The smartphone world is growing day and night. New players keep coming in, players that bring phones like the Oppo F1, OnePlus X, LeEco Le S3 and many others.
Of course, most of you are very familiar with names such as Samsung, Sony, HTC, and even Apple. However, recent times have seen the emergence of a number of Chinese OEMs and there is no doubting that these companies have some of the best value phones in the market.
Be it in terms of specs, features, performance, appearance and most of all, price – these phones actually tick all of these boxes. If you are someone looking for a classy device that offers great performance, but you are also working on a budget, take a look at these phones.
Oppo F1
Oppo F1 is a Chinese phone that many have never heard of. Surprisingly, this is the fourth-leading seller of smartphones in the world and one of the handsets that have crowned it this title is the F1.
Featuring a roomy 5-inch 720p screen, the Oppo F1 comes with a Snapdragon 616 SoC alongside a 3GB RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. The back of the phone has a decent 13MP snapper that should do just about everything. On the selfie side of things, the Oppo F1 has an 8MP snapper, which should be a great value for just $240. There is no fingerprint scanner and fast charging, but the battery is decent at 2500mAh.
LeEco Le S3
The new LeEco Le S3 is one of the phones to beat in the market right now. The phone is already available for pre-orders in the U.S. at just $249. However, you can sign up for the LeEco LeRewards program and get a rebate of $100, meaning you buy it for just $149.
Boasting a 5.5-inch Full HD screen, the LeEco Le S3 is well ahead of the Oppo F1. There is a Snapdragon 652 octa-core under the hood. This is paired with a RAM of 3GB and a storage of 32GB, but there is no microSD card slot. You get a 16MP snapper on the back alongside an even better 8MP lens for selfies. There is a fingerprint scanner on board as well as fast charging technology for filling the 3000mAh battery unit.
OnePlus X
Many have probably heard of OnePlus 3, that phone that ran out of stock because the company had underestimated the market. Well, it has a mid-range sibling that saw the light towards the end of last year. Dubbed the OnePlus X, this phone now sells for $275 and for sure, you won’t be disappointed with what is on offer.
There is a 2014 flagship processor on board – the Snapdragon 801 – alongside a RAM of 3GB. The storage stands at 16GB, but there is room to expand it using a microSD card of up to 256GB. Like the Oppo F1, you get a 5-inch screen, but this one is better off with a 1080p resolution. The back of the OnePlus X has a 13MP snapper wit LED flash and PDAF while the front has an 8MP sensor. There is no fast battery charging technology nor a fingerprint scanner, but there is a decent battery of 2525mAh.
Xiaomi Redmi 3S
Other than Oppo, LeEco, and OnePlus, Xiaomi is another Chinese OEM that is breaking records in the smartphone world. Announced 2016 June, the Xiaomi Redmi 3S is priced at slightly below $150 and with this amount of cash, you get a phone with a 5-inch 720p resolution, which is same as the Oppo F1, a slightly less powerful Snapdragon 430 and a RAM of 2GB. The inbuilt storage stands at 16GB, but there is room to expand it via a microSD card of up to 256GB.
The back of the Xiaomi Redmi 3S has a 13MP snapper with PDAF and LED flash while the front has a 5MP snapper, which happens to be the smallest in pixels count when compared to the rest in this article. Even though there is no fingerprint scanner, you get a huge 4000mAh battery that is supported by fast charging technology.