**** The Official Chinese Phones Thread ****

Soldato
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I ordered an elephone S8 via gearbest this morning, fingers crossed its not a mistake and they sort out software for the camera! Total punt but somewhat exciting...

@Raymond Lin you have a lot to answer for :)
 
Associate
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It is a very nice phone. My only complaint is it is a little slippy but I have ordered a rubber case for it. I have pretty much bought flagship phones from Samsung every two years since the Galaxy 2 but this is more than adequate for my needs as i feel phones have reached their peak and are awaiting some new innovation.

Having stock android and 64GB of storage is fantastic though.

How is the camera in low light situations? A family member needs a new phone and this looks like it'll do.

I've been reading some reviews from people complaining about a hiss when using headphones, have you tested this out?
 
Soldato
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Have you ever bought a Xiaomi phone ? People used to think they were pants
and I don't understand as most of them are made in China anyway but that changed in so many ways.
If they go stock android (which I think they have on one model) maybe I will miui and huawies emotion are not for me!
 
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Just for general info.I ordered a Xiaomi Mi A1 from Gearbest on 09/09/2017 but the processing time just kept extending as they had no stock so I cancelled the order on 19/09/2017 and my payment was refunded immediately.Great plus point.I immediately ordered one from Aliexpress(Hong Kong Goldway).Two days processing,3 days to Gatwick,it was a weekend,and out for delivery at the moment.Total 7 days from ordering,DHL,no customs tax.It may not work for everyone but it worked for me,I will leave all the technical stuff to a younger and more qualified person than me as I am one of the golden oldies and don't use a phone as much as others.
 
Caporegime
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Just for general info.I ordered a Xiaomi Mi A1 from Gearbest on 09/09/2017 but the processing time just kept extending as they had no stock so I cancelled the order on 19/09/2017 and my payment was refunded immediately.Great plus point.I immediately ordered one from Aliexpress(Hong Kong Goldway).Two days processing,3 days to Gatwick,it was a weekend,and out for delivery at the moment.Total 7 days from ordering,DHL,no customs tax.It may not work for everyone but it worked for me,I will leave all the technical stuff to a younger and more qualified person than me as I am one of the golden oldies and don't use a phone as much as others.

I went DHL and got stung by tax so i guess it is just one of those things. You are either lucky or not.
 
Caporegime
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Have you ever bought a Xiaomi phone ? People used to think they were pants
and I don't understand as most brands including the Apple cack are made in China anyway but that changed in so many ways.

It is a bit like Japanese Electronics in the 70's or Korean Electronics in 00's. Everyone likes to think the newcomers are a load of rubbish when quite frankly they are fine. I have a Hisence 50" 4K television in my bedroom that I paid £360 for and whilst it is not as good as my Sammy JS8000 which originally cost me £1300 it isn't 4 times as bad.
 
Soldato
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It is a bit like Japanese Electronics in the 70's or Korean Electronics in 00's. Everyone likes to think the newcomers are a load of rubbish when quite frankly they are fine. I have a Hisence 50" 4K television in my bedroom that I paid £360 for and whilst it is not as good as my Sammy JS8000 which originally cost me £1300 it isn't 4 times as bad.
+1 on the Hisense nod, mine is pretty much what I expected to pay for a 49" 1080p as a minimum so the 4k/HDR, satellite tuner and other smarts are a total bonus, with the right settings I don't think double as a minimum from a known brand makes any sense.
 
Soldato
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Was in the Xiaomi store yesterday looking at the Mi Mix 2, and it is really nice. The screen is great and it feels good in the hand.
My Mi5 still works lightning quick, with my only issue being a camera stabilisation one. I'm looking forward to the stable release of MIUI 9 (eventually), but the Mix 2 has me itching for a new phone!

Also had a look at the Mi Max 2 which seems a good improvement over the original, it's so cheap also. If you're heavy into media consumption on your phone, it's a no-brainer.
 
Soldato
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Fair play to Gearbest, my Elephone S8 dispatched today and it wasn't due to for another fortnight :)
This is great, mine is showing as packed so I'm hopefully getting the same treatment and they'll send it before the expected date.

What?! What delivery option did you select? Mine just says Processing.
I picked something free called British priority mail as it had a suggested faster turn around (7-15) and I keep clicking the Dispatch Faster button when I check my order (which probably will get on their nerves soon).
 
Caporegime
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This is great, mine is showing as packed so I'm hopefully getting the same treatment and they'll send it before the expected date.


I picked something free called British priority mail as it had a suggested faster turn around (7-15) and I keep clicking the Dispatch Faster button when I check my order (which probably will get on their nerves soon).

I thought that button means you upgrade to DHL or something but have go pay for….clicked!
 
Caporegime
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Good luck, I'm looking forward to opinions from owners.
Hopefully like the Maze iPlayer thing camera focus time etc is a quick software fix!

I'll do a comparison with the Maze Alpha - the initial excitement has died down now and used it for a week.

Setting aside quirks of the OS…in terms of hardware -

The glass back is such a dirt magnet, not just fingerprints but everything. Everything sticks to it, I have given up wiping it. The phone could do with a more powerful chip, even with 6G of RAM, it lags now and again, albeit still like nothing compare to my iPhone 6. The bluetooth has cut out a couple of times in my car, my iPhone 6 never did that once in 15 months. The camera focuses so slow, like really slow, and it has trouble locking focus something close if the light is low. Even if I tap it, it struggles. I dislike the sim try, it is really filmsy, the battery life is great though, a while day, 18 hours I still have 50% battery left with my normal use. The quality of the phone feels solid, glass front and back means a solid feel all over. But it does mean a heavy phone, it also means I feel it in my pocket too whereas with my iPhone i sometimes need to tap it to make sure I didn't forget.
 
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