Can we talk about Chinese phones vs brand name ones and what they offer for their pricing?

[venom0706]

In the UK.

I had recently decided to stop spending so much money on flagship phones and started getting into mid-rangers (considering I only use my phone for Facebook and media - videos, camera, etc).

After having been a massive Samsung fan for pretty much all my life, I finally made the jump from my year and a half old Galaxy A41 to a Chinese phone - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G.

I am honestly shocked regarding the amount of stuff this phone has for the price I paid for it (£280, that included free earbuds as well). I got:

- Snapdragon 695 - most mid-rangers in Europe will either have Exynos or the inferior Mediatek, so getting a SD processor is amazing.

- 6 GB RAM.

- 120HZ display - I never before had a phone, where scrolling and the touch screen in general felt so smooth). I am almost sure almost NO mid-range phone around this price point has a display with such a high refresh rate. Even Xiaomi's cheapest phone options offer something like 90HZ refresh rate.

- 67W charger AND a headphone jack - after chargers are starting to not get included in packaging and headphone jacks are being ditched, these two are such a welcome addition. Also, most mid-range phones with charger, don't offer such a high W of charging.

I can't seem to find any faults so far. People say the MUI Android skin is buggy, but after 2 days of usage, I haven't encountered any bugs. I also had the option of disabling ads when setting up the phone, so have barely had any.

I am in disbelief why I never tried a Chinese phone before and the amount of high-end hardware specs they offer for the pricing point.

What do you think?

 

[getjeffrey]

Let's not get political people, please.

 

[getjeffrey]

If security is of no concern to you, go for it.

 

[spARTacus]

How much of a concern is security?

 

[dangerousfen]

Xiaomi have been checked thoroughly by the European, British and American governments and as such do not prove a security threat. Certainly no more than any non Chinese company. Let's face it, whoever they are, they ALL collect your data, you cannot avoid it.

 

[spARTacus]

Xiaomi have been checked thoroughly by the European, British and American governments and as such do not prove a security threat. Certainly no more than any non Chinese company...

Really? I didn't know that. Interesting. Is that backed by audit reports or standards compliance or something else, or is it just a common understanding? I am serious, not trying to be sarcastic. I don't know so I am interested in what people know.

 

[Morty2264]

Brands like Xiaomi and Huawei are excellent alternatives and I think they should be more well known in other countries than they are currently. So glad you are liking your phone! Xiaomi definitely delivers more bang for your buck than other manufacturers!

 

[dangerousfen]

Brands like Xiaomi and Huawei are excellent alternatives and I think they should be more well known in other countries than they are currently. So glad you are liking your phone! Xiaomi definitely delivers more bang for your buck than other manufacturers!

Huawei.........Nooooo. Definitely a security problem.

The problem is that, although Xiaomi are well known and respected in India and Europe, they have not yet penetrated the American market. So the American buying public have little knowledge of the brand. This is born out by the lack of awareness here on AC which is after all a USA based site.

 

[spARTacus]

Yeah I was interested in learning about some actual reports, audits, investigation, etc... that support claims of if any of these companies are good or bad, and some actual concrete details as opposed to just speculation or political.

 

[dangerousfen]

Yeah I was interested in learning about some actual reports, audits, investigation, etc... that support claims of if any of these companies are good or bad, and some actual concrete details as opposed to just speculation or political.

I refrained from using any brand of Chinese phone for years having been with Nokia from 1997 then Blackberry from 2008 and then Nokia again from 2016.

Last year I was researching my next Nokia device when I happened on a review of a Nokia phone which suggested that a certain Xiaomi phone was far superior and cheaper.

Due to my concern regarding Chinese devices, I then spent many hours checking out Xiaomi, especially after the Huawei debacle, only to find that no western governments or agencies could find any security issues.

I can't remember any specifics that I trawled through during that period but after that research I had absolutely no compunction in purchasing my Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro and it's been a breath of fresh air after Nokia.

Despite the negativity from the higher eschelons in AC, I would recommend Xiaomi products to anyone.

For your info, I'm based in the UK.

 

[spARTacus]

Thanks very much for your response.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

This is really interesting. A friend of mine gets the Xiaomi Pro phones on 3 contract and loves them. I have been interested in Xiaomi phones for a while, but I just like my pixels too much. I am glad the OP loves his new phone.

 

[gray2018]

Xiaomi seems interesting. That said, I have only had experience with one chinese smartphone company... Oneplus. After that, I wont ever use one again.

 

[dangerousfen]

Xiaomi seems interesting. That said, I have only had experience with one chinese smartphone company... Oneplus. After that, I wont ever use one again.

Would you care to expand on your experience with OnePlus? I'm genuinely quite interested as I've never warmed to the company either despite the many fans on this forum.

 

[gray2018]

Would you care to expand on your experience with OnePlus? I'm genuinely quite interested as I've never warmed to the company either despite the many fans on this forum.

I got a free Oneplus 8 from T-Mobile in 2021. It was buggy, had connection issues and I just generally didnt like oxygen OS. Sold it six months later. Probably legit the worst phone I've ever used. Only thing good about it was the screen was quite nice. Wasnt a fan of no SD card with only 128gb of storage. Thats not really relevant, but just added to my hate of the device.

After this, I'll never buy another device from them again.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

If security is of no concern to you, go for it.

Do you have a non political reason to suggest Chinese phones aren't safe? I mean most American products are manufactured in China where the Chinese factories control the firmware on the products. Same reasons I've seen as to why we can't trust Huawei seem to apply to Apple as well from my understanding. Entire Chinese products aren't safe argument seems to stem from political and cultural bias simply because yes, their government can demand user data.

I don't want to get political, I've just yet to be given a reason to avoid Chinese electronics myself.

 

[mustang7757]

Out the 3 Huawei/Xiaomi/One Plus.. Ive only used One Plus as it available in US. As for the other 2 like Huawei they dont come with Google store or apps and have to get by with 3rd party substitute which can get malware , not sure the story on Xiaomi....Xiaomi/Huawei ive heard/read articles they have spyware leaking back to its government how true i dont know , to have Data leaking from a server going directly to that government i can see worrying , yes Google/Apple have data going to their server but in their server not US government server that might not ease people either , can US government get their hands on it , probably lol most likely have to go through more hoops then Chinese government.

All manufacturer Chinese or American collect data on us.

So in the end i guess it up to the user decide what and who they feel more comfortable in collecting it.

 

[dangerousfen]

Out the 3 Huawei/Xiaomi/One Plus.. Ive only used One Plus as it available in US. As for the other 2 like Huawei they dont come with Google store or apps and have to get by with 3rd party substitute which can get malware , not sure the story on Xiaomi....Xiaomi/Huawei ive heard/read articles they have spyware leaking back to its government how true i dont know , to have Data leaking from a server going directly to that government i can see worrying , yes Google/Apple have data going to their server but in their server not US government server that might not ease people either , can US government get their hands on it , probably lol most likely have to go through more hoops then Chinese government.

All manufacturer Chinese or American collect data on us.

So in the end i guess it up to the user decide what and who they feel more comfortable in collecting it.

Let me correct your initial statement. Xiaomi, like OnePlus uses the Google Suite of Apps with normal Google Security updates. Yes, there are a few alternative apps but they can be removed.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

What exactly makes xiaomi *not* a brand name? Talking about "brand name Vs Chinese" is a bit unintentionally xenophobic.

I won't buy Chinese phones anymore, but that's because of the US rather than China. I don't want to be left holding the bag if uncle Sam arbitrarily decides to kill more Chinese companies.

 

[mustang7757]

Let me correct your initial statement. Xiaomi, like OnePlus uses the Google Suite of Apps with normal Google Security updates. Yes, there are a few alternative apps but they can be removed.

Thanks i wasn't on them if they had Google or not .