China is a bustling industrial country that has become regarded as the world's factory. In addition to being a global manufacturing powerhouse with lots of products in the world featuring the "Made in China" tag (even those that aren't from Chinese brands), the country has also put its best foot forward by creating its own competing companies. Right now, in the tech industry, for example, there are many brands you might not realize are owned by Chinese companies. Even in the smartphone market, Chinese companies haven't been left behind.
There are many Chinese phone manufacturers that are giving major smartphone brands like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Nothing a run for their money in different countries around the globe. You might not even know some of these phone brands because they don't directly sell their devices stateside. We'll highlight some of the interesting phone brands from Chinese-owned companies on the market, just to educate you a little bit more about them.
Redmi
Redmi started as a product line for Chinese tech company Xiaomi back in 2013. However, after a few years of existence and a successful first few launches that saw the product line sell millions of devices globally, Xiaomi spun off Redmi to become an independent brand in 2019. As a brand targeting young people, Redmi is known to sell its phones at affordable prices, just like its parent company Xiaomi.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers are generally known to sell their devices at competitive prices, and interestingly, even for Xiaomi (a company that follows the same strategy), the Redmi product line was specifically created to offer products that punch above their price points for cost-conscious consumers. The brand has various smartphone product lines as of this writing, including the Redmi A-series, which sits at the bottom, followed by the Number series, Note series, and K series.
The K series sits at the top of the brand's lineup and offers flagship-level specs. For example, the Redmi K90 Ultra (launched in June 2026) sports a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a 165 Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 3,500 nits, Qualcomm's high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, 512 GB of UFS 4.1 storage, and support for 100 W fast charging.
Poco
Poco's smartphone portfolio has several product lines, including the X, M, F, and C series. The C series is the entry-level option, targeting shoppers on a tight budget. The X and M series target the midrange, while the F series includes the brand's flagship devices that compete with premium phones from other companies. Although the company doesn't sell its phones stateside, it has a presence in over 35 markets globally.
Similar to Redmi, Poco is yet another phone brand that started under the Xiaomi umbrella and went independent later. The story of Poco started in 2018 when Xiaomi launched the sub-brand to take on high-end models from the likes of Samsung and OnePlus. Two years later, the brand went independent in 2020. While Poco operates independent product, sales, and marketing teams, it still relies on Xiaomi's manufacturing and after-sales resources.
The company's ties to Xiaomi seem deep and can also be seen elsewhere: in the software. Poco's smartphones run HyperOS, which is built on top of Android, just like other phones sold by Xiaomi. Additionally, you can even buy the company's phones directly from its parent company in places like the U.K., which is done perhaps to help streamline operations.
Realme
Realme is a Chinese company that began as a sub-brand under Oppo in 2010. In 2018, it spun out to operate independently, though reports in 2026 indicate that Realme is set to become an Oppo sub-brand again. It targets the younger generation and currently boasts over 300 million users globally. The company has a presence in dozens of countries, but unfortunately doesn't sell its phones in the United States. However, in markets like India, Realme is one of the major players.
Counterpoint Research smartphone sales data for Q1 2026 ranked Realme as the fifth most popular brand in India, with its 9% market share behind only Vivo, Samsung, Oppo, and Xiaomi. Despite hardly a decade passing since it began operating as an independent company, Realme has made some notable achievements in the smartphone market. It launched the first phone with 240 W charging speeds, and in 2026, the company released a smartphone with a massive 10,000 mAh battery in a regular form factor.
Realme's smartphone portfolio offers a variety of phones that cater to users with different needs, from those looking for basic phones on a tight budget to people who need performance-focused models. The company's smartphone product lines include the GT, C, P, Number, and Narzo series. Besides phones, Realme also sells its own smartphone accessories, such as true wireless earbuds and headphones.
Honor
Honor is another phone brand that is owned by a Chinese organization: a company called Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology. Honor is one of the major Android smartphone brands on the market and makes some of the best phones overall. As one of the few Android phone brands capable of competing with Google and Samsung, Honor's full roster of smartphones consists of three main product lines, including the Magic, N, and X series.
Honor makes foldable phones, and we've even reviewed the company's latest, the Honor Magic V6, which we praised as the best and thinnest foldable model on the market so far. Like other phone brands we've looked at above, Honor didn't start from scratch — it, too, began as a sub-brand. The company was created in 2013 by Chinese tech giant Huawei, which decided to sell it in 2020 to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology amid U.S. sanctions and a difficult business environment.
Phones from the company are known to be sold at competitive prices, and the primary focus markets for the brand are Asia and Europe. Although it's independent, it doesn't have a presence in the U.S. due to its Huawei origins. Like most smartphone companies, Honor doesn't only make phones. The company also makes wearables, tablets, laptops, and even smart TVs.
Nubia
Nubia, formally known as Nubia Technology, is a Chinese smartphone brand originally established under ZTE, which later reduced its stake in the company. It was founded in 2012, so it's a young phone brand like most Chinese phone manufacturers we've discussed — especially compared to Samsung, which started making phones long before smartphones became a thing. The company is headquartered in China and operates in various regions across the globe, including North America, Asia, South America, and Europe.
Nubia's smartphone lineup is split into four main product lines, including the Z, Neo, Flip, and Air series. In addition to these product lines, Nubia also sells gamer-focused phones under the RedMagic name. Some of these RedMagic phones have helped put the company on the map, such as the RedMagic 11 Pro, which stands out as the first mass-produced phone with liquid cooling.
The RedMagic 11 Pro also ranks among the best gaming phones on the market, which speaks to how capable the company is. Nubia's phones run the company's MyOS Android skin, while those released under its RedMagic sub-brand use RedMagic OS. Some of Nubia's phones are available to buy in the U.S. directly through the company's official website.
