Are you already planning to buy yourself a nice – and somewhat expensive – Christmas present? If that’s so then come check our top 5 Chinese smartphones for under $500 list for the month of October – the one that includes pretty much the best handsets coming out from the Asian country; keep reading!

Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $500

1. OnePlus 5

Let’s begin with one of the best – if not the best – smartphones you can currently get from China – the OnePlus 5. The handset is the latest flagship-killer launched by the company powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

OnePlus’s handset features a dual camera combo on the back composed of a 16MP Sony IMX398 with F/1.7 aperture and a secondary 20MP shooter with telephoto lens; the selfie snapper at the front is also high res at 16MP and has a wide aperture of F/2.0.

The handset comes with the same 5.5-inch Full HD Amoled display from the past year, a 3000mAh capacity battery with Dash Charge 5V 4A support, it runs Android 7.0 Nougat and works on pretty much any 4G LTE network around the globe.

2. Nubia Z17

Next on the list we have the Nubia Z17, one of the most complete devices out in the market, and it does that costing slightly less than its closest rival – the OnePlus 5. Nubia’s handset is indeed powered by a beastly Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 coupled with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

The two rear cameras are a 23MP shooter with F/1.8 aperture and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) for the primary and a secondary 12MP with 2X optical zoom. The selfie camera can snap 16MP photos, sports a BSI sensor and F/2.0 wide aperture.

The Nubia Z17 comes with a big 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display coated in 2.5D glass, a 3200mAh battery (compatible with Quick Charge 4.0) and 4G LTE connectivity with band 20 support. The smartphone only disappoints under one factor, the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, but you can use the included adapter or move to wireless Bluetooth earphones to fix the problem.

3. Xiaomi Mi6

Albeit it hasn’t been received very warmly by Chinese phone lovers, the Xiaomi Mi6 is still a great smartphone to buy – at least for those looking for a smaller device. The handset features the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU we saw on the OnePlus 5 and Nubia Z17, as well as 6GB of RAM and a whopping 128GB of internal storage – all of that for less than $500.

Xiaomi’s smartphone sports 5.15-inch Full HD display and below it we find a fingerprint scanner beneath a layer of glass. The Mi 6 also comes with two cameras on the back, with a primary 12MP shooter with F/1.8 aperture and OIS, accompanied by another 12MP telephone camera. Using the two of them you’ll be able to create photos with a shallow depth of field effect when in portrait mode.

The Xiaomi Mi6 packs a 3350mAh battery which supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology and it supports 4G LTE networks, but there’s no band 20 support.

4. Oppo R11

After hearing some good feedback from our readers, the Oppo R11 finally makes it on the list. This premium phone comes with a beautiful 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core CPU with a max clock of 2.2Ghz coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (expandable).

The Oppo R1 features a dual rear camera setup composed of a 20MP shooter with F/2.6 aperture and a 16MP sensor with F/1.7 aperture and PDAF. Meanwhile on the front we find another high res 20MP selfie snapper with F/2.0 aperture. The smartphone supports 4K video recording and slow-mo at 120fps.

Lastly, Oppo’s handset is fueled by a 2900mAh capacity battery, runs Android 7.0 Nougat and works on various 4G LTE networks, but band 20 isn’t among them.

If you have some extra bucks you can also consider getting the bigger Oppo R11 Plus which comes with a larger 6-inch display and a 3880mAh battery.

5. Xiaomi Mi Note 2

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is once again on our top 5 list as it features top notch hardware, a really nice design and costs around $300. The cheapest version comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, but if you want to spend a little extra – while still being under $400 – you can even get the variant with 6GB of RAM and a whopping 128GB of storage.

Other than that, we find a beautiful 5.7-inch OLED panel produced by LG, a 22.5MP Sony IMX318 rear camera with F/2.0 aperture, 4K and 120fps video capability, and an 8.0MP front facing shooter with F/2.0 aperture as well.

Xiaomi’s Mi Note 2 comes with a good sized 4070mAh battery, Quick Charge 3.0 support and in its Global version supports pretty much any 4G LTE network around the world.

Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $500

This wraps up October’s top 5 Chinese smartphones list. Are you guys planning to buy any of these handsets for yourself or anybody you know? Would you have liked seeing other phones on the list? If so, which? Let us know in the comments below!

If you want to spend a lot less than $500, check out our under $200 and under $100 buying guides!