company that never hit the headlines until Xiaomi invested in the company. Thus, Xiaomi has a stake in Black Shark but does not own Black Shark. This phone is a gaming device with ultra-thin bezels, a center punch-hole camera as well as a rear horizontal camera setup. The overall feel of this device is not entirely smooth to give gamers a good grip. Little wonder it has a place on this list.

7. Meizu 17

If Meizu is not performing well presently, it has everything to do with its marketing. The company releases good Android smartphones and the acceptance rate of Meizu phones in China confirms this. It is one of few OEMs that stick with the horizontal rear camera design. This smartphone has an acceptance rating of 96.32%.

8. & 9. Meizu 18 & Meizu 18 Pro

Interestingly, both Android smartphones in the Meizu 18 series made the top 10 most accepted smartphones in China. Both smartphones were released in March this year and they come with the same design and appearance. This series ditches the horizontal rear camera setup for a vertical one just like the Honor 30 Pro+. The dual curve display, extra smooth feel, and full-screen appearance are part of their selling points. In terms of their acceptance rating, the Meizu 18 scores 95.36% while the Pro model scores 94.09%.

10. OPPO Find X3 Pro

The last device on this list is the Oppo Find X3 Pro which is also a March 2022 smartphone with a unique design. The Find X3 Pro comes with a quad rear camera setup in a protruding camera module. The camera protrusion is unique because there is no joint between the rear cover and the camera module. The sensors slightly sink into the protrusion thus there will be no direct contact between a surface and the sensor. This device got an acceptance rating of 93.87%.

Conclusion

Most of the smartphones in the list above may not be the best of devices, however, AnTuTu claims that users seem to consider the shape design and material of mobile phones when rating the device. The glass design material seems to get more attention. Whether it is an Android phone or an iPhone, a glass rear shows more colours especially if it uses the AG technology. While plastic is a no-no, plain leather and ceramics also add creativity to the exterior design.