Based on materials from phonearena.com
Not all 'Chinese' are equally helpful. Last week we started a conversation about what problems might lie in wait for a user who is looking with interest towards devices from the Middle Kingdom. Let's see what else those who want to save money when buying a smartphone should be ready for.
8. Poor backlighting of capacitive buttons
For some unknown reason, even relatively modern and expensive Chinese smartphones sometimes “delight” their owners with a very unpleasant drawback – poor-quality backlighting of capacitive buttons. It can be so weak that it will be visible only in the dark, or it can be unevenly distributed due to design flaws. In any case, such a 'trifle' will infuriate the attentive user over and over again.
9. Loud characteristics, disappointing in reality
Is your 'Chinese' equipped with an eight-core processor lagging terribly? Does the 13 megapixel camera take nightmares? These are just two common examples of how specs are meant to sell a device but not satisfy the buyer.
Let's start with the speed and fluidity of navigation. It's important to remember how essential a graphics accelerator is to your smartphone. For some time now, there has been a practice when a cheap processor, seemingly not deprived of cores, is combined with a very mediocre graphics accelerator, which simply does not “pull”, even if the load is not so great. And it's not just about the hardware, more often poorly optimized software is to blame.
And the cameras? The fact that megapixels are not in themselves a guarantee of results has literally become a mantra. The 13 MP sensor in a cheap Chinese device looks tempting, but there is no point in comparing this camera with the 13 MP cameras of the flagships from Samsung and LG. A good camera is always a combination of many components such as sensor size, optics, software algorithms, and more.
10. Poor or no software support
While large Chinese manufacturers currently offer quite adequate software support for their devices, smaller and well-known ones either cannot afford it or simply do not bother. As a result, the device on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean may not receive Android 4.4 Kit Kat later, let alone Android 5.0 Lollipop.
If the support of your device is important to you, there is nowhere to go, look towards the major manufacturers.
11. Departures, freezes, reboots
Since we're talking about software (the remaining points are somehow related to it), it is important to note that a small number of manufacturers are trying to overcome their own problems Android on their devices. Whatever it is, random crashes or freezes or unexpected reboots of the device, in this respect, the “Chinese” often disappoint their owners.
12. Pre-installed garbage
Another disease of Chinese smartphones. It doesn't matter what motivated the manufacturer to stuff the device with useless applications – the belief that they will improve the user experience, considerations of benefit, or both. Garbage remains garbage, and, unfortunately, it can be stated that most “Chinese” are not spared from it.
There is no disaster in this, however, a number of applications can have system priority, and to remove them, you need root rights.
13. Lack of Google Play Store
There is essentially no Google Play Store in China. Instead, third-party app stores are the norm, and they are quite popular with users. This means that most smartphones for the Chinese market do not have a preinstalled Play Store, and you will have to dance with a tambourine to get it on your device. Not everyone succeeds in this – maybe you need a hint, a call to a friend, or whatever.
14. Non-existent, low-quality or buggy localization
If your English is barely enough to navigate the web, and the software you are using is mostly translated into your native language, you should consider that the translation into English or other languages is often mediocre in Chinese devices. And sometimes it is completely terrible. Your knowledge may not be enough for you.
Fortunately, the main part Android is perfectly translated into English, but what the manufacturers add, they have to translate themselves, not to mention the fact that some manufacturers do not care about supporting English at all.
Even if the Chinese make us happy with the translation into our native language, we often come across incomplete, low-quality or buggy translation. For example, labels can crawl out of pop-up windows, etc. And notifications can be barely readable due to strange spacing between characters.
Have you encountered the described problems when buying Chinese devices? And what do you personally consider critical, and what do you think can be neglected? Share in the comments!