The best Chinese Android smartphones in 2024

The OnePlus 13 is here to make us believe that two exceptional flagships in a row is not an impossible task to pull off for any phone maker out there. The successor to the stunning OnePlus 12 is here with a new design: flat sides and a thinner body.

The device boasts an IP69 certification, surpassing the standard IP68, with enhanced protection against powerful water jets and immersion, ensuring greater durability and peace of mind.

The 6.8-inch OLED screen comes with improved eye protection features, which is always a welcomed upgrade. The display (QHD+ resolution, HDR+ support) has a 1-120Hz local high refresh rate. This technology allows various parts of a display to refresh at different rates, unlike traditional screens that refresh the entire display uniformly.

Under the hood, users will be enchanted to find the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset – the best Qualcomm you could get on a phone. Also, there's the option for 24 GB of RAM. Amazing!

Personally, if I had to choose between the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 12, I'd go for the newer model simply because it packs a large 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery (versus the 5,400 mAh that the previous model offers).

This one – the Honor Magic 7 Pro, I mean – is a pretty easy pick. Just like the Honor Magic 6 Pro, the seventh Magic iteration looks premium, acts premium and… it's sold for a premium price.

The Honor Magic 7 Pro features a 300 MP triple-camera setup, including a 50 MP main sensor, a 50 MP ultrawide lens, and a 200 MP telephoto sensor, likely the Samsung S5KHP9. Enhanced by Honor's Image Engine 3.0, the system promises advanced portrait refinement, light and shadow optimization, and high-quality telephoto performance, with the potential for exceptional hybrid zoom.

The display comes with some pretty solid specs: it's a 6.8-inch OLED LTPO panel with a dynamic refresh rate up to 120 Hz, FHD+ resolution, and 5000 nits peak brightness.

What's even more impressive is that the Honor Magic 7 Pro packs a 5,850 mAh battery with third-generation silicon-carbon technology. It supports impressive 100W wired and 80W wireless charging. Once you step in the 100W charging speed territory, you can't go back. It's addictive.

Also, the Honor Magic 7 Pro stands out with advanced biometric features. It includes sophisticated 3D facial scanning technology, akin to what Apple offers with the iPhone, and incorporates an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner beneath the display, similar to the latest Samsung Galaxy devices.

It's not until (early) 2025 that the Xiaomi 15 Pro will be globally available, but we cannot not include it in this list of ours. With its 6,100 mAh capacity cell, the Xiaomi 15 Pro offers even better battery numbers than the aforementioned OnePlus 13 (6,000 mAh).

Under the flagship hood, it's the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. On the back, there's a triple 50MP camera system and personally, I'm delighted to see that the Xiaomi 15 Pro offers an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, instead of the optical one of its predecessor.

Users who decide to go for the "vanilla" Xiaomi 15 – the non-Pro model, won't be disappointed. Sure, it's a smaller display, and a smaller battery that you're getting, but it's still the Snapdragon 8 Elite that powers the Xiaomi 15. 

Of course, if you want the ultimate Xiaomi experience, you should wait for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, but this beast is not expected until 2025. If you're that impatient, you can always go for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra – it's still fresh!

Although Oppo and OnePlus produce distinct phones, these two brands are joined at the hip and their models share many of the same in terms of parts or features.

This year, Oppo has two champions for everyone out there who seeks the most bang for their buck:

• Oppo Find X8 Pro
• Oppo Find X8

The Oppo Find X8 Pro features a 6.78-inch LTPO OLED micro-quad-curved display with FHD+ resolution and a 1-120Hz refresh rate. It boasts a quad-camera system, including a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and two periscope telephoto lenses, one with 3x and the other with 6x optical zoom. The camera setup is enhanced by Oppo’s HyperTone image engine and the Hasselblad Portrait Mode. This translates to serious photo (and video) quality.

However, if you're after the ultimate Oppo mobile photography experience, you should wait for the upcoming Oppo Find X8 Ultra… or just get the available Oppo Find X7 Ultra, which could be found at an amazing price.

Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chipset, the X8 Pro also includes a robust cooling system and runs ColorOS 15 with advanced AI features. It has a 5,910 mAh battery supporting 80W wired and 50W wireless charging. Additionally, it is IP69-rated for water and dust resistance.

The slightly smaller Oppo Find X8 features a 6.59-inch flat LTPO OLED display with FHD+ resolution. It lacks the 6x zoom camera on its back, but it too packs the Dimensity 9400 chipset and offers far higher charging speeds than Samsung, Google, or Apple.

Huawei is at it again and simply refuses to wither away; instead of fulfilling the dream of so many US officials, the notoriously sanctioned brand released the Huawei Mate 70 series, consisting of the Mate 70, Mate 70 Pro, Mate 70 Pro+, and Mate 70 RS.

These phones mark the beginning of Huawei's new journey – a journey that does not include support for Android apps. That's right, the Huawei Mate 70 series does not support Android apps and it's kind of ironic that we're including it in this current list.

However, there's a workaround way to run Android apps for the moment. The new Mate 70 lineup comes with HarmonyOS 4.3 out of the box. That's a dual-framework OS, meaning that it can run both standard Android apps and HarmonyOS NEXT's apps.

The upcoming software update will bring HarmonyOS NEXT to the Mate 70. This is Huawei's own operating system, which doesn't support anything Android.

Apart from that, with the Pro models, you're getting an interesting camera setup. It packs a variable aperture (f/1.4 – f/4.0) for the 50MP main camera, a 48MP telephoto lens with 4x optical zoom, and a 40MP ultrawide camera. The Pro+ uses RYYB sensors, compared to the Pro's RGGB sensors.

The RYYB sensor replaces green pixels with yellow ones, allowing both red and green light to pass through, which enhances low-light performance, improves color fidelity, and produces more natural skin tones.

Both models include an XMage spectral imaging sensor for advanced color accuracy using 1.5 million spectral channels.

The best you can get from Vivo's new X200 line is the Vivo X200 Pro: unless you fancy smaller phones. Then, the best handset to get is the Vivo X200 Pro mini. That's right, Vivo is one of the brands that are finally accepting and acting on the reality that not everybody out there wants a tablet-sized phone.

Of course, it's not yet 100% certain that the Vivo X200 will be released globally, but even if it stays in China, there are ways to get it shipped to (almost) any part of the world.

There isn't a shortage of reasons to walk the extra mile – your efforts would pay off in the form of impressive goods.

The Vivo X200 Pro comes with a large 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a high resolution of 2800 x 1260 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, and impressive brightness. Powered by the advanced Dimensity 9400 chipset with an octa-core processor, you're about to forget what "lag" means.

The phone boasts a triple Zeiss-branded camera system, including a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilization, a remarkable 200MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide camera. Vivo's phones are known for their photography capabilities, so you can be sure the pics you'll take are going to be punchy and detailed.

Battery-wise, the X200 Pro comes with a substantial 6,000 mAh cell. It supports fast charging with 90W wired and 30W wireless charging capabilities, and also offers reverse charging.

Okay, time to wheel out the foldables to the stage!

Our first foldable pick is the Honor Magic V3 – thin as a pancake, but powerful as a space rocket! Well, almost. Certainly, it's sleek, advanced, and flashy enough to be compared with a space rocket.

When it was released, we were stunned by Honor's claims that it's the thinnest foldable on the market, with its 4.35mm when unfolded (for reference, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 measures 5.6mm unfolded). But that's correct – it's thinner than any other handset that you can think of. Except for a certain Huawei alien tri-foldable, but we'll discuss that in a moment.

So, the Honor Magic V3 is housing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Currently, we're dealing with its successor – the Snapdragon 8 Elite, but the Gen 3 is an amazing piece of silicon by itself nonetheless.

The phone is built with advanced materials, including Special Fiber (resembling fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber), Super Steel for a hinge rated to endure 500,000 folds (I mean, come on!), a Super Armored Inner Screen with a nanoscale coating for 500% improved scratch resistance, and a NanoCrystal Shield protecting the cover screen.

Despite being thin, the Honor Magic V3 is equipped with a triple rear camera system, including a 50MP main camera with a Sony IMX906 stacked sensor (bright, large f/1.6 aperture), a 40MP ultrawide camera, and a 50MP periscope telephoto camera (3.5x optical zoom). It also features two 20MP front-facing cameras, one on the cover screen and another on the main screen, both with f/2.2 apertures.

So: the Honor Magic V3 features third-generation silicon-carbon battery technology, enabling a large 5,150 mAh cell in an impressively thin design. Despite its slim profile, the phone packs a flagship processor, a periscope zoom camera, and a dual-battery configuration to achieve this capacity. Is there anything else you'd like to see here?

I can recommend the OnePlus Open to anyone looking for a foldable in a heartbeat not just in 2024, but in 2025 as well… despite the fact that the OnePlus Open is from 2023. Or, it's precisely why I would recommend it – 2023 phones will be way cheaper in 2025.

However, contenders are on the horizon – or, better yet – well above the horizon. I'm talking about the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro.

When unfolded, the device transforms into a thin 5.2mm slate with an almost square aspect ratio. Its 6-inch internal screen supports multitasking with software enhancements for floating apps and slide-in options. The hinge motion is smooth and stable, and while there's a crease across the screen's center, it is shallow and barely noticeable during use.

It's worth noting that the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro features two ultrasonic fingerprint scanners, one under the cover screen and the other under the main screen. Cool stuff.

At our disposal, we have a 50MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide, and a 64MP telephoto camera for detailed portraits, all enhanced by Zeiss-branded lenses and software optimizations.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset will make you forget about changing your phone because "it's slow" in the near future.

Yup. That's a phone you're looking at. I'm sure this is bigger than your grandfather's TV set from back in the day, but… it is what it is.

We've come a long way since and the Huawei Mate XT, the world's first tri-fold phone, is the proof.

This beast is thinner than the Honor Magic V3 (and its 4.35mm): the tri-folding Mate XT leaves everyone and everything else behind with its incredible 3.6mm thinness!

The Huawei Mate XT is thicker and heavier than a regular smartphone but is comparable in size to other foldables like the Galaxy Fold 6 and OnePlus Open, weighing just under 300 grams. When unfolded, it transforms into a surprisingly light 10.2-inch tablet, thanks to its tri-fold mechanism, which expands from a 6.4-inch smartphone to a tablet with a 16:11 aspect ratio.

The Huawei Mate XT is powered by the Kirin 9010 processor, built on the older 7nm process. While not as advanced as newer chips like the Apple A17 Pro or Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it performs smoothly for general tasks, productivity, and even gaming.

The device runs on HarmonyOS in China and EMUI internationally, both offering a refined interface.

Its price is extravagant, though: it starts at $2,800… and has no limit. I mean, there were reports that (due to shortages) it was resold for over $20,000