The other day when I was writing the ‘IUNI is officially dead‘ article, I slowly came to realize that many of the companies we used to write about on GizChina have either died, become inactive or simply disappeared without a trace.
With that in mind, we decided to start a brand new series of articles called Throwback Time. In this series, we’ll take a look at what these companies were known for, their greatest product, and what happened to them after that.
Today we’ll be looking at a company that held plenty of promise, made great devices and was well liked by the community but then mysteriously vanished without a trace before they managed to release what was to be their greatest product.
Today, we’re taking a look at iOcean.
iOcean: What did they do?
Chinese smartphone companies usually start out slow when they begin their entrances into the Chinese smartphone market. Even newer companies like Vernee take their time by releasing budget devices to gain recognition before bringing in their best devices.
iOcean pretty much started out the same way. They slowly released mid-range and budget devices that never left China, and they stayed that way for quite a long time. Nobody ever expected the small Chinese company to ever approach mainstream popularity, especially with the advent of Xiaomi, Oppo and other Chinese companies on the horizon.
Despite that, iOcean put in their best efforts into making a device that they hoped would be able to help them pierce through the Chinese market and become a company capable of matching other companies like JiaYu and UMi. That product?
Their big hit
Trust me when I say nobody saw the iOcean X7 coming.
The iOcean X7 was quite a big deal when it was announced in 2013. Not only did it threaten the hold of other popular companies like UMi, JiaYu and Zopo (remember, this was 2013), but it had a fresh, angular design similar to the fantastic Oppo Find 5, a lower price point than its competitors and came with a top of the line Full HD display.
It also helped that UMi’s main flagship at the time, the UMi X2, wasn’t nearly as stellar as promised and JiaYu’s G4 wasn’t really competing with the others in the spec battle. NEO’s N003 was still months away and every other competitor was either not appealing or months away from release.
So when this really shiny new product appeared with a great design, promising specs and a low price point, everyone was excited. As if that wasn’t enough, the device also received good reviews across the board and was well liked by pretty much everyone.
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What they did after that
iOcean went on to release several devices that were fairly well received like the glass and metal iOcean X8, the smaller iOcean X8 Mini. Both were quite good devices and received warm reception from the Chinese smartphone community.
The next device to come out of the promising company was the iOcean Rock M6752, which many consider to be their worst device due to its weird combination of specs and unremarkable design. Despite that, the device still received good reviews and was well liked by people who used it.
The company then went on to launch the mid-range iOcean X1, which was largely ignored in favor of the more interesting and powerful competition. Which is a shame since the X1 was definitely a decent device.
After that, the iOcean X9 was release. This was where people started loosing interest in iOcean. While the X9 was still considered a good device, it was clear that some of the magic was lost and that iOcean had lost their unique touch.
Unfortunately after that, things went south for iOcean. They failed to release any more software updates, their devices slowly started disappearing from the market and the company’s social presence completely vanished after a message saying they were taking a 1 month vacation.
Before they packed up however, iOcean managed to tease the world with one last render, one that would have possibly managed to bring them back to life had it seen the light of day, the iOcean Z1. While the device never materialized, the concept art and renders are truly unique and quite good looking. Shame we’ll never see it come to life.
The End?
While iOcean may have vanished rather abruptly, what actually happened to them is somewhat foggy.
According to a review on XDA for the iOcean X9, iOcean went bankrupt in July 2015 but are hoping to restructure themselves and then reenter the Chinese market. While it is highly unlikely that it will actually happen, it’d be nice to finally see a completed Z1 on the market.
And with that, we’ve reached the end of today’s Throwback Time. Check again next time where we cover a little Chinese company called FAEA, and how this short lived company managed to get everyone excited before they packed up.
So, what do you think about these articles? What would you like to see in the next Throwback? Tell us in the comments below!
I always thought that the design of the X8 was absolutely gorgeous, and the hardware wasn’t too shabby either given the time, and the price point.
E-ceros
Phone was e-ceros one
Even got good review on android authority.
Got my gf one went on fire within a year ?
Nice set of articles, great for nostalgy. The funny controversy between those companies that gone bankrupcy or at least walked in the edge of it (Jiayu) is that they are actually companies that did plenty of solid devices in their history, that had their problems? Yes, but actually were much better than what we see from the likes of Elephone, Umi and the other shitty ones.
as much as I like nostalgia moments, I have to disagree about the last part of the comment.
Those products (jiayu, Zopo, iocean) seemed so good because the level of chinese phones which were available through resellers was just average at best, products with the quality of umi super or elephone p9000 at those times would have been loved and remembered as the best of that era, but today with brands like xiaomi, meizu and oppo dominating the game also on resellers they seem average at best.
There were a lot of issues with software and hardware also with zopos,jiayus and ioceans, but since they allowed to save big money compared to what samsung and apple were asking, no one was complaining that much. Now people complain also of Xiaomi and Meizu for the most useless reasons.
I always thought that the design of the X8 was absolutely gorgeous, and the hardware wasn’t too shabby either given the time, and the price point.
E-ceros
Phone was e-ceros one
Even got good review on android authority.
Got my gf one went on fire within a year 👌
Nice set of articles, great for nostalgy. The funny controversy between those companies that gone bankrupcy or at least walked in the edge of it (Jiayu) is that they are actually companies that did plenty of solid devices in their history, that had their problems? Yes, but actually were much better than what we see from the likes of Elephone, Umi and the other shitty ones.
as much as I like nostalgia moments, I have to disagree about the last part of the comment.
Those products (jiayu, Zopo, iocean) seemed so good because the level of chinese phones which were available through resellers was just average at best, products with the quality of umi super or elephone p9000 at those times would have been loved and remembered as the best of that era, but today with brands like xiaomi, meizu and oppo dominating the game also on resellers they seem average at best.
There were a lot of issues with software and hardware also with zopos,jiayus and ioceans, but since they allowed to save big money compared to what samsung and apple were asking, no one was complaining that much. Now people complain also of Xiaomi and Meizu for the most useless reasons.
I used to have iocean x7 elite, 2 gb ram 32 gb ram, 32 gb microsd, full hd 5.0 inches quad core 1.5. ghz and 13 mp camera. And all that before 2,5 years. I could do everything except gaming….. And nice looking phone. RIP IOCEAN?
iocean once millet comparable equipment, as well as exterior design configurations are powerful, but also very good quality, it’s gone unfortunately.
So, they did a hit copying Oppo, then they drown copying Apple ^^
Great article! THL W8S or W100 next! lol!
Or how about doing a throwback to the Zopo ZP998?
The best THL phone was the Monkey King W11. Three years later and it’s still better looking than most phones today.
I still remember my W11. Loved the thing. The review I made on it is still on my blog.
Good looking phone to be fair…
Shame THL were always so bad with with their updates, I mean did any THL phone ever get an actual Android ‘version’ update? i.e. 4.2 > 4.4..?
A colleague is still using his THL T200 lol! He nearly had to upgrade his phone finally because of ‘Pokemon Go’ (ugh…) and it’s minimum of KitKat to run it… That is until we found a YouTube tutorial showing how to use ApkEditor and modify the APK so that it runs on Jelly Bean lol!
I owned 2 tHL’s never got any updates lol
I used to have iocean x7 elite, 2 gb ram 32 gb ram, 32 gb microsd, full hd 5.0 inches quad core 1.5. ghz and 13 mp camera. And all that before 2,5 years. I could do everything except gaming….. And nice looking phone. RIP IOCEAN😇
iocean once millet comparable equipment, as well as exterior design configurations are powerful, but also very good quality, it’s gone unfortunately.
Great start for a new refreshing series. Kudos for picking this one up.
Guess a lot of us wonder about the rise and demise of a lot of companies.
Thanks!
jiayu my first phone from china
Ι had bought x7 (still working) it was a very very beautiful device for 2013.
But the most iconic device that made thousands of international consumers to look at China smartphones was the Jiayu G3. It was the turning point for endless chinese purchases from then and on…
I personally then discovered xiaomi and the great and expensive mi2s (for chinese device).
And after that there was no stop , it became a passion changing device every two months with the illusion of cheap and value for money choises.
Jiayu G4 , Xiaomi mi2a , iocean X7 , inew v3 , Kingzone K1 turbo (the worst) , Meizu Mx4 (the best) , Xiaomi mi4 (the second best) , Meizu M2 Note , Letv X800 , and my latest purchase Xiaomi Mi note (not the pro) in black at around 200€ from vickmall about two months ago which was an absolute surprice for me, i was considering giving it away but now i cant change it with anything.The design and the quality is perfect (way far the most quality xiaomi device to date) ,the screen absolutely wonderfull (even not 2k) , and the form factor ideal. Imagine that i was not a fan of big devices, but oh my god…when i get my hands around 5.0 or even 5.5 screen phones they feel so much worse!
Considering all the money spent , i could have the latest Samsung or
Apple device with 1.5 year of changing cycle but it wouldnt be the same
in level of excitement …
What other device would make me give a new order?
I am thinking Meizu pro 5 , or wait for the new Mi note , or the upcoming Samsung Note 7 which seems as the absolute best smartphone to date and worth spending what it asks for considering that the holding period will be about 1.5 years or more.
The X8 along with Kingzone K1 Turbo (before that company went to shit) was one of the best phones I ever used.
Ah, the good old clone wars. Remember back when Goophone announced they were going to sue Apple? Good times.
So, they did a hit copying Oppo, then they drown copying Apple ^^
Great article! THL W8S or W100 next! lol!
Or how about doing a throwback to the Zopo ZP998?
The best THL phone was the Monkey King W11. Three years later and it’s still better looking than most phones today.
I still remember my W11. Loved the thing. The review I made on it is still on my blog.
Good looking phone to be fair…
Shame THL were always so bad with with their updates, I mean did any THL phone ever get an actual Android ‘version’ update? i.e. 4.2 > 4.4..?
A colleague is still using his THL T200 lol! He nearly had to upgrade his phone finally because of ‘Pokemon Go’ (ugh…) and it’s minimum of KitKat to run it… That is until we found a YouTube tutorial showing how to use ApkEditor and modify the APK so that it runs on Jelly Bean lol!
I owned 2 tHL’s never got any updates lol
Great start for a new refreshing series. Kudos for picking this one up.
Guess a lot of us wonder about the rise and demise of a lot of companies.
Thanks!
jiayu my first phone from china
Ι had bought x7 (still working) it was a very very beautiful device for 2013.
But the most iconic device that made thousands of international consumers to look at China smartphones was the Jiayu G3. It was the turning point for endless chinese purchases from then and on…
I personally then discovered xiaomi and the great and expensive mi2s (for chinese device).
And after that there was no stop , it became a passion changing device every two months with the illusion of cheap and value for money choises.
Jiayu G4 , Xiaomi mi2a , iocean X7 , inew v3 , Kingzone K1 turbo (the worst) , Meizu Mx4 (the best) , Xiaomi mi4 (the second best) , Meizu M2 Note , Letv X800 , and my latest purchase Xiaomi Mi note (not the pro) in black at around 200€ from vickmall about two months ago which was an absolute surprice for me, i was considering giving it away but now i cant change it with anything.The design and the quality is perfect (way far the most quality xiaomi device to date) ,the screen absolutely wonderfull (even not 2k) , and the form factor ideal. Imagine that i was not a fan of big devices, but oh my god…when i get my hands around 5.0 or even 5.5 screen phones they feel so much worse!
Considering all the money spent , i could have the latest Samsung or
Apple device with 1.5 year of changing cycle but it wouldnt be the same
in level of excitement …
What other device would make me give a new order?
I am thinking Meizu pro 5 , or wait for the new Mi note , or the upcoming Samsung Note 7 which seems as the absolute best smartphone to date and worth spending what it asks for considering that the holding period will be about 1.5 years or more.
The X8 along with Kingzone K1 Turbo (before that company went to shit) was one of the best phones I ever used.
I like articles like these because a lot of the newer people who come to this site really don’t much about these companies, they know iOcean for the terrible Rock if at all. I remember when I first got into Chinese phones, that was back during the Clone Wars.
Ah, the good old clone wars. Remember back when Goophone announced they were going to sue Apple? Good times.
I believe some of these fallen companies might have continued under other names, for example Vernee seems to be strangely well structured to be a newcomer…
I like this kind of articles and i want to see more like this from gizchina
I believe some of these fallen companies might have continued under other names, for example Vernee seems to be strangely well structured to be a newcomer…
I like this kind of articles and i want to see more like this from gizchina
I love my iocean rock. It only charges to 50% overnight now but its the best. I’m find in it hard to find an upgrade for cheap due to it’s specs for under 150usd
I love my iocean rock. It only charges to 50% overnight now but its the best. I’m find in it hard to find an upgrade for cheap due to it’s specs for under 150usd
Ah I was looking forward to the Z1
Ah I was looking forward to the Z1