Can China's high end phones compete in the US market?

[pc747]

Whether it is One Plus, Elephone, or the LeTV (Superphone), we are seeing more Chinese manufacturers producing high end smart phones to compete in the market. Though Apple and Samsung will continue to remain at the top, I have concerns about the companies that are not putting out products which are exciting the fans. If the average Joe can get a high end smart phone that is on par with specs, yet half the price, you can bet they are going to go that route regardless if it was created by a Chinese manufacturer.

Where companies like Motorola, Apple, and Samsung are trying to compete in China's low end market we are seeing companies in China trying to compete in the US high end market. The other factor is phones from China are shipping with unlocked bootloaders and advertising the option to flash a rom (ie cyanogenmod) which caters to the development crowd. Though a small number, the development crowd was the spark that lit the fire for Android with the Motorola Droid.

Could this be enough to spark a fire for Chinese manufactured phones? Do you see China manufactured phones being able to make a significant dent in the US market?

 

[boidsonly]

What is the difference between a phone made in Red China for a US/EU, et al manufacturer or a phone made in Red China by a Red Chinese company? Answer: 1) Profit margin for the US/EU/et al takes a huge hit. 2) Spyware on phones.
Nothing more...

 

[Jeffrey]

China has the worlds largest smartphone market. These companies keep pretty busy supplying their own market. Will they enter the US market? I would think so.

Today, the majority of people buy their phones on contract. A Chinese offering like the Elephone would bring top tier hardware very close to contract pricing. But you wouldn't need a contract. This could be a good thing for you the consumer and the cellular provider.

If I want a Galaxy S6, I would need to pay the full retail $750. There are no carrier subsidies. But I pay about a third of what most of you pay for Phone, Calls SMS and Data. Guess what, I ordered the Ele P7000 for $229.

As I said above, this could be a good thing. Let the phone manufactures provide their products at a palatable price and let the providers improve and expand their networks at palatable price as well. Everyone wins..

So bring on those Chinese Flagship Devices...

 

[akhenax]

I would be concerned of firmware devices installed on my phone that could siphon data or personal information without me knowing. Maybe I am being paranoid. Is $300 for a Galaxy S6 clone worth me not caring about my personal information?

 

[Jeffrey]

I would be concerned of firmware devices installed on my phone that could siphon data or personal information without me knowing. Maybe I am being paranoid. Is $300 for a Galaxy S6 clone worth me not caring about my personal information?

I wouldn't worry about the FW as you can flash CM if you wish. As for the clone, I wouldn't touch it. It may look like an S6 but everything inside is garbage.

 

[pc747]

I wouldn't worry about the FW as you can flash CM if you wish. As for the clone, I wouldn't touch it. It may look like an S6 but everything inside is garbage.

Agree, phones that are just blatant black market ripoffs I would avoid.

But legit companies competing in the US market can shake things up one way or another. Especially for companies like HTC who are content with mailing it in and putting out the same phone every year.

I want to see how companies respond. And if this could jumpstart project Ara?
When the market starts yielding competing devices from small no name companies then it reached its peak and on a downslope.

 

[Dusty]

I would be concerned of firmware devices installed on my phone that could siphon data or personal information without me knowing. Maybe I am being paranoid. Is $300 for a Galaxy S6 clone worth me not caring about my personal information?

Are you worried that Chinese phones specifically siphon data? Hate to break it to you, but virtually all phones contain Chinese components that are assembled in China.

 

[pc747]

Huawei P8 announced metal-bodied flagship with 8-core 64-bit CPU Android Central

Seems like daily another company is throwing their hat in the ring to compete and they are competing with some nice looking specs (on paper). I am going to look forward to seeing head to head reviews with these phones to see if they are able to put out a device that is on par. And the other is QC, One Plus took a huge pr hit early because of videos coming out about their QC as well as how much time it took to resolve issues. Personally that was why I shied away from One Plus.

 

[akhenax]

Are you worried that Chinese phones specifically siphon data? Hate to break it to you, but virtually all phones contain Chinese components that are assembled in China.

Understood, but at least there is some commerce oversight regarding these components. For instance, I would be less worried about a phone made here in the US with foreign components (i.e. Moto X 2013) than I would a phone made totally in China.

I wouldn't worry about the FW as you can flash CM if you wish. As for the clone, I wouldn't touch it. It may look like an S6 but everything inside is garbage.

Agree, phones that are just blatant black market ripoffs I would avoid.

Just to clarify, my statement wasn't about a Galaxy S6 Clone that was sold to be a GS6 but really wasn't, but a device made by China that has like for like specs, like the Elephone. Also, I was specifically talking about a hardware component embedded in the motherboard, that could siphon data at will. It doesn't matter what ROM you flash, the Firmware component is always present, and can always edit your configuration without you knowing because your ROM "trusts" instructions from the hardware.

Am I being too scifi paranoid? Perhaps, but technology is ever evolving. Because smartphones are becoming so popular worldwide, wouldn't this be a great way to keep tabs on everyone and have them not even know it.

 

[pc747]

Understood, but at least there is some commerce oversight regarding these components. For instance, I would be less worried about a phone made here in the US with foreign components (i.e. Moto X 2013) than I would a phone made totally in China.





Just to clarify, my statement wasn't about a Galaxy S6 Clone that was sold to be a GS6 but really wasn't, but a device made by China that has like for like specs, like the Elephone. Also, I was specifically talking about a hardware component embedded in the motherboard, that could siphon data at will. It doesn't matter what ROM you flash, the Firmware component is always present, and can always edit your configuration without you knowing because your ROM "trusts" instructions from the hardware.

Am I being to scifi paranoid? Perhaps, but technology is ever evolving. Because smartphones phones are becoming so popular worldwide, wouldn't this be a great way to keep tabs on everyone and have them not even know it.

No, because there was an article a few years back with those concerns. Chinese-Made Smartphone Comes With Spyware Security Firm Says - Digits - WSJ
So you have a legitimate concern.

 

[Jeffrey]

Understood, but at least there is some commerce oversight regarding these components. For instance, I would be less worried about a phone made here in the US with foreign components (i.e. Moto X 2013) than I would a phone made totally in China.





Just to clarify, my statement wasn't about a Galaxy S6 Clone that was sold to be a GS6 but really wasn't, but a device made by China that has like for like specs, like the Elephone. Also, I was specifically talking about a hardware component embedded in the motherboard, that could siphon data at will. It doesn't matter what ROM you flash, the Firmware component is always present, and can always edit your configuration without you knowing because your ROM "trusts" instructions from the hardware.

Am I being to scifi paranoid? Perhaps, but technology is ever evolving. Because smartphones phones are becoming so popular worldwide, wouldn't this be a great way to keep tabs on everyone and have them not even know it.

I'm not an engineer but I do not think malware can reside on the motherboard. The article pointed to one company where malware did reside in the Google Play Store App. AVG did a recent test on this company and found no malware installed.
Can it happen, sure. Almost every phone out there has Chinese components. Does it worry me..NO..
I ordered an Elephone P7000. The first thing I will do when it arrives in May is check for malware and report back.
I have every intention on flashing another OS like CM. I doubt there will be any malware detected.

 

[pc747]

I'm not an engineer but I do not think malware can reside on the motherboard. The article pointed to one company where malware did reside in the Google Play Store App. AVG did a recent test on this company and found no malware installed.
Can it happen, sure. Almost every phone out there has Chinese components. Does it worry me..NO..
I ordered an Elephone P7000. The first thing I will do when it arrives in May is check for malware and report back.
I have every intention on flashing another OS like CM. I doubt there will be any malware detected.

Look forward to your review of the phone when you get it.

 

[tidyboy72]

Whether it is One Plus, Elephone, or the LeTV (Superphone), we are seeing more Chinese manufacturers producing high end smart phones to compete in the market. Though Apple and Samsung will continue to remain at the top, I have concerns about the companies that are not putting out products which are exciting the fans. If the average Joe can get a high end smart phone that is on par with specs, yet half the price, you can bet they are going to go that route regardless if it was created by a Chinese manufacturer.

Where companies like Motorola, Apple, and Samsung are trying to compete in China's low end market we are seeing companies in China trying to compete in the US high end market. The other factor is phones from China are shipping with unlocked bootloaders and advertising the option to flash a rom (ie cyanogenmod) which caters to the development crowd. Though a small number, the development crowd was the spark that lit the fire for Android with the Motorola Droid.

Could this be enough to spark a fire for Chinese manufactured phones? Do you see China manufactured phones being able to make a significant dent in the US market?

I decided to throw caution to the wind and try out a Chinese phone early last year. I bought an OPPO FIND 7. The technology is great and at a much more sensible price than the other offerings I can get in the UK which are mostly upwards of £600 (Ridiculous!).
The only downside I have found is the lack of updates. My OPPO Find 7 is still running JELLYBEAN!! The smaller Chinese manufacturers are indeed pushing out some great tech but you have to be ready to either put up with staying in the past or updating to a custom ROM. I'm sure at some stage I will have to because I don't hold out much hope of ever getting LOLLIPOP but for now I'm content.
OPPO do have a KIT KAT beta out but you have to flash then install. If I was gonna go to the effort of doing that surely I would just flash CYANOGEN!

Hey ho, great phone ;0)

 

[pc747]

I decided to throw caution to the wind and try out a Chinese phone early last year. I bought an OPPO FIND 7. The technology is great and at a much more sensible price than the other offerings I can get in the UK which are mostly upwards of £600 (Ridiculous!).
The only downside I have found is the lack of updates. My OPPO Find 7 is still running JELLYBEAN!! The smaller Chinese manufacturers are indeed pushing out some great tech but you have to be ready to either put up with staying in the past or updating to a custom ROM. I'm sure at some stage I will have to because I don't hold out much hope of ever getting LOLLIPOP but for now I'm content.
OPPO do have a KIT KAT beta out but you have to flash then install. If I was gonna go to the effort of doing that surely I would just flash CYANOGEN!

Hey ho, great phone ;0)

That could be what you would give up going from a flagship device of a well known company versus one from one manufactured in China. The reason they could be pushing heavily on flashing custom software is to encourage people to seek out 3rd party operating systems because they are not planning on updating theirs. To sell for half the price of their competitors they are going to have to cut the cost somewhere whether it be software support, manufacturing, advertising, etc. As a consumer you may have to decide what.

 

[bruben7886]

One foreseeable minor problem.
I bought a cheap Chinese tablet to use as a reader. I think I paid 25 bucks at VZ for it.
It got an upgrade from JB to KK. I played with the power and volume buttons to get to recovery so I could do a FDR.
The entire menu was in Chinese! As I was pushing buttons to try to find the "hard shutdown / restart" key combination I kept getting deeper and deeper into the menu until I figured out the key combo.
Yeah, decided to break tradition and FDR'd from the settings menu