The smartphone market has developed rapidly over the past 3 years, large companies have already achieved tremendous success in this field, but lately there has been a stagnation - innovations appear less and less and people are less interested in purchasing "flagship" gadgets. One of the reasons for the fall of large manufacturers can be called the expansion of devices from the Middle Kingdom. Chinese brands of phones occupy an increasing part of the market, and restless manufacturers are actively introducing modern technical equipment, while offering them that attract both advanced users and not too biased ones.

Main Models: Pros and Cons of Chinese Smartphone Brands

The brands of Chinese phones for Android vary greatly. There are both well-known players and “nameless” players who have revealed one or two gadgets to the world. Not all budget manufacturers charge in quantity and price. Famous brands of Chinese phones managed to enter the vast world market, thanks to desperate copying of famous competitors - similar devices on low prices disperse like hot cakes.

These devices, of course, have both their pros and cons. The advantages of such gadgets include their price. Chinese phone brands are independent of retail, they do not need advertising, therefore, by saving on these components, the creators of gadgets save significant funds, which ultimately manifests itself in the form of a reduced cost of smartphones. It is clear that this fact will certainly delight potential buyers.

Also to the pluses similar devices should be attributed to their "top-end" filling. Chinese mobile phone brands, despite their adherence to the mid-price segment, are equipping their creations with the latest technology. If you see a 10- or 20-core chip anywhere, it will be a newcomer from China. Recently, Chinese phone brands can boast of an interesting design: if earlier all gadgets from the Middle Kingdom looked like randomly and carelessly assembled pieces of plastic, now the creators are increasingly paying attention to the appearance of smartphones. It is not uncommon to find the use of more solid materials such as steel, glass, aluminum, sometimes even wood.

Unfortunately, inexpensive gadgets also have a number of disadvantages. First of all, you need to realize that phones, the price threshold of which is especially low, will not be able to boast of a high-quality assembly. That is, those smartphones that attract at a price below 3 or 4 thousand rubles still look like those very faded and cheap plastic Chinese fakes.

In addition to low-quality components, you need to remember that the software content of such devices leaves much to be desired. For example, there is often a huge amount of preinstalled, terrible in quality or completely unnecessary software, with which all cheap brands of Chinese phones are stuffed: voice-changing applications, demos of games, "national software" and the like. Developers don't care much about optimization either. "Android" is a finicky system and requires a powerful filling or a good straightening on the part of the developer in order to ensure the proper performance of the gadget.

And finally, even large manufacturers are not averse to deceiving their fans. If your new, inexpensive smartphone has 8 cores, do not be surprised that in fact only 4 are active, and the 13-megapixel camera, coupled with interpolation, does not even reach an 8-megapixel photo module.

All that can be advised is to choose those "Chinese" who have already gained a good reputation. It is necessary to avoid those who, taking advantage of the inexperience of users, deceive them. Actually, more about the devices.

The best Chinese premium phone brands

These should certainly include new items from the giants of the industry Meizu and Xiaomi, and it is also not a sin to remember the recently released LeEco.

As you can see from the table, this list contains a device with a very low price. The specified gadget is presented, until recently, to very few LeTV.

The higher-end Chinese phone brands are gadgets created by companies that have already grown and see giants such as Apple or Samsung as their main competitors.

These devices are not only equipped with powerful technical components, but also follow the latest trends, coupled with support for the most advanced technological solutions. These phones are equipped with fashionable fingerprint sensors that allow you to provide the data in the smartphone with an adequate level of security, as well as get rid of long passwords. All three gadgets support the modern standard USB Type-C.

Meizu Pro 6 - Chinese iPhone

This unit boasts support for the latest 3D Press technology. Such a display is capable of recognizing pressing force. This feature allows you to use Extra options and the context menu in the system - quick actions on shortcuts, the ability to preview links in the browser, and much more. A similar thing has already been implemented in the iPhone, respectively, we see here an obvious borrowing, which, fortunately, has not been paid to everyone for a long time, and the competition benefits the buyer.

Xiaomi Mi5 is the best Android shell

The Chinese phone brand Xiaomi is famous primarily for its software platform. The phone works with its own shell called MiUI. It was very positively received by the public, many loved it for its excellent visual design, as well as for its high-quality optimization. The smartphone came out quite expensive, mainly due to the fact that the eminent Snapdragon is used as a processor, while others did not hesitate to put a newcomer in the form of MediaTek into their inventions.

LeEco Le 2 - ahead of the rest

This smartphone was surprised by the lack of a headphone jack. The Chinese have implemented their own audio system that uses USB port Type-C, giving you the ability to play much higher quality audio both with a dedicated DAC and full support for lossless audio formats. But what will the owners of headphones with a standard port say about this? Most likely, they will not be very happy. It is unlikely that for the sake of such a novelty, people will run to change an existing headset.

Brands of Chinese phones of the middle and low price segment

One of the advantages of modern consumer electronics is the price range.

The brands of Chinese phones, the list of which is full from day to day, is saturated and gadgets are much cheaper. Their prices are often below 10,000 rubles, which certainly attracts a certain public who does not want to pay a large sum for overpriced technical equipment.

This is a summary table of the most available devices on the market, while being at an acceptable level of quality, which will not cause undue irritation. These phones run on proprietary shells (with the exception of Wileyfox), which provides decent performance. The table also shows that the brands of Chinese phones have grown to the level of flagships of previous years.

Wileyfox Swift is one of the first powerful sub-brands

When the events related to the dumping of prices for smartphones and the emergence of some subsidiaries began, Wileyfox was one of the first to enter the scene. The amazing value for money impressed everyone without exception. The device was difficult to order, which caused even more excitement. The body of the device is made of plastic and it looks very presentable. The high performance of the gadget is provided not only by the powerful filling, but also by the platform on which it works, namely CyanogenMod 13. A competent combination of technical and software solutions has made it possible to create a decent phone in a low price segment.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 - graceful simplicity

This device is a little more powerful, a little more expensive, but at the same time it is somewhat sleeker than its competitors, which is good for it. Users are increasingly paying attention to the exterior of their smartphones. The stunningly large display provides a gorgeous picture, with maximum viewing angles. The phone runs on MiUI, a high-performance add-on on top of the Android system. Also, the devices of the Xiaomi company please with high-quality cameras (they are not the best among the available ones, but decent).

Meizu M2 mini - a powerful kid

So the moment has come when smartphones with a diagonal of 5 inches receive the mini prefix. Yes, indeed, compared to many flagships, a display with such a diagonal already seems small, but not everyone is used to it. This device uses Flyme as a software shell. It is a base specially designed for

Counterfeits

It is impossible to talk about Chinese smartphones without mentioning the huge number of copies with which both the Chinese and Russian markets are oversaturated. In fact, you've probably come across a 2,000-ruble iPhone running Android, a Vertu under $ 60, and similar products. From a distance, such phones look similar, but no matter how you are assured, you just have to touch them and it becomes clear that this is a cheap, poor-quality fake. It's easy not to fall for a trick: you need to remember that Vertu and iPhone will never cost from 400 to 4 thousand rubles. In this case, it would be wiser to take

In recent years, the Chinese electronics market has been pleasing buyers around the world with quite interesting, and most importantly, budget smartphones. Some models of little-known Chinese firms simply amaze with a combination of high performance, colorful screen, quality cameras, and a powerful battery. In general, they try to take into account all the main requirements of an ordinary user, and this creates serious competition for the most popular brands in the electronics market.

Lenovo Vibe K5

A relatively budget smartphone in quality central processing unit received Qualcomm Snapdragon 415. This is a processor with 8 Cortex-A53 cores, the maximum frequency of each of which is 1.4 GHz. The graphic coprocessor of the device is Adreno 405. The device has 2 GB of RAM, which help it to quickly respond to actions and run several applications at the same time. The built-in drive is not particularly distinguished by its indicators, since they are equal to 16 GB. Although the lack of memory can be compensated for by external drives, where you can place third-party games and large programs.

Autonomous operation of the device is provided by a 2750 mAh battery. The 13-megapixel main camera will help you take photos or shoot a video. A good Chinese phone also has a good 5 MP front camera. The smartphone, which we recommend to buy for personal use, has a 5-inch display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, which is convenient for a fragile female hand, which is quite enough for comfortable viewing of video.

Which Chinese smartphone is better to buy

So we have completed our ranking of the best Chinese smartphones for the beginning and middle of 2018. Summing up, we can safely say that the gadgets presented in the review are high-quality and popular representatives of the Chinese electronics market. Therefore, figuring out which smartphone is better to buy, it is quite possible to purchase one of the considered models in the online store and enjoy using it. Stay tuned for new products and enjoy your shopping!

Read also:

In no time, Chinese manufacturers have risen from nowhere to challenge the world's most powerful smartphone brands. This article has selected a dozen of China's mobile giants.

About 20 years ago, dozens of phone manufacturers were popular. Europeans remember Bosch and Sendo, Americans can be proud of Palm Pilots. At the same time, the Japanese market supplied phones from Fuji, Panasonic, Sanyo and others.

Gradually, however, this business became expensive and consumers began to choose a small number of premium brands. For years, Nokia, Motorola, Sony ericsson, RIM and Samsung. Over time, they were supplanted by Apple, Samsung, HTC, RIM (BlackBerry today) and LG.

Now these successful brands are also under threat ...

The appearance of cheap parts, open source Android and ambitious emerging economies began to change the prevailing consumer preferences.

Chinese phone makers, long considered cheap and disposable, are booming. They have made a splash in their own market, are actively entering new countries and even making progress in mature regions.

China's mobile phone manufacturers ranked 7th in the world's top ten smartphones in 2016. These include: Lenovo, Xiaomi, ZTE, TCL / Alcatel, Huawei, and Coolpad.

This is an amazing twist. And this may be just the beginning, other Chinese brands like Gionee, Tecno and Oppo are working hard to break into the top ten. best smartphones the world.

Below is a quick rundown of Chinese phone makers aiming to push Apple and Samsung out of your pockets and bags ...

Alcatel OneTouch/ TCL

Previously, the French phone maker was bought out by the Chinese telecommunications giant TCL in 2013, and the firm became Alcatel OneTouch, and since then, smartphone profits have grown steadily. It is the tenth largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world and the seventh largest mobile phone manufacturer in China. The firm is among the Chinese phone makers targeting the US and Canada, increasing its marketing investment sixfold. Most attractive, it bought up the assets of the once beloved US brand, Palm. This led to the launch of the Pixi 3 line of smartphones. The firm even launched the production of tablets and smart watch operating on a patented Alcatel firmware that works with iOS or Android.

Coolpad

Chinese manufacturer cell phones Coolpad sells more devices domestically than even Apple or Samsung. It is second only to Xioami and Lenovo, occupying 11.5% of the smartphone market. Coolpad has actually been around since 1993, initially producing devices for major carriers like T-Mobile. However, the OEM experience was not very smooth. The real sensation was the news that Coolpad "deliberately" left a security hole that allowed hackers to "accidentally" take full control of the device. The company began producing products under its own brand during the heyday of Android.

Gionee

This Chinese firm sells about 25 million phones a year, up from 400 million. Samsung phones but, nevertheless, she is trying to enter the top five. The company has a long history: in 2002, Gionee launched consumer electronics - video and DVD. By 2005, the company began to manufacture telephones in its own factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. Now Gionee is competing in the highest level, demonstrating such an effective advantage as a camera. The firm is actively moving into the Indian market and aims to capture a 10% share within the next two to three years.

Huawei

It must be outrageous for Huawei to watch the irresistible rise of its compatriot Xiaomi. At the start of the decade, the telecom giant set out to challenge LG, HTC and Sony themselves to gain a well-deserved spot in the top five cell phone manufacturers. The firm launched its flagship brand, Ascend, and invested heavily in marketing. This has paid off, but Huawei's products are still more represented in emerging markets than in the US and Europe. Today, Huawei ranks 3rd in terms of smartphone sales, behind only such giants as Samsung and Apple. Recently, Huawei has confirmed the shift from selling cheap phones to shipping high quality smartphones. It plans to increase shipments of smartphones by a third this year.

Lenovo

It is unlikely that for someone this name may become new, but in 2013-2014. Lenovo finally stopped positioning itself purely as a manufacturer personal computers to become recognized as a serious player in the mobile phone world. In 2005 year Lenovo bought the laptop business from the American firm IBM and did something similar in 2014 when it acquired Motorola from Google for $ 2.9 billion. This acquisition in one fell swoop helped increase smartphone shipments to the global market by 38%. Today the company ranks 9th in the world along with foreign and local phone manufacturers.

Oneplus

It's easy to describe Chinese phone makers as a prosaic group that produces boring functional devices with borrowed components. However, this cannot be said unequivocally about OnePlus, the creator of which is the vice president of another supplier of Chinese phones - Oppo. The company is a true innovator in two ways. First, her phones work on CyanogenMod firmware- a reworked Android that looks like a raw Android OS, but allows users to customize it based on their own needs. Secondly, OnePlus distributes its phones by personal invitation. While the latter strategy has received a lot of criticism, at least OnePlus is trying to do something different from the rest. Users love their sleek OnePlus devices.

“So thin, it can cut through a watermelon” is an unusual expression that characterizes the Oppo R5. Vivo and Kazam also competed in the race for the "thinnest" title in the world. On the battlefield, Oppo has expressed a desire to compete on the basis of design and innovation, not price. This led to the novelty of the rotating top-mounted camera on the N1 phone. Most of Oppo's sales are in the domestic market, and the company is also popular in India, Indonesia and Australia.

Tecno

Most of China's phone makers are targeting Africa as the next target market for smartphones. Interestingly, Tecno is ahead of its competitors in this. The firm has taken the cell phone market in Nigeria by storm and currently sells about 12.5 million phones in the African continent every quarter. That's more than BlackBerry and Nokia. The firm has managed to make cheap and reliable phones with pre-installed apps like social network Facebook and Spinlet music app. Tecno also has factories in Africa.

Xiaomi

Of all the new Chinese phone makers, Xiaomi is undoubtedly the largest. The firm began its work in 2010, in 2013 hired a former vice president Google android Hugo Barra to manage company affairs domestically and throughout Asia. It worked. Three years ago, Xiaomi didn't bother with the top 10 Android manufacturers. It now ranks third with 5.3% market share. Essentially, Xiaomi's secret weapon is price. She sells a reliable high-end product with MIUI firmware based on Android. Xiaomi phones are half the price of Galaxy or HTC phones. In addition, Xiaomi phones are mainly sold over the Internet, so the price of smartphones does not include any retail mark-ups: this way, within 10 minutes, the company can sell about 150 thousand phones in the Chinese WeChat application. Xiaomi sells its smartphones mainly in Asian markets, but is currently actively expanding into the markets of India, Latin America and Africa. Also, the company's products are presented in Russia.

ZTE

A subsidiary of the giant corporation ZTE is actually the fourth largest phone supplier in the United States. The company has achieved this success by creating budget smartphones for all major carriers. The firm has been trying to establish itself as a high-demand smartphone manufacturer for many years. Like its close competitor Huawei, ZTE made a big leap in 2011 with premium phones like the Skate, but slowly fizzled out. However, in 2016 the company is ranked 8th in the world and 5th in China itself.

Quite often, Chinese-made smartphones are called "flagship killers." And this is no coincidence, since engineers from the Middle Kingdom, in their desire to take a leading place in the gadget market, create functional smartphones that are not inferior in performance to their Korean or American counterparts, surpassing them in quality and "stuffing", having a cost of two times less. Present to your attention best chinese phones of 2016- TOP 10 rating.

1. Lenovo ZUK Z2

Lenovo continues to delight users with its products, which are quite popular due to the high build quality of devices, a capacious battery of devices and, of course, affordability. Therefore, the first place in the ranking of the best Chinese phones in 2016 is occupied by the model of this particular company - Lenovo ZUK Z2. The smartphone is available in two versions: basic with 64 GB of internal memory and PRO with 128 GB. Both versions are powered by the latest Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM for basic version and 6 GB for PRO. The quad-core processor clocked at 2150MHz, coupled with the Adreno graphics accelerator, make both models fast and responsive to touch.

The basic version is equipped with a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1080, but with an IPS matrix, while PRO version has the same resolution but capacitive 5.2-inch Super AMOLED with 424 ppi.

The main cameras of both versions of Lenovo ZUK Z2, although they are similar in the number of pixels of -13 MP, but differ in the aperture - f / 2.2 and f / 1.8, respectively, as well as in the resolution of the video quality: for the basic version it is 4160 × 3120 pixels at 30 k \ s, and for Pro 4807 × 2704 dots. Front-camera both versions are similar - this is 8 MP.

Basic version cost Lenovo phone The ZUK Z2 is significantly different from the Pro, which costs around 15,000 rubles against 25,000 rubles for the Pro version.

2. LeEco LE 2 max

The second line in the list of the best Chinese smartphones of 2016 is occupied by LeEco LE 2 max. Designed for 2 SIM cards, the phone comes with two types of internal storage - 32 GB or 64 GB. Huge for mobile phone 5.7-inch Retina screen has a resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels, the density of pixels per inch is 515 pixels. The sleek design of the phone hides the same powerful four-core Snapdragon 820 processor in combination with an Adreno 530 GPU and 4GB of RAM.

The front camera LeEco LE 2 max is 8 MP, while the main camera of the device has 21 MP and an aperture of f / 2.0, which, coupled with a dual LED flash, will give the user high-quality and rich photos, not to mention video in 4K quality with 3840 × 2160 points at 30fps shooting.

The beautiful design and powerful performance of LeEco LE 2 max are able to bring the device to the flagships of 2016. In the meantime, the cost of the phone starts at about 17,000 rubles.

3. Xiaomi Mi5 128GB

Top three best phones Chinese-made closes Xiaomi Mi5 128GB. Another device from the Chinese company Xiaomi has incorporated all the top qualities and characteristics of the flagship phone of the year. Xiaomi Mi5 128GB with a fourth-generation Gorilla Glass body and a metal frame around the edges has a presentable appearance and no less presentable productive stuffing: a Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor with an Adreno 530 graphics accelerator, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory without expansion options.

16 megapixel front camera with a maximum resolution of 4608 x 3456 pixels for photos and 3840 x 2160 pixels for video shooting, coupled with a 4 MP front camera, take high-quality photos and videos in Ultra HD and Full HD formats for later playback on a 5.15 ″ screen ... The cost of the Xiaomi Mi5 128GB phone starts at 23,000 rubles.

4. Meizu Pro 5

The new "musical" flagship Meizu Pro 5, which outwardly resembles the sixth generation iPhone with its thin all-metal body and two plastic inserts, painted in the body color, entered the top ten of the highest quality Chinese phones in 2016. Eight Samsung Exynos 740 processor cores, Mali-T760 GPU, 3 or 4 GB RAM, depending on the version, 32 or 64 GB internal memory- these are the parameters that bring Meizu Pro 5 to the flagships of 2016 among Chinese smartphones.

The front camera in 21.2 MP, which gives the quality of video shooting in 4K format and the front camera in 5 MP, is a great bonus to the powerful and productive stuffing of the phone. The average cost of Meizu Pro 5 is 20,000 rubles.

5. UMi Super

UMi Super is a stylish Chinese smartphone that embodies all the technologies of world famous companies: a 5.5 ″ LTPS screen from Sharp, a 13MP camera from Panasonic and a phone body made of tough aircraft-grade aluminum. The eight-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor and the Mali-T860 graphics processor, coupled with 4 GB of RAM, are responsible for the high performance of the phone. The smartphone, like most of the Celestial Empire's creations, is a dual-SIM one with alternate authentication of SIM cards, which is brought into working condition using a fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone under the camera.

UMi Super comes in a non-standard box - a metal and rather elegant black packaging. Price this device from Umi is 15,900 rubles.

6. OnePlus 3

The OnePlus 3 is the most powerful Chinese phone of 2016, surpassing even the much-praised Galaxy S7 and its big brother, the Edge series, at a fraction of the cost. The aluminum body with 2.5D glass on the Optic AMOLED screen hides 6 GB of RAM, and the same powerful Snapdragon 820, coupled with the Adreno 530.

Cameras from Sony - the main one at 16 MP and the front one at 8 MP - give excellent results when taking photos at any time of the day and video in 4K format, which will not leave indifferent even the most demanding user. The disadvantages of OnePlus 3, perhaps, can be attributed only to the lack of protection against moisture and the lack of an SD card slot. In all other parameters, the OnePlus 3 smartphone surpasses the latest creation of Samsung and costs only about 30,000 rubles against 50,000 for the Korean flagship.

7.Huawei Nexus 6P 64Gb

7th place in the ranking of the top 10 best Chinese phones in 2016 goes to Huawei Nexus 6P 64Gb. A slim and elegant device with an average cost of 32,000 rubles is capable of a lot thanks to its performance and excellent photo and video performance. Cameras from Sony - total 12.3 MP and front 8 MP - reproduce photo and video material on a 5.7 ″ AMOLED screen in Quad HD quality for photos and 4K for video.

The Nexus 6P is powered by a Snapdragon 810 series processor and an Adreno 430 GPU complete with 3GB of RAM. Of the minuses of the Nexus 6P, it is worth noting the lack of a 2nd SIM card, which is unusual today for Chinese-made phones.

8. Elephone P9000

According to the slogan of the Chinese manufacturing company “Wait and be surprised”, the Elephone P9000 smartphone really surprises with its performance and the price of 16,200 rubles for such a productive device. The dual-SIM Chinese phone Elephone P9000 has an eight-core MediaTek processor with 4 GB of RAM.

The 5.5 ″ LTPS screen from LG displays brightly and contrasting photos and videos captured both by the main camera of the device at 13 MP with laser autofocus, and by the front camera with 8 MP. Both cameras are equipped with an image sensor from Sony.

The only drawback of this mobile phone can be considered the absence of a metal case - it is made of high-quality plastic and sits without backlash and creaking, but this can also explain such an affordable and competitive price.

9.Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro 32G

Among the best Chinese phones Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro is ranked 9th. Externally, the smartphone is similar to its younger brother Redmi Note 3, but inside it hides a number of advantages. This is the performance of 6 GB of RAM, coupled with a Snapdragon 650 processor and a 4000 mAh battery, which allows you to use the device for up to 3 days in the "call only" mode or up to 1.5-2 days active use along with browsing.

The 16 MP front camera and the 5 MP front camera give excellent results when shooting photos and videos. The MiUI software shell makes the device interface unique and easy to use.

The cost of the phone starts at 11,400 rubles and varies depending on the color of the phone case.

10. Lenovo Vibe X3

Dual SIM flagship Lenovo Vibe The X3 rounds out the top of the best phones from Chinese manufacturers. The smartphone is designed with amplification for the musical component. In addition to powerful cameras from Sony with 21 MP for the front and 8 MP for the front, as well as a high performance component in the form of 6 cores with Snapdragon 808 and Adreno 430, Lenovo Vibe X3 has a three-microphone system with three amplifiers and a powerful audio chip. This will impress even the most demanding music lover.

The 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels is capable of displaying not only high-quality photos, but also videos in Ultra HD quality with high-quality sound. The case of Lenovo Vibe X3 is made of high-quality plastic, which helped the manufacturer reduce the cost of the model to 24,000 rubles without sacrificing the internal functionality of the phone.

The year 2019 has begun, which means it's time to update the list of the best budget smartphones to buy. Gone are the days when inexpensive Chinese smartphones were considered substandard and second-rate. Now in the Celestial Empire they make quite good phones, which are often not much inferior to eminent brands .. We evaluate cameras, body and design, characteristics, reliability, workmanship and of course the price.

Ulefone Armor X2

A smartphone can be temporarily purchased for almost a symbolic price - for $ 99.99. The Ulefone company has opened the acceptance of pre-orders for the model, which, in addition to being protected from water, dust, falls and other vicissitudes, received a powerful battery and a contactless module. NFC payment... The latter is rarely found in Chinese smartphones, since it is useless for the inhabitants of the skies, and it will be useful for you and me.

The device received a housing protected by IP68 protection standards. It is not afraid of falling onto a hard surface from a height of one and a half meters, and can withstand immersion in water for several hours. The smartphone has a corresponding degree of protection "appearance" - a rather thick body, reinforced with a shock-resistant frame.

5.5-inch screen with a high resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. Average processor, MediaTek MT6580. Random access memory for a modern device end-to-end - only 2 GB. The built-in memory is also sparse - 16 GB, but there is the possibility of expanding it with a microSD memory card.

The rear camera is double, with sensors with a resolution of 13 + 5 megapixels. Note that it is interpolated. The front camera is 8-megapixel (also with interpolation) and support for unlocking the device by the user's face. The usual fingerprint scanner is also present, only it is located on the side edge - an interesting and unexpected solution for a budget "Chinese".

The battery is good - the capacity is 5000 mAh, it will definitely be enough for two days in active mode. Operating system - Android 8.1 Oreo.

Brief characteristics of Ulefone Armor X2:

• screen: S-IPS, 5.5 inches, resolution 720 × 1440, multitouch 5 touches;
• processor: MediaTek MT6580;
• graphics: Mali-400 MP2;
• memory: RAM 2 GB, ROM 16 GB, support for memory cards up to 128 GB;
• cameras: main dual 8 + 5 Mp with interpolation up to 13 Mp, LED flash, autofocus; frontal 5-megapixel, interpolation up to 8 megapixels;
• battery: 5500 mAh;
• additionally: NFC module, proximity and lighting sensors, accelerometer;
• dimensions: 163 x 76.6 x 13.9 mm;
• weight: 256 g.

Meizu C9

Our roundup of the best low-cost smartphones of 2019 features Chinese models from second- and third-tier manufacturers, but we decided to include a new product from a more eminent brand in the list. Meizu C9, unpretentious according to the specifications, costs about 7,000 rubles and provides the user with a basic set of functions without unnecessary bells and whistles. The result is a fairly balanced workhorse in terms of price and capabilities.

The screen is 5.45-inch, with a decent HD resolution for a budget employee. The device is based on a quad-core Spreadtrum SC9832E processor, received 2 GB of RAM and a 16 GB built-in flash drive. There is a separate slot for a memory card. The cameras are not bad - the main one is 13 megapixels, the selfie camera is 8 megapixels.

3000mAh battery. Considering the modest specifications of the device, everything should be fine with autonomy. Meizu C9 is interesting in that its battery is removable, and the manufacturer did not use the Flyme proprietary shell, providing the smartphone with pure Android.

The body is made of polycarbonate, there are only two colors for the Russian market: blue and black.

Meizu C9 specifications:

• screen: S-IPS, 5.45 inches, resolution 720 × 1440;
• processor: Spreadtrum SC9832E;
• graphics: Mali-T820 MP1;
• memory: 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of ROM, there is support for memory cards;
• cameras: main 13 Mp, front 8-megapixel;
• battery: 3000 mAh;
• operating system: Android 8.0 Oreo;
• additionally: proximity and lighting sensors, accelerometer;
• dimensions: 146.2 x 71.2 x 9.7 mm;
• weight: 150 g.

Umidigi F1

This is the manufacturer's first smartphone based on Android 9.0 Pie OS, but it is interesting not only for this. Smartphone received big screen with a cutout, good hardware and a powerful battery.

The Umidigi F1 was officially unveiled at the end of November and has not yet hit the market. They promise that it will enter the market at the beginning of January 2019. According to rumors, at the start of sales it will be possible to buy it at a very tasty price - about $ 200. The usual price for a smartphone is $ 220.

Umidigi F1 received a 6.3-inch high-resolution FullHD screen and a small teardrop notch for the front camera.

The hardware base is good - Mediatek Helio P60 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 128GB built-in storage.

The smartphone is equipped with a dual rear camera with 16 + 8 megapixel sensors. The main sensor with a high aperture is f / 1.7. The selfie camera with a resolution of 16 megapixels has received support for unlocking by the user's face.

The battery is solid - with a capacity of 5150 mAh, and even with support for fast charging. Out of the box, the device will run Android 9.0 Pie.

Umidigi F1 specifications:

• screen: 6.3 inches, resolution 1080 × 2340;
• graphics: Mali-G72 MP3;
• memory: 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of ROM, there is support for memory cards up to 256 GB;
• cameras: main dual 16 + 8 MP, front 16-megapixel;
• battery: 5150 mAh, there is support for fast charging;
• operating system: Android 9.0 Pie;
• optional: gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, NFC, proximity and lighting sensors;
• dimensions: 156.9 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm;
• weight: 186 g.

Umidigi S2 Lite

This is a simplified version successful flagship by Umidigi S2. The "light" version differs from the top model only in a slightly more modest chipset - instead of the productive MediaTek Helio P20, the MediaTek MT6750T is used.

The screen is 6-inch, but you can find fault with the resolution - only 720x1440 pixels, this is not enough for a large screen. But the body is metal, like the flagship Umidigi S2. The smartphone has two colors: red and black. The screen is protected by a fourth generation scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass.

The hardware base is an eight-core MTK MT6750T processor, 4 GB of RAM and a drive with a small capacity of 32 GB. There is a possibility of expansion, but at the expense of a second SIM card, since the SIM card slot is hybrid.

The rear camera is dual, with 16 + 5 megapixel modules. Selfie camera 5 megapixel. In spite of a high resolution, you should hardly expect miracles from cameras. The front camera can be used to unlock the smartphone by the user's face. There is also a familiar fingerprint scanner.

The battery has a decent capacity of 5100 mAh and has support for fast charging technology. With autonomy everything is in order - in a sparing mode of use, the device works up to two days.

Of the minuses - in quality software platform the smartphone uses the Android 7.0 operating system. An over-the-air update to Android 8.1 Oreo is promised.

Umidigi S2 lite is a balanced budget smartphone with a metal body and a nice design. The device features a large bright display (albeit with a low resolution for its size) and a powerful battery. The processor does not break performance records, but there is a lot of memory.

Umidigi S2 Lite specifications:

• screen: 6 inches, resolution 1440 × 720;
• processor: MediaTek MT6750T;
• graphics: Mali-T860;
• memory: 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of built-in, there is support for memory cards;
• Cameras: main dual 16 + 5 Mp, front with a resolution of 5 Mp;
• battery: 5100 mAh, there is support for fast charging;
• operating system: Android 7.0;
• additionally: gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, proximity and lighting sensors;
• dimensions: 158 × 75 × 8.8 mm;
• weight: 186 g.

Oukitel U25 Pro

An inexpensive smartphone with a solid amount of memory, recently presented by the manufacturer, is already available for pre-order on Aliexpress at a price of about 7,500 rubles.

The smartphone is equipped with a 5.5-inch display without a notch with Full HD resolution and a classic aspect ratio of 16: 9. The bezels are thin, thanks to which the Oukitel U25 Pro is quite compact. The device is available in a beautiful fashionable gradient colors - purple and black. There is an option in a classic black body color.

The smartphone is based on the eight-core MediaTek MT6750T chipset. 4 GB of RAM, a decent size 64 GB built-in flash drive is used for data storage.

Oukitel U25 Pro is equipped with a dual main camera with 13 + 2 megapixel sensors and a 5 megapixel front camera.

The battery with a capacity of 3200 mAh provides a day of operation of the device in active mode of use.

Smartphone running operating system Android 8.1 Oreo. The peculiarity of the software is a minimum of add-ons.

Brief characteristics of the smartphone:

• screen: 5.5 inches, Full HD resolution;
• processor: MediaTek MT6750T;
• graphics: Mali-T860 MP2;
• memory: 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of built-in;
• cameras: main dual 13 + 2 Mp, front with a resolution of 5 Mp;
• battery: 3500 mAh;
• operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo;
• additionally: proximity and lighting sensors, fingerprint scanner;
• dimensions: 153.8 x 75.9 x 8.7 mm;
• weight: 210 g.

Leagoo Power 2 Pro

The Chinese entry-level smartphone Leagoo Power 2 Pro received a decent amount of memory by the standards of budget devices and a powerful battery.

The screen is small by modern standards, with a diagonal of 5, 2 inches and HD resolution. The processor is a budget MediaTek MT6739. RAM 2 GB, built-in - 16 GB. The problem of lack of memory is solved by using microSD cards.

Of course, you shouldn't expect miracles from cameras in a budget smartphone. Leagoo Power 2 Pro is equipped with a dual rear camera with a resolution of 8 + 2 MP. The front module is single, 8 Mp, with support for user face recognition.

The chip of the device is a 4000 mAh battery. It should be enough for a day of work in active mode. Software- operating system Android 8.1 Oreo.

The price tag is modest. On Aliexpress, the device can be bought for 8,000 rubles.

Characteristics of the Leagoo Power 2 Pro smartphone:

• screen: 5.2 inches, resolution 720 × 1280;
• processor: MediaTek MT6739;
• graphics: PowerVR GE8100;
• cameras: main dual 8 + 2 Mp, front 8 Mp with support for face unlock technology;
• battery: 4000 mAh;
• operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo;
• dimensions: 145.2 x 74.4 x 10.3 mm;
• weight: 177 g.

Elephone a5

Elephone A5 is a budget way to get a smartphone with five cameras. Flagships with a triple main camera are expensive. Huawei P20 Pro, to which the Elephone A5 looks so similar, is priced at 40,000 rubles, and its clone can be bought for 14,000 rubles. In addition, the Elephone A5 has one more camera - the front module is double, while the Huawei P20 Pro has a single one.

Triple camera Elephone A5 is equipped with modules for 12, 5 and 0, 3 megapixels. The front camera is even cooler - its resolution is 20 + 2 megapixels. According to the description, the cameras look good, but it is doubtful that they will shoot at the level of the top Huawei. On the other hand, where else can you find a smartphone with five cameras for just over $ 200?

Iron also makes a good impression. A processor with good performance - MediaTek Helio P60, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.

Screen diagonal 6.18 inches, with a small notch and a resolution of 2246 x 1080 pixels. We were pleased with the barely noticeable frames. Nice colors - trendy gradient.

The battery did not disappoint either. The 4000 mAh capacity is more than enough for a day of work. There is support for quick charging PumpExpress. The fingerprint scanner is located on the side edge - unusual, but unusual.

The smartphone is running the Android 8 operating system with the prospect of upgrading to Android 9.0 in the future.

Elephone A5 specifications:

• screen: 6.18 inches, resolution 2246 x 1080 pixels;
• processor: MediaTek Helio P60;
• graphics: Mali-G72 MP3;
• memory: 4 GB of RAM, 16 GB of ROM;
• cameras: main triple 12 Mp + 5 Mp + 0.3 Mp; frontal double, 20+ 2 Mp;
• battery: 4000 mAh, there is support for fast charging technology;
• operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo;
• optional: accelerometer, gyroscope, Hall sensor, compass, proximity and lighting sensors, fingerprint scanner;
• dimensions: 155 x 75.5 x 8.1 mm;
• weight: 199 g.

Meizu M6T

Inexpensive smartphone received a 5.7-inch display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. The aspect ratio is 18: 9. Thanks to the elongated screen, it was possible to reduce the thickness of the bezels.

The device is based on the MediaTek MT6750T chipset. RAM 2 GB, built-in - 16 GB. There are versions with more serious amounts of memory, but they are also more expensive.

Meizu M6T is equipped with a dual rear camera with 13 + 2 megapixel sensors with support for phase detection autofocus. The front module is 8 megapixel. It can be used to unlock a smartphone by the user's face. There is also a traditional fingerprint scanner.

The device received a battery of a decent capacity for a state employee - 3300 mAh.

The device is running the Android 7.1 operating system with the proprietary Flyme UI add-on.

Smartphone specifications:

• screen: 5.7 inches, resolution 1440 x 720 pixels;
• processor: MediaTek MT6750;
• graphics: Mali-T860 MP2;
• memory: 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of ROM;
• cameras: main dual, 13 + 2 Mp; frontal resolution 8 megapixels;
• battery: 3300 mAh;
• operating system: Android 7.1;
• additionally: accelerometer, proximity and lighting sensors, fingerprint scanner;
• dimensions: 152.3 x 73.0 x 8.4;
• weight: 145 grams.

Chinese super budget smartphones Bluboo D6

Bluboo has created a super-budget smartphone worth less than 6,000 rubles, equipped with a dual camera and support for face recognition. Externally, the device looks nice - it has a large screen with thin side frames, covered with 2.5D glass, a thin body and compact dimensions. Display diagonal 5.5 inches, aspect ratio 18: 9. The body is made of polycarbonate, the colors are classic: black, blue and red.

The smartphone is powered by a budget MediaTek MT6580A quad-core chipset, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. There is support for memory cards, but there is no separate slot for them.

An inexpensive device received, albeit modest in capabilities, a dual camera with a resolution of 8 + 5 megapixels. The front 5MP camera can be used for face unlock. There is also a fingerprint scanner located on the rear panel.

The device is powered by a 2700 mAh battery. The software is represented by the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system.

Bluboo D6 specifications:

• screen: 5.5 inches, resolution 480 × 960;
• processor: Mediatek MT6580A;
• graphics: ARM Mali-400MP2;
• memory: 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of ROM;
• cameras: main dual, 8 + 5 Mp; frontal resolution 5 megapixels with support for unlocking in the face;
• battery: 2700 mAh;
• operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo;
• additionally: accelerometer, proximity and lighting sensors, fingerprint scanner;
• dimensions: 71.2х146.2х7.6;
• weight: 159 grams.

Vivo Y91i

At the end of autumn 2018, Vivo introduced the new budget smartphone Vivo Y91i. The device will appeal to those who are looking for an inexpensive smartphone with a large screen and good battery life.

Vivo Y91i is equipped with a 6.22-inch screen with a waterdrop notch for the front camera. The display has a Full HD + resolution, which is very good. The aspect ratio is 19.5: 9.

The smartphone is based on the MediaTek Helio P22 processor. Little RAM, 2 GB. The built-in flash drive received a volume of 16 GB. The latter can be expanded with memory cards.

The rear dual camera received 13 + 2 megapixel sensors. Front camera housed in a small teardrop notch with a resolution of 8 megapixels. It can be used to unlock a smartphone by the user's face.

The chip of the model is a 4030 mAh battery. The device is running the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system and the proprietary shell Funtouch OS 4.5.

Vivo Y91i has not yet gone on sale, but the manufacturer announced the cost of the smartphone - $ 153.

Brief characteristics of Vivo Y91i:

• screen: 6.22 inches, resolution 720 × 1520;
• processor: MediaTek Helio P22;
• graphics: PowerVR GE8320;
• memory: 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of built-in;
• cameras: main dual, 13 + 2 Mp; frontal resolution 8 megapixels with support for face unlock;
• battery: 4030 mAh;
• operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo;
• additionally: accelerometer, proximity and lighting sensors, fingerprint scanner;
• dimensions: 155.11 x 75.09 x 8.28 mm;
• weight: 163 grams.

And what inexpensive smartphones could you advise? Write down which budget devices, in your opinion, deserve to be among the best models of 2019.