you guys only buy iPhones. Here in Brazil, companies have to do a run for our money. Most androids here deliver at least 80% of what iPhones do for a fraction of the price.
For sure. Huawei was becoming part of the big-three before the US government decided to place them on the Entity List. They had some amazing phones before/in 2019, like the P30 Pro. Sad times.
@@JeffreyvandeVelde God, the P30 was such a blessed phone. I had it until 2023 and replaced it due to a faulty touch screen. I miss it so much and wish I had just replaced the damn screen, the Google Pixel that I replaced it with is such an inferior product. Apple and Samsung just decided to wipe out the competition the easy way instead of trying to match them
@@yasendrungov6915i still have my P30 Pro from 2019. It still works like a charm, and has been a saviour spare phone for so many people around me. I feel like Huawei is a cut above all the other chinese brands like vivo and oppo who somehow dont make it past year 2. Huawei in contrast lasts forever and still works till date like how it did when i first unboxed it.
I say US deserved to be late in the competition. Banning Huawei just proves that US is not ready or refused to have Chinese smartphone manufacturers as competitors in their market.
I don’t think their phones are better just ment to be replaced more often which actually works for the American market, like I think Oppo gives the most updates at like 3 upgrades and 5 years of patches compared to like 7 for google and Samsung, also counting the slow charging their batteries would degrade a bit less overtime. Also china then to have big camera bumps that makes them look more like digital cameras from the mid 2000’s than phones…
-SuperFast charging -Huge batteries with newer silicon carbide technology - Proper Periscope zoom cameras with amazing portrait photography modes These are the three current things that the chinese phones do leaps and bounds better among some other things than Samsung,Apple & Google. And these 3 happen to be my top priorities 😅 as of now
The Big 3 - Apple, Samsung, Google - are merely the "best mediocre" in 2024. Chinese phones come beefed up, comes with a charger and a free case in the box, and cost you USD750-800 on average. Sure software, is a bit harder to navigate, but it's not as difficult as someone's ability to try something new. I have the XM14U and I only charge once a day, during my 10-15min shower, from 20% to 70% and I'm ready for a full day without worrying about it ever again. Technology should not give you more things to do.
Chinese may still be behind on software but it's only a matter of time before they catch up, just like how they have now surpassed with hardware. Brands like OnePlus and Oppo are certainly getting attention with their OS.
Their software aint't that bad. Good in some cases like the ones under the BBK group. Just my take, it's easier to fix mediocre software than mediocre hardware.
This is one of the things that makes me happy that I live in Asia. Right below my office is a literal mall and on the 4th floor the following stores are situated side by side in a row: Apple Authorized Reseller Store Samsung Huawei Xiaomi Oppo Vivo All their phones are in full display and you can demo them as much as you want. I actually got my X200 Pro at the Vivo physical store the day it came out and I got a $200 discount, free Vivo noise cancelling ear buds, Vivo Watch, Power Bank and a bluetooth speaker which was pretty cool. Xiaomi’s pretty wild with their phone launches as well as sometimes they would throw in Xiaomi household appliances and electronics like Hair Driers, Robot Vacuums, Hair purifiers, monitors and even TVs
For US to import china made phone, i suggest you import those phones from malaysia since those phones that are sold in malaysia always have the global rom and have english as the default language. They dont have the same problem as the chinese rom have
I wish Google did a 1 inch sensor for the Pixel. Lumia 1020 was best camera phone I ever used and that was over 10 years ago. This demonstrates how mainstream smartphone brands have backed away from pushing the digital photography envelope. There is no substitute for capturing a raw stunning image BEFORE any software changes are applied.
My counter to that is if you are relying on a camera so much and this is the sole parameter to judge a phone by, why not buy a camera? With all the lenses and filters you can buy and all the different cameras you can get, a smartphone has no business competing in this space.
@@djvasforeverI literally did that, I got a sony ZV-E10 with 2 lenses and I took a little over 6 months to really learn it and be able to take quick pictures in any situation. BUT... even when I am able to "take quick pictures" it still didn't beat out my Samsung s23 Ultra when it came to taking quick "nice" pictures. The actual time and the quality of good enough pictures for getting some "Instagram" worthy pictures was huge. Just to take pictures of my wife standing in front a ferris wheel took me about on average 2min to take the pictures with the Sony (this was to take out the camera, put on lense, take some pics, switch out the lense for different angle and take a few more pics). Then another 1-2min to take out the SD card, put it in the USB C adaptor and plug to my phone to transfer the pics to add some slight edits. Using the s23 Ultra was literally about 30 seconds. Another 10sec to do the edits. So yes a dedicated camera will ALWAYS be better no matter what. But when you are on vacation or walking around and want to take some quick pics, a really good camera on a smartphone will be the way to go! Sometimes I regret buying the Sony and the lenses because of having to carry all that extra stuff with me. So I've started learning how to take better pictures using my phone and wanting a better phone camera at the same time!
People in the West is missing out on these great phones cuz they afraid to come out of the box that's why Samsung iPhone an Google will always keep on giving them less for they money especially iPhone
@treebush I have noticed living here. Samsung just copies apple and apple copies samsung and then yeah but huawei actually adds cool stuff. Would love to try harmony OS here in america with American apps but that will never probably happen lol.
I'm sorry, but especially Samsung. Their entire camera system sucks bro. What are you talking about? Get over this b******* talking point. That's very untrue, not to mention Samsung's ultra phone is more expensive..
Back in my teenage years I used to have a couple of Chinese budget phones (Doogee and Leagoo). They were complete shit back then, and it used to give me the impression that Chinese phones were all like that. Until... I bought the Redmi Note 13. It cost me 18,000 Albanian Lek (around €170) and honestly, it completely changed my opinion on Xiaomi and Chinese phones in general, to the point I started genuinely questioning WHY THE HELL people are still buying iPhones and Samsungs in my country. The worst part is that if you go to most phone shops, apart from Xiaomi, there are always those two: the fruit and the kimchi merchants. Forget Huawei, forget Honor, forget all the BBK brands, we don't even get Motorola OR the Pixel here. It's honestly that bad. Xiaomi saved Albania's smartphone scene from becoming an Apple & Samsung oligarchy shitshow and I can't thank them enough for it.
Same with me. I am now looking forward to getting a proper Chinese flagship phone because quite frankly Samsung has dropped the ball for me, and I just don’t want an iPhone, as I have to use one for work.
had the same experience. First phone was doogee S70 worked great for one year and after that half of thing started failing. Thought chinese phones were crap but then i got Poco X3 NFC beast for 300 euros. Recently got used Mi 11 Ultra and i gotta say its the bestt phone i have ever held in my hands, and i tried s23u and 15 pro max. Xiaomi went all in on Mi 11 Ultra, those cameras still kick ass
I am Bulgarian but me to ! My first proper flagship phone was Chinese the Huawei P9 and my girlfriend who is Serbian first good smartphone was also a Huawei , the Chinese market has everything for us , and in the Balkans I believe that’s very important , you have cheap phones that do an amazing job and flagship phones which yes are expensive but do a brilliant job !! I just wish the rest of Europe gets to open up a little bit honestly they really are missing out
Same in Kosovo, its a complete shitshow where u even get mocked for having a different brand compared to iphone and samsung. Many people buy them also for repairability, although from my own perspective that holds little weight for the technicians here couldnt even fix my iphone 11 back in the day, all they know is change the screen and battery so idk
Being in India we are so fortunate to experience most of the phone from almost all brands. Starting from 100 dollars to 2000 dollars. We get them all from multiple brands. The amount of competition especially in budget and mid range is leaps and bounds better than most of the other places
What's really crazy is that the telephoto lens in the Vivo X100 Ultra and X200 pro that everyone is going on about is a Samsung lens. Why Samsung is selling it to Vivo and now Xiaomi but not using it themselves is a complete mystery to me
My guess is its the size, have u seen that lens and also remember samsung has to keep space for an S Pen. And honestly do u want a camera bump that big like the x100 ultra?
@@EnOrangeSoffa not to mention, no warranty, even harder repair process. Although in a perfect world where they have US versions of these phones with full warranty and support, it would be pretty cool.
completely agree, zte is great, their lack of software updates is overblown, don't mind buying a new phone from them every year or once every two years
The Oneplus lineup is our bridge to the Chinese tech. The Oneplus open is the best foldable available here in the U.S. (without importing). It's a 2023 model and is still mentioned in the top 3 for a lot of reviewers. For whatever reason, the brand is not getting a major push here in the states. It's kind of like a, if you know, then you know kind of thing. I love the open and I'm looking forward to the open 2.
Tbf you are in the American market , Americans would want to buy American tech products and that’s completely understandable , same way in china the Chinese would rather go for Chinese brands etc etc , both the American market and the Chinese market are doing cool stuff right now , and I do think both china and America have the best eco systems currently available , Huawei and apple are a good example for this
@123skillax Samsung is A south Korean company, though they have some facilities in the U.S. and have been around for years. I feel it's more about familiarity and advertising. When people see my open, they ask what is, followed by I never heard of oneplus. At my local electronics store, one plus has a small corner of a table. Both Samsung and Apple have their own section.
We have Huawei readily available in my region and when I tested the P60 Pro camera against my S21 Ultra, I could see a massive difference in photo details. It's a shame that we can't get the best of both worlds, because you notice the hardware difference. Competition isn't there anymore after the Huawei ban.
Yes And Pura 70 Pro/Ultra is a lot better than the P60 Pro especially in terms of COLOUR!!!! P60 Pro colour rendering is not accurate in all modes whereas the Pura 70 Ultra is perfect. P60 pro always failed me with white lights and dog coats 😂. People love it's portraits but as a photographer of more, the upgrade is worth it over the P60 Pro.
I wish they'd finally put competent 3x telephoto on midrange phones. These cameras are dirt cheap. There is no reason, other than market segregation, to exclude a telephoto camera to the flagship.
There is no "competent" 3x telephoto. I have a Scamsung S23, and 90% of the time it decides to use the main camera with 3x digital zoom, except when it's sunny outside. And that is the correct decision, photos turn out much better than if I force it to use the 3x telephoto camera. Every telephoto camera hardware is so inferior to the main camera's hardware, that there's no point including it really. A 3x crop from the main camera will always be better, especially in low-light (night/indoors). Also 2x; 2.5x telephotos are a complete joke.
@@gentle285because you're using a base s23. A vivo x100 ultra with an hp9 3x sensor will look better than a 3x crop from the main camera any day of the week
We have maybe almost 80% of chinese phone in Indonesia but lost iphone 16. Dont even dare to think about pixel, its completely banned here even in the online marketplace
I think it's regarding their rule of having the parts of the phones being sold to be part Indonesian made on a certain percentage. @@eduardo_gallardo009
My mom’s been using a Vivo X90 Pro for a year now and she’s super in love witht the camera and especially the charging. We are still both getting amazed by how quickly it tops up. If I didn’t have so many Apple devices, I would go Vivo, Oppo or Oneplus in a blink of an eye
It seems like the smartphone market in the US is back to the era of 2003 to 2009, when all of Asia and Europe were already using Symbian and WinMo based smartphones with all their sophistication (GPS, WiFi, app catalog), the American market was still struggling with feature phones and Blackberry.
I live in Europe and id still have to pay like 1600 euros for a X200 Pro if i wanted to do a local purchase. It would be easier to go to another country, like Austria, get a device there and come back home. Id still be 300 bucks in the green.
@@BlackParade01 That is not that bad. I bought a POCO F6 from Amazon Germany for just 330. This phone has stronger SOC than what Google gives with their expensive flagship. Comes with a charger, a nice case (not those silicon transparent ones that get yellow), a preinstalled screen protector and even a small holder you can stick on your case. It just shows how Samsung and Apple and Google etc are just robbing us blind.
Weird. I actually liked the ginormous camera bump. I think it kinda looks cool vs the usual tiny circles. My initial concern about it though was just smudging it with fingerprints. But then there are casings which are designed to cover them neatly.
the west is missing out not just in the flagship category, but more so the midrange category. brands like vivo, realme, oppo, xiaomi, even transsion phones (itel, infinix, and tecno) are just some of the brands the west don't readily have, and have had good market share here in asia. The prominence of these phones, or China brands in general, are also the same reason why some brands that are available in the west, aren't here in asia, like the google pixel. While the pixel series boasts stock android and good performance overall, the specs don't justify the price especially if you can get better phones with better specs on the same price range. And fast charging isn't really exclusive to the flagship devices here, 45W-70W fast charging can easily be found on a midrange device, with Chinese flagships going up to 120W.
I’m from Hong Kong and yes we do have a mix of local ppl and mainland Chinese and same as Chinese and foreign brands. I still recommended my aunt an S24FE because of a couple reasons, price being one.
I am an photography enthusiast, live in EU and i must say pretty much that apple, samsung & google are making extremely boring phones and the options that are from China are very attractive, especially Vivo now.
Just got my Vivo X200Pro (I'm in Europe). Wow what a phone! What a camera! and what an amazing price! Samsung and Apple are just milking people who are just satisfied with what they've got imo.
If I was a regular person who was not subscribed to all of the tech TH-cam channel on TH-cam I might have been happy with the phone I have also cause of these TH-cam channel I got educated so those Western phone companies cannot fool me anymore
I have the S24 Ultra and my cousin bought a Poco F6. The only difference we saw on the 2 phones was my display is much better, camera is much better and my phone costs 4x more expensive. Everything else (gaming, battery life, music, watching videos) is pretty much the same. On paper my phone is slightly better on the chipsets but in reality, you really can't tell the difference.
Closest we have in the US are with OnePlus and Nubia/RedMagic. I'm definitely getting the OnePlus 13 this year. Phones like the Vivo X200 Pro and Oppo Find X8 Pro are so tempting, but missing some bands 😢
1:04 that isn't an Huawei that is an HONOR magic 6 pro honor was the sub brand to Huawei before the US ban of huawei and huawei had to cut off honor because the honor also would've been US ban as well
Kinda off topic but it surprises me that no (phone) tech channel is talking about Samsung downgrading the S23 Ultra camera. There are a couple of threads on reddit about it.
It's the same with UK phone carriers too, I'm with EE who used to have a massive choice of phones, I remember getting the OPPO Find x5 Pro with them. But now it's Samsung, Google or Apple. I was hopeful they would be stocking the Find x8 Pro but it's limited to just 1 carrier in the UK. The choice is becoming slim for people with phone contracts which is how I imagine the majority of people get the newest phone without having to stump up a large upfront cost for the handset itself, but now the price of contracts is rocketing too
It is unfortunate, but let's remember that China banned Google products and services LONG before Chinese manufacturers were banned from the US. But it's a lot easier to get those Chinese smartphones than it is to get around the great firewall if you happen to be in mainland China.
Stop fear mongering, it is easy to get around the firewall in china through the use of a VPN, it is not illegal or against the rules to access "restricted" sites, it is only illegal to provide services to purchase a VPN. They can survive without google, but it is you guys who cannot survive without "Chinese smartphones" because of how much of a pro monopoly market it is in the west which makes producers rest on their laurels. Eventually chinese software will catch up with the bang for buck smartphones and you will still be stuck buying shitty apple and samsung phones
Google is banned, while Apple has physical stores and sells just fine in China, both hardware and software. Wonder what they had to offer to CCP for that? They ban communication apps all the time, including Hong Kong protests suppression. Pathetic.
I got my wife to ditch her iPhone for 1Plus and she isn't regretting it. She was amazed at the charging speed, battery life and the picture quality of the camera. She hasn't complained since I got her to move.
Yeah I agree. Although, due to the poor software updates and other issues like bloat I'm not sure I would go with many of the more forward thinking Chinese OEMs. OnePlus is our only options and I am excited to see their watches and phones coming out this year. They seem to be a decent middle ground with some more advanced hardware, while offering a pretty good Android skin with respectable support, although I here the regularity of security patches can be a bit hit or miss. Feels like the big 3 in the US are just going through the motions. Google has done some work to catch up hardware wise, but they are mostly a software company so I am doubtful they will ever push he envelope when it comes to hardware. Samsung and Apple are hardly distinguishable from each other these days to me 😢.
What can you get in Barnstaple? 🙂 Re cameras: remember, no matter what you may wish, you cannot miniaturise the wavelength of light, change the charge on an electron, and Planck's constant is always what it is.
Great video - one more angle is Hi Res Audio - if you play local FLAC files or stream Hi Res via Tidal/Qobuz, having a built in HIFI DAC makes life so much easier. Vivo X series does that, even though you need a passive cheap dongle. People might say well use an external DAC dongle - however that comes at an extra cost, significant battery drain and lack of optimization for each app which Vivo manages to do. Add the nicer finish, 1 inch Zeiss sensor etc...
When you put a quality case on a phone with a big camera bump it'll be flush on the back so it won't matter. Also put a lens protector on it just in case
I just wish all these Chinese phones used the same charging standard. Because it doesn't matter if your Xiaomi comes with a 120W charger in the box, if you try to use it on an Honor phone that also supports 120W it will charge at 30W or so maximum because Honor used another standard, and same with the other Chinese manufacturers
@mooseratt not anymore, for example I just bought a Xiaomi 14T pro with the charger included, but in several countries they sell you only the phone. On a side note, I recently did a family vacation for a couple days with my family and I was the only one who took my phone charger with me. My phone supports 120W so it charged super fast but my dad's Motorola and my mom's Honor charged painfully slow using the same charger, even tho both phones support their own fast charging
@@jrchannel7405 cool story bro, so your charger came in the box, as did your parents. The fact they are forgetful is not the responsibility of Chinese OEMs, of which Motorola is not.
@@mooseratt not a cool story. Not meant for entertainment, just an example on why standards are important. Additionally, Motorola is now owned by Lenovo, which is a Chinese company
@jrchannel7405 not really, just an example of your parents not knowing how to pack for vacation. I doubt whether it's even true, most people will pack their phone charger before their toothbrush these days. And Motorola being Chinese owned does not put it in the same category as a Xiaomi or an Honor Chinese phone. The whole reason they bought it out was BECAUSE it already had a western market.
While the hardware on these Chinese phones seem much better, I personally am content with slightly worse hardware for a much better software experience. I have used these phones before and really did not enjoy the software on them, which is why I currently use a Pixel.
I understand this is a more of a essay type of video but I would've liked some more concrete comparisons, say, putting up vivo vs samsung s24 ultra cameras. Otherwise it's just a bit of a generic argument (we're not getting all phones and we might be missing out).
The bbk group really step up in polishing their software, moreover their battery is getting bigger and yet still thin enough , now in 6000 mah range (unless it's in compact size around 5000 range ,still large though)
I think it's very clever marketing. Create hype and show people a great product they can't have and it's sure they will want it. The day it is finally released, everybody will rush to buy it making them feel special .
I mean they are still hard to get vivo and oppo in the UK unless you buy them outright which is not possible cuz how expensive they are and company like ee don't have any other flagship phone are available
Samsung is screwing their customers by not including at 6k mah battery and 100w charging speed with a charging adaptor included. This us unacceptable for a $1500 phone. The S25 ultra will not offer any of these as well. SHAME
Xiaomi OPPO and vivo are better than Huawei. Why don't we ban these? Chinese technology fans hate Huawei, because it uses the bad chipset and sold in higher prices like Google.
While I've never use a Chinese phone, I have bought an entry level Realme phone and also, my brother is still using a Xiaomi higher-end phone, may be a 12T Pro. From my own experiences I think Chinese phone hardwares are top notch, but the user experiences may still be lacking. There are 2 reasons that Chinese phones have very reasonable prices. The first one is the economy of scales. The second one is that many brand like Xiaomi, Poco, Iqoo or realme tend to sell phones at lower profit margin then recover the cost by adding ads and bloatwares to the ROM. When I bought my mom a Realme 10T 2 years ago, I waste almost an hour just to disable all the ads and pop-ups. This is the reason I think that international makers like Apple, Samsung and Google are still a little bit ahead in term of softwares and UX.
@@Legion849you have no idea how much fast charging has been progressing in Chinese phones. My iQOO Neo7 with 120 watts still has above 90% of battery capacity after heavy using it for over two years.
Me with the cheapest Samsung phone which I replaced it's battery that somehow doesn't get charged when it's powered on; but the phone's case looks cool: sure those look cool... not cool enough for me. edit: also, if anyone knows why my phone doesn't charge properly (the charge gets cut and come back in a loop) while it's charging as it's powered on; I'm more than happy to listen.
I would buy Xiaomi flagships every year if I could easily in Australia. Even just importing I've had the 12s ultra, 13 ultra and 14 ultra, but it's a pain selling them to Aussies who have no idea about them. Generally everyone who buys my old Xiaomis is from India, where Redmi is huge. Oppo is available here but I'm so sad the new one doesn't have a one inch sensor.
Same in switzerland really. You can buy someeee asian market phones prepaid, but if you want something with your simcard contract, its either appel or Samsung or pixel
I realize now from reading the spec sheet, that 1 inch sensor inside phone will be bundled with shorter focal length, eq. to 23mm. I'm not sure if that something I'll fondly use. The midground focal length for common photography lays around 28mm - 40mm, but 23mm and 20mm (sharp aquos model) ?
The problem with the Chinese brands, as much as they are getting better at this, is polish and strong ethos. Most people want an all rounded phone that has been thoughtfully put together and branded, not just specs.
I’m using Honor Magic 6 Pro, and I couldn’t use any other smartphone as my daily driver. The display is gorgeous and the battery life is excellent, and most importantly it charges so fast. Something that still missing in IPhone and Samsung.
Hey it's best not to get into the specs race. That's the land of quantity over quality, to say the least. And I here am not missing out on these but definitely thinking twice before going for one of these. Asus being an exception among the ones you've mentioned here.
1. The resell value of these phones goes to shit compared to Sammy or iPhones. 2. The Vivo x200 pro in europe is more expensive than the Apple/Samsung flagships. 3. Worse software and general everyday use. 4. Shorter update roadmap 5. You get marginally better cameras and battery in exchange for the previous 4 points. It really doesn't make sense to buy these devices unless its for testing them out because for the every they they are inferior for a larger price. (Used an X200 pro for 2 weeks since I dont mind spending a few k a year testing phones since it's my hobby)
Living in Canada were in the same boat with respect to the scarcity of choice. I have never been onboard with iOS, so iPhones are out, don't like the Pixel hardware or Android experience, and am tired of Samsung putting out the same phones year after year. Forgoing those three brands effectively eliminates all choice here. I've looked into importing Chinese devices but always run into cellular bands compatibity issues making importing a non-option the vast majority of the time. As someone who used to thoroughly enjoy delving into the scene and upgrading every year to something truly new and exciting I've grown quite jaded towards the entire category.
Which companies provide prompt (at least monthly) security updates, and long multi-year OS updates? Not many. While these those are cheaper you also loose software support quicker.
If there do exist a device combining all the software of a Pixel 9 Pro and all the hardware of a Vivo X200 Pro mini, I don't care about if it will cost like USD2000 or something. I'll just go buy one.
Why do you want such a phone? Pixel 9 Pro Fold? That Tensor G4 is as great as 8 gen 2 in 1+ Open no? What do you need the performance for if you don’t play Mihoyo on your phone?
Up until recently, I've been using Samsung phones for a full decade and 3 months ago I bought the Honor Magic v3. I was really scared from the software, but I got to say, it's really fine, I had no issues. I do miss the Samsung keyboard, since I got so use to it but it's just neat picking. I think that in the US they want us to fear what we don't know so we won't try other phones
I just got a Xiaomi 14T Pro and am very impressed with what it provides, in performance, charging speed, and camera capability. I switched from a Samsung S24 Ultra.
I got the Honor Magic V3 foldable from China then sold it and got the Global ROM version (was going to get the Fold 6 but hate the thickness and thin outer screen so got this one instead) I highly recommend getting the Global version of the device from the UK or other countries if you mean to import one of these into the US. The Chinese ROM version has issues with phone link (keeps stopping with message about China roaming), android auto (not available on most), google assistant (ok google and other commands fail), connecting to Wear OS watches is a no go + much more. I don't have any such issues with the Global ROM Magic V3 so If I could go back I wouldn't have bought the Chinese one since I lost money when I sold it and got global.
For the first time ever I have imported OnePlus 13 24GB/1TB version from China and let me tell you, for 1000$ this phone is just amazing. It came with really good phone case and of course the 100W brick with cable. They even packed a EU adapter as extra for me. It's just small things that make me go for it again. ColorOS works just as great as Oxygen and I don't have any band incompatibilities. Came home today with 60% battery left and my work consists of constant calls and maps usage during day with scrolling and a little bit gaming on top of it when I have free time. Only time I charge it is in the morning 30 minutes before I leave my house, charging to 92% 🙌
Reliability and long-term support are more important to me than raw specs. A Pixel or Samsung might not have the best camera, most powerful processor or the fastest charging, but it's good enough. And it doesn't come with preinstalled bloatware, ads, or random bugs.
The financial risk of entering the North American "Free" market and getting randomly banned at any time is not worth it. Especially since Canadians and Americans only buy iphones at the end of the day anyway.
It is definitely disappointing that we have less choices in the US market. I will say though that in this day and age, even if boring. All phones are kind of a different flavor of the same thing. Sure the camera hardware looks sweet but in reality with so much stuff done by AI image processing it really doesn't matter all that much.
so I am from India and here we do get all of these. I use a Reno11 its kinda midrange phone so not going to talk about hardware but ColorOS has improved a lot, the animations in new ColorOS 15 (android 15) are so fluid it reminds me iphones
In Australia there are no legit stores repairing Chinese phones. They will repair apple, Samsung and google only. I had a Xiaomi that needed a new digitizer and nobody wanted to know anything about it. Then the 3G network was closed causing many phones to become useless even though many were 4G and 5G phones. If you want a contract from a phone store there are only a few Chinese options but they are marketed as cheap affordable phones for kids or old people. It's so frustrating to know there are phones out there like the red magic 10 pro but Australia will never want anything to do with it
I'm rocking my Note 20 Ultra for 4 years now. While I plan to use the phone for another 2 years anyway, a big part of that choice is because I don't feel like I would be getting something new with another phone. At that time, the note was unique in its design and stylus. Every new phone looks the same and these tiny improvements feel insignificant. That's why I'm now considering getting a foldable because those at least offer something exciting. Still, they are extremely expensive while having a (for me) too short live span, especially given the price. I want refreshing features in the mainstream phones like we had a decade ago (and no way in hell am I counting all these AI things)
That's why I'm be on eBay buying an older phones. I have a Samsung s23 Ultra, I have the regular Samsung s23. I have a oneplus 9 5G that I brought from T-Mobile. Last year on eBay i be buying older phones, just to get a different experience. I got a LG velvet 5G off eBay for $66. I went and got a LG V60 with the dual screen case included for $115 on eBay. I'm going to get a Blackberry keyone or key2 because I really want a phone with a physical keyboard. And I'm going to get me a LG wing. I'm thinking about getting me a Sony Xperia from like 2020 or 2022 on eBay.
My OnePlus 12r has a SD 8 gen 2 for only $400, while the ridiculous Galaxy a55 got a sd778g equivalent chip for $500, with a worse screen, worse sound, worse battery, worse everything but people still bought that scam of a phone
I've become a Pixel guy. Not that I don't often try other phones but I tend to always return back to Pixels. My issue with Google is generally that they definitely always make hardware compromises, particularly compared with other manufacturers. One of the few times Google got it right was with not a Pixel but with the Nexus 6P which was manufactured by Huawei. I had that phone and it was great. It was my first experience with a Chinese phone and I was not disappointed with the hardware and that was years ago now. China is definitely pushing hardware much more than phones sold out west but they still also lag when it comes to software. Google has always kinda lagged with hardware but I have to say it's surprising to see Samsung and Apple starting to lag behind Chinese phones as well. And I do think it's due to complacency and lack of competition moreso than lack of capability. They obviously aren't afraid to raise prices because they continue to do so even though it's obvious they are no longer the hardware innovators they used to be. It would be nice to see some true competition again.
Phone choice in the US has become extremely boring
This is called Monopoly
because your govenment blocks any external competition
Us is a restricted country
Thats what happens when you ban or put tariffs on chinese companies. Same things happening with electric cars
you guys only buy iPhones. Here in Brazil, companies have to do a run for our money.
Most androids here deliver at least 80% of what iPhones do for a fraction of the price.
Let's be honest, if the Americans weren't afraid of Huawei and they were still on the market, I'm sure they were detached leaders.
For sure. Huawei was becoming part of the big-three before the US government decided to place them on the Entity List. They had some amazing phones before/in 2019, like the P30 Pro. Sad times.
@@JeffreyvandeVelde God, the P30 was such a blessed phone. I had it until 2023 and replaced it due to a faulty touch screen. I miss it so much and wish I had just replaced the damn screen, the Google Pixel that I replaced it with is such an inferior product. Apple and Samsung just decided to wipe out the competition the easy way instead of trying to match them
@@yasendrungov6915i still have my P30 Pro from 2019. It still works like a charm, and has been a saviour spare phone for so many people around me. I feel like Huawei is a cut above all the other chinese brands like vivo and oppo who somehow dont make it past year 2. Huawei in contrast lasts forever and still works till date like how it did when i first unboxed it.
Pity Huawei is a thieving piece of crap company that ripped off a company to become successful. Rot in hell Huawei.
yeah, thats why everyone in china buys and loves their phones.
I say US deserved to be late in the competition. Banning Huawei just proves that US is not ready or refused to have Chinese smartphone manufacturers as competitors in their market.
You're definitely not wrong here..
*Sighs*
So you’re saying US customers should be punished for what some politician in DC did well that’s kind of a unique take on it.
@@jejunamja sure. why not
I don’t think their phones are better just ment to be replaced more often which actually works for the American market, like I think Oppo gives the most updates at like 3 upgrades and 5 years of patches compared to like 7 for google and Samsung, also counting the slow charging their batteries would degrade a bit less overtime. Also china then to have big camera bumps that makes them look more like digital cameras from the mid 2000’s than phones…
There is a reason why Huawei is banned not other Chinese brand. Glad my country banned it too.
-SuperFast charging
-Huge batteries with newer silicon carbide technology
- Proper Periscope zoom cameras with amazing portrait photography modes
These are the three current things that the chinese phones do leaps and bounds better among some other things than Samsung,Apple & Google.
And these 3 happen to be my top priorities 😅 as of now
silicone carbide is the best feature
But the ads are really annoying. I had to disable the internet connection for each apps
@@0m3gA_o3 there are much easier ways to disable all that but yes they shouldn't be there in the first place
-charging brick (and often protector/case) also included with purchase
@@0m3gA_o3 xaiomi vivo oppo phones don't have any bloatware now.... Maybe 2-3
Even Samsung has thier own browser and everything similarly
The Big 3 - Apple, Samsung, Google - are merely the "best mediocre" in 2024. Chinese phones come beefed up, comes with a charger and a free case in the box, and cost you USD750-800 on average. Sure software, is a bit harder to navigate, but it's not as difficult as someone's ability to try something new. I have the XM14U and I only charge once a day, during my 10-15min shower, from 20% to 70% and I'm ready for a full day without worrying about it ever again. Technology should not give you more things to do.
Chinese may still be behind on software but it's only a matter of time before they catch up, just like how they have now surpassed with hardware. Brands like OnePlus and Oppo are certainly getting attention with their OS.
they wont update the phones as long as apple/google though
Their software aint't that bad. Good in some cases like the ones under the BBK group. Just my take, it's easier to fix mediocre software than mediocre hardware.
The s24U was objectively the best phone of the Year, os support, hardware, build quality, it was a radically consistent phone that people are mad at
@@TVCHLORD Honestly don't care about it as much. I'd rather have a superior phone rather than something that gets updates but is still crap.
This is one of the things that makes me happy that I live in Asia. Right below my office is a literal mall and on the 4th floor the following stores are situated side by side in a row:
Apple Authorized Reseller Store
Samsung
Huawei
Xiaomi
Oppo
Vivo
All their phones are in full display and you can demo them as much as you want.
I actually got my X200 Pro at the Vivo physical store the day it came out and I got a $200 discount, free Vivo noise cancelling ear buds, Vivo Watch, Power Bank and a bluetooth speaker which was pretty cool. Xiaomi’s pretty wild with their phone launches as well as sometimes they would throw in Xiaomi household appliances and electronics like Hair Driers, Robot Vacuums, Hair purifiers, monitors and even TVs
yes, the competition is so fierce here in SE Asia, that in the same floor you can have so much choices from many brands.
Competition is capitalism. We have lost our way.
For US to import china made phone, i suggest you import those phones from malaysia since those phones that are sold in malaysia always have the global rom and have english as the default language. They dont have the same problem as the chinese rom have
any site you can do that?
@papoutsi8518 try wonda mobile
I wish Google did a 1 inch sensor for the Pixel. Lumia 1020 was best camera phone I ever used and that was over 10 years ago. This demonstrates how mainstream smartphone brands have backed away from pushing the digital photography envelope. There is no substitute for capturing a raw stunning image BEFORE any software changes are applied.
Man I LOVED my Lumia 1020!
My counter to that is if you are relying on a camera so much and this is the sole parameter to judge a phone by, why not buy a camera? With all the lenses and filters you can buy and all the different cameras you can get, a smartphone has no business competing in this space.
@@djvasforeverI literally did that, I got a sony ZV-E10 with 2 lenses and I took a little over 6 months to really learn it and be able to take quick pictures in any situation. BUT... even when I am able to "take quick pictures" it still didn't beat out my Samsung s23 Ultra when it came to taking quick "nice" pictures. The actual time and the quality of good enough pictures for getting some "Instagram" worthy pictures was huge. Just to take pictures of my wife standing in front a ferris wheel took me about on average 2min to take the pictures with the Sony (this was to take out the camera, put on lense, take some pics, switch out the lense for different angle and take a few more pics). Then another 1-2min to take out the SD card, put it in the USB C adaptor and plug to my phone to transfer the pics to add some slight edits. Using the s23 Ultra was literally about 30 seconds. Another 10sec to do the edits.
So yes a dedicated camera will ALWAYS be better no matter what. But when you are on vacation or walking around and want to take some quick pics, a really good camera on a smartphone will be the way to go!
Sometimes I regret buying the Sony and the lenses because of having to carry all that extra stuff with me. So I've started learning how to take better pictures using my phone and wanting a better phone camera at the same time!
@@djvasforeveryou ever try to share a camera photo to your girl in one second? When you're out and about? Sit down.
People in the West is missing out on these great phones cuz they afraid to come out of the box that's why Samsung iPhone an Google will always keep on giving them less for they money especially iPhone
No it's because of the Huawei ban killed competition. People forgot how big of a threat they were to Samsung and apple.
@treebush I have noticed living here. Samsung just copies apple and apple copies samsung and then yeah but huawei actually adds cool stuff. Would love to try harmony OS here in america with American apps but that will never probably happen lol.
Huawei sucks compared to Vivo
I'm sorry, but especially Samsung. Their entire camera system sucks bro. What are you talking about? Get over this b******* talking point. That's very untrue, not to mention Samsung's ultra phone is more expensive..
Not scared at all. Doesn't pay to get a phone that isn't usable on our networks...
Back in my teenage years I used to have a couple of Chinese budget phones (Doogee and Leagoo). They were complete shit back then, and it used to give me the impression that Chinese phones were all like that. Until... I bought the Redmi Note 13.
It cost me 18,000 Albanian Lek (around €170) and honestly, it completely changed my opinion on Xiaomi and Chinese phones in general, to the point I started genuinely questioning WHY THE HELL people are still buying iPhones and Samsungs in my country.
The worst part is that if you go to most phone shops, apart from Xiaomi, there are always those two: the fruit and the kimchi merchants. Forget Huawei, forget Honor, forget all the BBK brands, we don't even get Motorola OR the Pixel here. It's honestly that bad. Xiaomi saved Albania's smartphone scene from becoming an Apple & Samsung oligarchy shitshow and I can't thank them enough for it.
Same with me. I am now looking forward to getting a proper Chinese flagship phone because quite frankly Samsung has dropped the ball for me, and I just don’t want an iPhone, as I have to use one for work.
Chinese phones are great as long as they are the global version. Everything works as it should!
had the same experience. First phone was doogee S70 worked great for one year and after that half of thing started failing. Thought chinese phones were crap but then i got Poco X3 NFC beast for 300 euros. Recently got used Mi 11 Ultra and i gotta say its the bestt phone i have ever held in my hands, and i tried s23u and 15 pro max. Xiaomi went all in on Mi 11 Ultra, those cameras still kick ass
I am Bulgarian but me to ! My first proper flagship phone was Chinese the Huawei P9 and my girlfriend who is Serbian first good smartphone was also a Huawei , the Chinese market has everything for us , and in the Balkans I believe that’s very important , you have cheap phones that do an amazing job and flagship phones which yes are expensive but do a brilliant job !! I just wish the rest of Europe gets to open up a little bit honestly they really are missing out
Same in Kosovo, its a complete shitshow where u even get mocked for having a different brand compared to iphone and samsung. Many people buy them also for repairability, although from my own perspective that holds little weight for the technicians here couldnt even fix my iphone 11 back in the day, all they know is change the screen and battery so idk
Being in India we are so fortunate to experience most of the phone from almost all brands. Starting from 100 dollars to 2000 dollars. We get them all from multiple brands. The amount of competition especially in budget and mid range is leaps and bounds better than most of the other places
True but still some phones like redmagic and x200 pro mini don't come to India sadly
Wish they also were available 😢
Exactly@@shahangilani
@ glad you agree 😁
Bharat Mata
What's really crazy is that the telephoto lens in the Vivo X100 Ultra and X200 pro that everyone is going on about is a Samsung lens. Why Samsung is selling it to Vivo and now Xiaomi but not using it themselves is a complete mystery to me
If I had to guess it would be to cut costs
Cost and size. Samsung doesn't want a massive circular bump like the chinese have
Xiaomi? No they're still using Sony's imx sensor
My guess is its the size, have u seen that lens and also remember samsung has to keep space for an S Pen. And honestly do u want a camera bump that big like the x100 ultra?
Yes the sensor is the ISOCELL HP9 which is manufactured by Samsung. But the periscope module that includes the lens itself is not made by Samsung
i ship them all globally 😁
Did Floss Reply. ?
Are you able to provide the full 1 year warranty?
Most of these "exotic" phones don't support US bands so what's the point
@@EnOrangeSoffa not to mention, no warranty, even harder repair process. Although in a perfect world where they have US versions of these phones with full warranty and support, it would be pretty cool.
are those chinese phones usable for phone calls in america???
I'm from the US, and I have a Nubia z70 Ultra. So happy with my purchase 😊
completely agree, zte is great, their lack of software updates is overblown, don't mind buying a new phone from them every year or once every two years
Where did you find the US model of it?
Got to the official website on Google and choose ( U.S version ) for the phone 🐧@@stealthis
The Oneplus lineup is our bridge to the Chinese tech. The Oneplus open is the best foldable available here in the U.S. (without importing). It's a 2023 model and is still mentioned in the top 3 for a lot of reviewers. For whatever reason, the brand is not getting a major push here in the states. It's kind of like a, if you know, then you know kind of thing. I love the open and I'm looking forward to the open 2.
Tbf you are in the American market , Americans would want to buy American tech products and that’s completely understandable , same way in china the Chinese would rather go for Chinese brands etc etc , both the American market and the Chinese market are doing cool stuff right now , and I do think both china and America have the best eco systems currently available , Huawei and apple are a good example for this
@123skillax Samsung is A south Korean company, though they have some facilities in the
U.S. and have been around for years. I feel it's more about familiarity and advertising. When people see my open, they ask what is, followed by I never heard of oneplus. At my local electronics store, one plus has a small corner of a table. Both Samsung and Apple have their own section.
does oneplus have googleplay by default?
@@acsgdo02 Yes including Vivo iQOO Oppo Realme Xiaomi Redmi Honor Infinix etc EXCEPT HUAWEI
@@acsgdo02 yes.
We can buy virtually anything in Europe.
same in south Asia, except of some chinese market limited phones
Virtually?
How? I'm in Germany and I would like to buy one of these phones, like the Xiaomi/Vivo, but I can't find it anywhere.
@@Amruth I searched Amazon DE in about 20 seconds.
Actually I'm from india and we have all these brands except huwai
We have Huawei readily available in my region and when I tested the P60 Pro camera against my S21 Ultra, I could see a massive difference in photo details. It's a shame that we can't get the best of both worlds, because you notice the hardware difference. Competition isn't there anymore after the Huawei ban.
Yes And Pura 70 Pro/Ultra is a lot better than the P60 Pro especially in terms of COLOUR!!!! P60 Pro colour rendering is not accurate in all modes whereas the Pura 70 Ultra is perfect. P60 pro always failed me with white lights and dog coats 😂. People love it's portraits but as a photographer of more, the upgrade is worth it over the P60 Pro.
@@EthanSingh7neat thanks for the color info
I wish they'd finally put competent 3x telephoto on midrange phones. These cameras are dirt cheap. There is no reason, other than market segregation, to exclude a telephoto camera to the flagship.
My Oppo x8 pro has got 6x telephoto zoom
@@doctorpanigrahi9975 that's not a midrange phone tho :D
There is no "competent" 3x telephoto. I have a Scamsung S23, and 90% of the time it decides to use the main camera with 3x digital zoom, except when it's sunny outside. And that is the correct decision, photos turn out much better than if I force it to use the 3x telephoto camera. Every telephoto camera hardware is so inferior to the main camera's hardware, that there's no point including it really. A 3x crop from the main camera will always be better, especially in low-light (night/indoors). Also 2x; 2.5x telephotos are a complete joke.
@@gentle285because you're using a base s23. A vivo x100 ultra with an hp9 3x sensor will look better than a 3x crop from the main camera any day of the week
@eduard6450 except it is 3.7x, not 3x.
We have maybe almost 80% of chinese phone in Indonesia but lost iphone 16. Dont even dare to think about pixel, its completely banned here even in the online marketplace
May I ask why it's banned?
I think it's regarding their rule of having the parts of the phones being sold to be part Indonesian made on a certain percentage. @@eduardo_gallardo009
Because Indonesia stipulates that if 40% of mobile phone parts are not made in the country, it will be banned.
My mom’s been using a Vivo X90 Pro for a year now and she’s super in love witht the camera and especially the charging. We are still both getting amazed by how quickly it tops up. If I didn’t have so many Apple devices, I would go Vivo, Oppo or Oneplus in a blink of an eye
I'm so glad a video was finally made on this topic. I actually made an article on this exact same thing last year!
It seems like the smartphone market in the US is back to the era of 2003 to 2009, when all of Asia and Europe were already using Symbian and WinMo based smartphones with all their sophistication (GPS, WiFi, app catalog), the American market was still struggling with feature phones and Blackberry.
All Chinese phones have is faster charging and worse softwares. It's not that deep.
@HeortirtheWoodwarden at least we have choices
I live in Europe and id still have to pay like 1600 euros for a X200 Pro if i wanted to do a local purchase.
It would be easier to go to another country, like Austria, get a device there and come back home. Id still be 300 bucks in the green.
I live in the Netherlands and a X200 Pro would cost me €800
@@BlackParade01 That is not that bad.
I bought a POCO F6 from Amazon Germany for just 330. This phone has stronger SOC than what Google gives with their expensive flagship.
Comes with a charger, a nice case
(not those silicon transparent ones that get yellow), a preinstalled screen protector and even a small holder you can stick on your case.
It just shows how Samsung and Apple and Google etc are just robbing us blind.
@@BlackParade01where do u buy it is it in stores there? Or tradingShenzhen
@@arlindislami8240 tradingshenzen
Weird. I actually liked the ginormous camera bump. I think it kinda looks cool vs the usual tiny circles. My initial concern about it though was just smudging it with fingerprints. But then there are casings which are designed to cover them neatly.
the west is missing out not just in the flagship category, but more so the midrange category.
brands like vivo, realme, oppo, xiaomi, even transsion phones (itel, infinix, and tecno) are just some of the brands the west don't readily have, and have had good market share here in asia. The prominence of these phones, or China brands in general, are also the same reason why some brands that are available in the west, aren't here in asia, like the google pixel. While the pixel series boasts stock android and good performance overall, the specs don't justify the price especially if you can get better phones with better specs on the same price range.
And fast charging isn't really exclusive to the flagship devices here, 45W-70W fast charging can easily be found on a midrange device, with Chinese flagships going up to 120W.
My Chinese midrange Realme GT Neo6. 120 watts 5500mAh all for $270
I’m from Hong Kong and yes we do have a mix of local ppl and mainland Chinese and same as Chinese and foreign brands. I still recommended my aunt an S24FE because of a couple reasons, price being one.
I am an photography enthusiast, live in EU and i must say pretty much that apple, samsung & google are making extremely boring phones and the options that are from China are very attractive, especially Vivo now.
Ryan, Thank you very much!
I noticed that after HTC and LG fell off in the smartphone market, the big three (Galaxy, Pixel, iPhone) took over the US market
Just got my Vivo X200Pro (I'm in Europe). Wow what a phone! What a camera! and what an amazing price!
Samsung and Apple are just milking people who are just satisfied with what they've got imo.
I mean the closest thing we have here in the US that are comparable to the other brands, and which people are sleeping on, is OnePlus.
If I was a regular person who was not subscribed to all of the tech TH-cam channel on TH-cam I might have been happy with the phone I have also cause of these TH-cam channel I got educated so those Western phone companies cannot fool me anymore
I have the S24 Ultra and my cousin bought a Poco F6. The only difference we saw on the 2 phones was my display is much better, camera is much better and my phone costs 4x more expensive. Everything else (gaming, battery life, music, watching videos) is pretty much the same. On paper my phone is slightly better on the chipsets but in reality, you really can't tell the difference.
Closest we have in the US are with OnePlus and Nubia/RedMagic. I'm definitely getting the OnePlus 13 this year.
Phones like the Vivo X200 Pro and Oppo Find X8 Pro are so tempting, but missing some bands 😢
Not to mention software 😢
Whacky as hell 😢
1:04 that isn't an Huawei that is an HONOR magic 6 pro honor was the sub brand to Huawei before the US ban of huawei and huawei had to cut off honor because the honor also would've been US ban as well
Kinda off topic but it surprises me that no (phone) tech channel is talking about Samsung downgrading the S23 Ultra camera. There are a couple of threads on reddit about it.
They also downgraded the selfie camera lol. Everything is downhill for Samsung
It's the same with UK phone carriers too, I'm with EE who used to have a massive choice of phones, I remember getting the OPPO Find x5 Pro with them. But now it's Samsung, Google or Apple. I was hopeful they would be stocking the Find x8 Pro but it's limited to just 1 carrier in the UK. The choice is becoming slim for people with phone contracts which is how I imagine the majority of people get the newest phone without having to stump up a large upfront cost for the handset itself, but now the price of contracts is rocketing too
Switched to buying outright 6 years ago. So I'm price sensitive. Moto ftw
The only downside to importing is the lack of support/genuine replacement parts and less options for accessories. I'll continue importing.
It is unfortunate, but let's remember that China banned Google products and services LONG before Chinese manufacturers were banned from the US. But it's a lot easier to get those Chinese smartphones than it is to get around the great firewall if you happen to be in mainland China.
Stop fear mongering, it is easy to get around the firewall in china through the use of a VPN, it is not illegal or against the rules to access "restricted" sites, it is only illegal to provide services to purchase a VPN. They can survive without google, but it is you guys who cannot survive without "Chinese smartphones" because of how much of a pro monopoly market it is in the west which makes producers rest on their laurels. Eventually chinese software will catch up with the bang for buck smartphones and you will still be stuck buying shitty apple and samsung phones
Google is banned, while Apple has physical stores and sells just fine in China, both hardware and software. Wonder what they had to offer to CCP for that? They ban communication apps all the time, including Hong Kong protests suppression. Pathetic.
They banned Google products only in mainland China, these chinese phones are still being shipped with google stuff in it.
Wrong, Google left the Chinese market in 2010 for political reasons and data localisation laws.
@@QuantumScribe my comment about Apple happily cooperating with CCP got removed, funny.
I got my wife to ditch her iPhone for 1Plus and she isn't regretting it. She was amazed at the charging speed, battery life and the picture quality of the camera. She hasn't complained since I got her to move.
Yeah I agree. Although, due to the poor software updates and other issues like bloat I'm not sure I would go with many of the more forward thinking Chinese OEMs. OnePlus is our only options and I am excited to see their watches and phones coming out this year. They seem to be a decent middle ground with some more advanced hardware, while offering a pretty good Android skin with respectable support, although I here the regularity of security patches can be a bit hit or miss. Feels like the big 3 in the US are just going through the motions. Google has done some work to catch up hardware wise, but they are mostly a software company so I am doubtful they will ever push he envelope when it comes to hardware. Samsung and Apple are hardly distinguishable from each other these days to me 😢.
Been on a Poco f3 the past 3 years. Still playing games in it. Well worth it
What can you get in Barnstaple? 🙂 Re cameras: remember, no matter what you may wish, you cannot miniaturise the wavelength of light, change the charge on an electron, and Planck's constant is always what it is.
My man
I still wish the guys at Pine64 can improve further with their phones so we can have truly libre phones
Good open sauce we need more!
Great video - one more angle is Hi Res Audio - if you play local FLAC files or stream Hi Res via Tidal/Qobuz, having a built in HIFI DAC makes life so much easier. Vivo X series does that, even though you need a passive cheap dongle. People might say well use an external DAC dongle - however that comes at an extra cost, significant battery drain and lack of optimization for each app which Vivo manages to do. Add the nicer finish, 1 inch Zeiss sensor etc...
When you put a quality case on a phone with a big camera bump it'll be flush on the back so it won't matter. Also put a lens protector on it just in case
Watching this on my Vivo X200 Pro in the Philippines.
I just wish all these Chinese phones used the same charging standard. Because it doesn't matter if your Xiaomi comes with a 120W charger in the box, if you try to use it on an Honor phone that also supports 120W it will charge at 30W or so maximum because Honor used another standard, and same with the other Chinese manufacturers
What difference does that make if they're all shipping with a charger in the box?
@mooseratt not anymore, for example I just bought a Xiaomi 14T pro with the charger included, but in several countries they sell you only the phone.
On a side note, I recently did a family vacation for a couple days with my family and I was the only one who took my phone charger with me. My phone supports 120W so it charged super fast but my dad's Motorola and my mom's Honor charged painfully slow using the same charger, even tho both phones support their own fast charging
@@jrchannel7405 cool story bro, so your charger came in the box, as did your parents. The fact they are forgetful is not the responsibility of Chinese OEMs, of which Motorola is not.
@@mooseratt not a cool story. Not meant for entertainment, just an example on why standards are important. Additionally, Motorola is now owned by Lenovo, which is a Chinese company
@jrchannel7405 not really, just an example of your parents not knowing how to pack for vacation. I doubt whether it's even true, most people will pack their phone charger before their toothbrush these days.
And Motorola being Chinese owned does not put it in the same category as a Xiaomi or an Honor Chinese phone. The whole reason they bought it out was BECAUSE it already had a western market.
I still miss flip phones, no holes, just perfect experience. That was peak.
While the hardware on these Chinese phones seem much better, I personally am content with slightly worse hardware for a much better software experience. I have used these phones before and really did not enjoy the software on them, which is why I currently use a Pixel.
Same here, it's like having a car, it can be as specced out as you want, but if it's not a nice drive, you're not going to enjoy it.
I understand this is a more of a essay type of video but I would've liked some more concrete comparisons, say, putting up vivo vs samsung s24 ultra cameras. Otherwise it's just a bit of a generic argument (we're not getting all phones and we might be missing out).
Superior software can more than make up for some hardware. Plus you're made to feel your hardware is obsolete when the new hardware drops.
I think its because geo political tensions we not see Chinese mobile in the US market. It would be hard to sell them via Verizon, T-Mobile etc..
The bbk group really step up in polishing their software, moreover their battery is getting bigger and yet still thin enough , now in 6000 mah range (unless it's in compact size around 5000 range ,still large though)
The way Sony is doing telephoto is peak. Can be improved in other ways, but physically moving the lens inside of a phone is so cool
If europe were to have more phone makers and bigger one it would be amazing
I think it's very clever marketing. Create hype and show people a great product they can't have and it's sure they will want it. The day it is finally released, everybody will rush to buy it making them feel special .
I mean they are still hard to get vivo and oppo in the UK unless you buy them outright which is not possible cuz how expensive they are and company like ee don't have any other flagship phone are available
tbh for the software aspect of these Chinese phones, you can always just install a custom Rom
no，Chinese phone are hard to unlock the BL now！
Samsung is screwing their customers by not including at 6k mah battery and 100w charging speed with a charging adaptor included. This us unacceptable for a $1500 phone. The S25 ultra will not offer any of these as well. SHAME
The reason why US banned huawei is not because security reason, it just they were affraid of actual competition
Xiaomi OPPO and vivo are better than Huawei. Why don't we ban these? Chinese technology fans hate Huawei, because it uses the bad chipset and sold in higher prices like Google.
While I've never use a Chinese phone, I have bought an entry level Realme phone and also, my brother is still using a Xiaomi higher-end phone, may be a 12T Pro. From my own experiences I think Chinese phone hardwares are top notch, but the user experiences may still be lacking. There are 2 reasons that Chinese phones have very reasonable prices. The first one is the economy of scales. The second one is that many brand like Xiaomi, Poco, Iqoo or realme tend to sell phones at lower profit margin then recover the cost by adding ads and bloatwares to the ROM. When I bought my mom a Realme 10T 2 years ago, I waste almost an hour just to disable all the ads and pop-ups. This is the reason I think that international makers like Apple, Samsung and Google are still a little bit ahead in term of softwares and UX.
Faster charging seems to discharge much faster than standard charging
Fast charging is good in the short term but the battery will degrade faster.
@@Legion849you have no idea how much fast charging has been progressing in Chinese phones. My iQOO Neo7 with 120 watts still has above 90% of battery capacity after heavy using it for over two years.
Me with the cheapest Samsung phone which I replaced it's battery that somehow doesn't get charged when it's powered on; but the phone's case looks cool: sure those look cool... not cool enough for me.
edit: also, if anyone knows why my phone doesn't charge properly (the charge gets cut and come back in a loop) while it's charging as it's powered on; I'm more than happy to listen.
I would buy Xiaomi flagships every year if I could easily in Australia. Even just importing I've had the 12s ultra, 13 ultra and 14 ultra, but it's a pain selling them to Aussies who have no idea about them. Generally everyone who buys my old Xiaomis is from India, where Redmi is huge.
Oppo is available here but I'm so sad the new one doesn't have a one inch sensor.
Same in switzerland really. You can buy someeee asian market phones prepaid, but if you want something with your simcard contract, its either appel or Samsung or pixel
Why is only one plus is the only Chinese phone you can get in the West why the other Chinese brands do not do like OnePlus
I realize now from reading the spec sheet, that 1 inch sensor inside phone will be bundled with shorter focal length, eq. to 23mm. I'm not sure if that something I'll fondly use. The midground focal length for common photography lays around 28mm - 40mm, but 23mm and 20mm (sharp aquos model) ?
I don't know too many people asking for a thin phone, I want a bigger battery, bigger camera!!
The problem with the Chinese brands, as much as they are getting better at this, is polish and strong ethos. Most people want an all rounded phone that has been thoughtfully put together and branded, not just specs.
I’m using Honor Magic 6 Pro, and I couldn’t use any other smartphone as my daily driver. The display is gorgeous and the battery life is excellent, and most importantly it charges so fast. Something that still missing in IPhone and Samsung.
I'm planning between 2 or more phones. Right now the top choices is the Vivo x200 Pro, One Plus 13 possibly Pro Version.
Hey it's best not to get into the specs race. That's the land of quantity over quality, to say the least. And I here am not missing out on these but definitely thinking twice before going for one of these. Asus being an exception among the ones you've mentioned here.
1. The resell value of these phones goes to shit compared to Sammy or iPhones.
2. The Vivo x200 pro in europe is more expensive than the Apple/Samsung flagships.
3. Worse software and general everyday use.
4. Shorter update roadmap
5. You get marginally better cameras and battery in exchange for the previous 4 points.
It really doesn't make sense to buy these devices unless its for testing them out because for the every they they are inferior for a larger price.
(Used an X200 pro for 2 weeks since I dont mind spending a few k a year testing phones since it's my hobby)
Living in Canada were in the same boat with respect to the scarcity of choice. I have never been onboard with iOS, so iPhones are out, don't like the Pixel hardware or Android experience, and am tired of Samsung putting out the same phones year after year. Forgoing those three brands effectively eliminates all choice here. I've looked into importing Chinese devices but always run into cellular bands compatibity issues making importing a non-option the vast majority of the time. As someone who used to thoroughly enjoy delving into the scene and upgrading every year to something truly new and exciting I've grown quite jaded towards the entire category.
Which companies provide prompt (at least monthly) security updates, and long multi-year OS updates? Not many. While these those are cheaper you also loose software support quicker.
It seems like the only thing it is missing is a xenon flash tube
Now you know how tech savy people usually feel in the EU.
If there do exist a device combining all the software of a Pixel 9 Pro and all the hardware of a Vivo X200 Pro mini, I don't care about if it will cost like USD2000 or something. I'll just go buy one.
Why do you want such a phone? Pixel 9 Pro Fold? That Tensor G4 is as great as 8 gen 2 in 1+ Open no? What do you need the performance for if you don’t play Mihoyo on your phone?
Up until recently, I've been using Samsung phones for a full decade and 3 months ago I bought the Honor Magic v3.
I was really scared from the software, but I got to say, it's really fine, I had no issues. I do miss the Samsung keyboard, since I got so use to it but it's just neat picking.
I think that in the US they want us to fear what we don't know so we won't try other phones
pixel need to fix their portrait mode...
That's why I refuse to upgrade from my Samsung S23 Base. Why upgrade to a newer model when it's almost the same phone as I have right now.
Sadly in China these great phones are also facing the saturation problem
I just got a Xiaomi 14T Pro and am very impressed with what it provides, in performance, charging speed, and camera capability. I switched from a Samsung S24 Ultra.
Chinese phones have better software.
It's funny how so many ppl are convinced that not having features = good software.
I got the Honor Magic V3 foldable from China then sold it and got the Global ROM version
(was going to get the Fold 6 but hate the thickness and thin outer screen so got this one instead)
I highly recommend getting the Global version of the device from the UK or other countries if you mean to import one of these into the US.
The Chinese ROM version has issues with phone link (keeps stopping with message about China roaming), android auto (not available on most), google assistant (ok google and other commands fail), connecting to Wear OS watches is a no go + much more.
I don't have any such issues with the Global ROM Magic V3 so If I could go back I wouldn't have bought the Chinese one since I lost money when I sold it and got global.
For the first time ever I have imported OnePlus 13 24GB/1TB version from China and let me tell you, for 1000$ this phone is just amazing. It came with really good phone case and of course the 100W brick with cable. They even packed a EU adapter as extra for me. It's just small things that make me go for it again. ColorOS works just as great as Oxygen and I don't have any band incompatibilities. Came home today with 60% battery left and my work consists of constant calls and maps usage during day with scrolling and a little bit gaming on top of it when I have free time. Only time I charge it is in the morning 30 minutes before I leave my house, charging to 92% 🙌
Reliability and long-term support are more important to me than raw specs. A Pixel or Samsung might not have the best camera, most powerful processor or the fastest charging, but it's good enough. And it doesn't come with preinstalled bloatware, ads, or random bugs.
The financial risk of entering the North American "Free" market and getting randomly banned at any time is not worth it. Especially since Canadians and Americans only buy iphones at the end of the day anyway.
It is definitely disappointing that we have less choices in the US market. I will say though that in this day and age, even if boring. All phones are kind of a different flavor of the same thing. Sure the camera hardware looks sweet but in reality with so much stuff done by AI image processing it really doesn't matter all that much.
so I am from India and here we do get all of these. I use a Reno11 its kinda midrange phone so not going to talk about hardware but ColorOS has improved a lot, the animations in new ColorOS 15 (android 15) are so fluid it reminds me iphones
we've seen phones with camera module that looks like induction stove, and now that looks like washing machine.
Because of big sensor and better hardware you need big module...just like a regular camera..so that we can get good output
Watching on my Oppo Find X8 Pro. So glad they are back with their flagships in EU.
Very proud of you to finally break out of the western mindset and realise there is MUCH better devices out there
In Australia there are no legit stores repairing Chinese phones. They will repair apple, Samsung and google only. I had a Xiaomi that needed a new digitizer and nobody wanted to know anything about it. Then the 3G network was closed causing many phones to become useless even though many were 4G and 5G phones. If you want a contract from a phone store there are only a few Chinese options but they are marketed as cheap affordable phones for kids or old people. It's so frustrating to know there are phones out there like the red magic 10 pro but Australia will never want anything to do with it
I'm rocking my Note 20 Ultra for 4 years now. While I plan to use the phone for another 2 years anyway, a big part of that choice is because I don't feel like I would be getting something new with another phone. At that time, the note was unique in its design and stylus. Every new phone looks the same and these tiny improvements feel insignificant. That's why I'm now considering getting a foldable because those at least offer something exciting. Still, they are extremely expensive while having a (for me) too short live span, especially given the price. I want refreshing features in the mainstream phones like we had a decade ago (and no way in hell am I counting all these AI things)
I really hate the slow charging on my 16 pro... I think its time to switch to Xiaomi
Newer phones are so boring and expensive I've turned to buying older, more affordable and more interesting phones.
That's why I'm be on eBay buying an older phones. I have a Samsung s23 Ultra, I have the regular Samsung s23. I have a oneplus 9 5G that I brought from T-Mobile.
Last year on eBay i be buying older phones, just to get a different experience. I got a LG velvet 5G off eBay for $66. I went and got a LG V60 with the dual screen case included for $115 on eBay. I'm going to get a Blackberry keyone or key2 because I really want a phone with a physical keyboard. And I'm going to get me a LG wing.
I'm thinking about getting me a Sony Xperia from like 2020 or 2022 on eBay.
My OnePlus 12r has a SD 8 gen 2 for only $400, while the ridiculous Galaxy a55 got a sd778g equivalent chip for $500, with a worse screen, worse sound, worse battery, worse everything but people still bought that scam of a phone
Uhh… can’t you buy an S24FE for $499? Cuz I’m p sure the 12R is on sale just like the Samsung here 😂
I request a review of Sharp R8s Pro with 1 inch camera sensor please.
This was a much needed video.
I've become a Pixel guy. Not that I don't often try other phones but I tend to always return back to Pixels. My issue with Google is generally that they definitely always make hardware compromises, particularly compared with other manufacturers. One of the few times Google got it right was with not a Pixel but with the Nexus 6P which was manufactured by Huawei. I had that phone and it was great. It was my first experience with a Chinese phone and I was not disappointed with the hardware and that was years ago now.
China is definitely pushing hardware much more than phones sold out west but they still also lag when it comes to software. Google has always kinda lagged with hardware but I have to say it's surprising to see Samsung and Apple starting to lag behind Chinese phones as well. And I do think it's due to complacency and lack of competition moreso than lack of capability. They obviously aren't afraid to raise prices because they continue to do so even though it's obvious they are no longer the hardware innovators they used to be. It would be nice to see some true competition again.