On 25th April, iiMedia Research, a well established Chinese consultancy dedicated to data analysis and marketing, has published rankings of top rated smartphone brands in China in the first quarter of 2019.
The report is based on data extracted from the consultancy’s constant monitoring of how Chinese smartphone brands perform in local markets, including users’ ratings of phone quality, after-sales service, innovation of technology, etc, a few factors consisting of iiMedia’s IMR. The higher the point, the better the brand is rated.
Top Rated Smartphone Brands in China in April 2019
| Rankings | Brands | Points |
| 1 | ZTE | 57.93 |
| 2 | OPPO | 48.81 |
| 3 | MEIZU | 48.71 |
| 4 | HONOR | 45.55 |
| 5 | XIAOMI | 44.45 |
| 6 | HUAWEI | 38.75 |
| 7 | LENOVO | 38.22 |
| 8 | APPLE | 37.44 |
| 9 | SAMSUNG | 30.99 |
| 10 | ONEPLUS | 25.93 |
Points: over 50
Only one brand is rated over 50 points, and the trophy unexpectedly goes to ZTE as one of the best Chinese smart phones. In terms of popularity, ZTE is not a household name as Huawei in China, however, it’s more sought after in overseas market than Huawei. Its sub-brand Nubia is dedicated to Chinese market, and Nubia Z5 as spotted being used by China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan on the trip to Germany has contributed to its soaring into popularity. Apart from Nubia, ZTE focus more on its global strategies, in terms of annual sales, it’s once ranked at the top fourth in the US market. On 23rd, April, ZET released its first 5G smartphone Axon 10 Pro.
Points: 40-50
Four smartphone brands in China including OPPO, MEIZU, HONOR and XIAOMI were rated between 40-50. These key smartphone players in China have been striving to upgrade for bigger markets shares. While OPPO and VIVO switch their focus from investing on celebrity ambassadors to focusing more on upgrading their core technology, Xiaomi continues to focus on cost performance fueled with high tech and Honor progressed with its main brand Huawei’s support.
Points: 30-40
It’s mind boggling better known brands like Huawei, Apple SamSung, Vivo and Lenovo scored between 30-40, however, the report is based on mostly Chinese users’ reviews of the smartphones and the companies behind them. Though Huawei is usually painted by media as top notch in quality, after sales and innovation, it lost battle to its sub-brand Honor from the report. As to Apple, it’s not well rated due to its exorbitant prices that are commonly 25% more than what they’re sold in other markets, the constant changes of prices and promotions in mainland Chinese markets also damage the reputation. As to SamSung, the sales collapsed since the explosive accidents related to Galaxy Note 7 at the end of 2016.
Points: 20-30
Only one smartphone brand in China was ranked between 20-30. Oneplus, a young smartphone brand targeted at a much younger group of users, e.g., people working in tech industries, internet related and students. It used to be well rated among the users. Different from other smartphone brands with diverse product lines, Oneplus focuses on niche markets, with each release there’s only one model the brand clearly targets at its users and spares no effort in improving its performance.
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