I’m wrapping up a two-week journey to China, which has taken me to 2 cities, allowed me to attend the Oppo Discover X8 Extremely launch, and go to Huaqiangbei, the world’s most vibrant expertise market. Throughout a go to to the latter, I discovered $9 AirPods Professional, that are surprising, and a $12 Apple Watch Collection 10, which is downright weird.
This journey additionally allowed me to expertise a plethora of telephones that aren’t broadly out there globally, if in any respect. Corporations like Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo aren’t out there in lots of nations, and even when they’re, one of the best telephones usually don’t make their solution to Western markets. As a substitute, they’re for native Chinese language clients to expertise solely.
Listed here are 4 Chinese language telephones that I want have been out there globally..
Huawei Pura X
Probably the most distinctive telephone can be the most recent. Introduced just a few weeks in the past, the Huawei Pura X rethinks the shape issue for one of the best flip telephones. Telephones just like the Motorola Razr and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 characteristic giant entrance shows that unfold into conventional smartphone-sized shows and type elements.
The Pura X takes a refreshingly completely different method: the quilt show is smaller than these utilized by Samsung and Motorola at 3.5 inches, but it surely’s designed for use horizontally, and the cameras are situated solely individually from the show. If you unfold it, you get a 6.3-inch show that’s additionally smaller than the competitors, however crucially, it’s considerably wider.
Earlier than I skilled it, my preliminary response was that it might be unlikely to be that helpful. Nevertheless, it’s the perfect type issue, particularly in case you take pleasure in watching films, studying books, or scrolling by social media. A wider show isn’t as ergonomically pleasant, but it surely’s the primary time we’ve seen an organization try and mix the flip and book-style folding telephone type elements.
It’s so distinctive that it deserves a spot on our record of one of the best folding telephones, only for that motive.
Oppo Discover N5
I’ve already reviewed the Oppo Discover N5, and it’s the one folding telephone that I all the time hold with me. Its greatest drawback? It’s solely out there in China and Singapore.
The world’s thinnest folding telephone, it’s a behemoth that builds on the profitable OnePlus Open and provides a variety of enhancements, together with a triple digicam (two of that are 50MP), stylus assist on each shows, and IPX8/IPX9 water resistance. It options the biggest most important show on a folding telephone, measuring 8.12 inches, a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and a 5,600 mAh battery with assist for 80W wired charging and 50W wi-fi charging.
All of that is packed into an impossibly skinny physique that measures simply 4.21 mm when unfolded and eight.9 mm when folded. For context, the latter is over 3mm thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and fewer than 1 mm thicker than the iPhone 16 Professional Max and Galaxy S25 Extremely. So far as folding telephones go, the Discover N5 proves that you just don’t all the time must compromise.
Xiaomi 15 Extremely
From folding telephones to non-folding fashions, and the Xiaomi 15 Extremely, a digicam powerhouse. It was introduced at MWC 2025 in February and is the most recent addition to a protracted line of Xiaomi Extremely telephones devoted to images.
It incorporates a complete of 5 sensors. There’s a 50MP most important digicam, a 50MP ultrawide digicam, and a time-of-flight 3D depth sensor. There’s additionally a 50MP telephoto lens that provides 3x optical zoom, and a secondary 200MP periscope telephoto lens that gives a singular 4.3x optical zoom.
By far probably the most fascinating characteristic is the elective images equipment, which provides a protecting housing across the telephone, remodeling it right into a handheld digicam full with straightforward zoom triggers and a metallic digicam ring. Of all of the telephones on this record, the Xiaomi 15 Extremely is out there in probably the most nations, together with the UK, but it surely isn’t out there within the US.
Vivo X200 Professional
From one images powerhouse to a different: the Vivo X200 Professional. It’s set to be joined by the Vivo X200 Extremely within the subsequent few days, however the X200 Professional brings one of the best of different Extremely telephones in a extra inexpensive Professional mannequin.
The 50MP most important digicam is joined by a 50MP ultrawide digicam and a 200MP periscope telephoto digicam that provides 3.7x optical zoom. It’s one other distinctive focal size, and whereas I’m but to spend sufficient time with it to touch upon the digicam, the rear end on the blue mannequin is especially completely different.
It incorporates a glass end with a wavy sample beneath that’s hanging, particularly when in comparison with the extra mundane end on most telephones. It options 90W wired charging, 30W wi-fi charging and a 6,000 mAh Silicon Carbon battery. All of this at a value that’s roughly $880 when transformed from Chinese language Yuan.
China has much more telephones and devices that stand out for a wide range of causes, however these 4 telephones all provide one thing distinctive and stand out from one of the best telephones you should buy within the US. I ought to know: I’ve all 4 in my possession as I sort this whereas in a automotive from Shenzhen to Hong Kong.