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When it comes to finding the best Chinese tablet for you, it can be a little tricky knowing exactly where to start.
Those of you considering a tablet from a Chinese brand are likely looking for something cost-effective that also offers great performance. You’re also likely quite tech-savvy and want to explore alternative options to the more familiar tablet brands that seemingly dominate the Western markets.
Of course, some Chinese brands are becoming more popular and recognizable, such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Huawei, but some smaller brands are also offering up some impressive tablets for very reasonable prices.
Here, we’ve selected what we think are the best Chinese tablets available right now for a variety of different usages and budgets.
What are the best Chinese tablets?
- Xiaomi Pad 6
- Teclast M50HD
- Chuwi Hipad XPro
- OnePlus Pad
- ALLDOCUBE iPlay50mini Pro
Best overall Chinese tablet – Xiaomi Pad 6
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Xiaomi was founded in 2010 and has been a big player in the mobile scene, at one point holding the top spot in China. Reportedly, over 55% of Xiaomi’s total revenue comes from overseas markets – which is why out of all of the brands listed here, you’ll likely have heard of it.
So let’s start with the display, which is actually pretty impressive. The screen has a 144hz refresh rate, which to put into perspective is the same as most high-end gaming monitors. That’s great if you plan on using this for gaming, but for most, you’ll just get to enjoy super smooth navigation through apps.
Its resolution is 2880 x 1800 – and yes, that is somewhat hard to picture. Essentially, 2880 x 1800 is more than 1440p and less than 4K. In short – it’s very good for a screen this size and quite a high-end feature to have.
As for brightness, you’ve got 550 nits here, which we’d always advise taking with a pinch of salt as sometimes this number is peak brightness in a very small area of the screen – not overall brightness. At any rate, anything over 300 nits is bright enough to view in daytime conditions and makes the color ‘pop’ much more. Speaking of color, this tablet supports DCI-P3 – something creative professionals will certainly appreciate and put to use.
This tablet comes with a Snapdragon 870 processor. This is the same processor that’s found in flagship smartphones from OnePlus, OPPO, and Motorola. It’s a powerful chipset that can handle some demanding tasks, such as video-editing for example. It’s even got 8GB of DDR5 RAM to keep things running smoothly.
It has a decent 8840mAh battery that’s okay for most, but not quite as impressive as some of the offerings from Apple and Samsung (which tend to come in at around 10,000mAh). Either way, it’s more than enough, and you won’t be left scrambling to charge it anytime soon.
Overall, we think this tablet looks the part, has solid performance, and is one of the best Chinese tablets you can get right now. Throw in the fact that it’s priced similarly to an older-generation iPad, and you’ve got a real winner.
Best Chinese tablet for most people – Teclast M50HD
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Teclast entered the overseas market in 2015 and has a solid selection of super-affordable tablets available. We think the M50HD stands out from the crowd though, especially if you’re looking for serious bang for your buck.
First off, it has a 10.1 inch, IPS, 1920 x 1200 display. IPS is a type of panel technology that is pretty much to go-to for monitors nowadays. This type of display allows for wider viewing angles, which comes into its own if you’re watching a film with someone, or tend to adjust your positioning frequently. The resolution is in line with the price point here – it’s good enough for most, and at this size, even 1080p looks good.
In terms of the chipset and storage, it has a Unisoc T606 eight-core processor with 8GB RAM, and up to 1TB of expandable. Unisoc processors are usually found in lower-end Android devices, and no, they’re not exactly going to be slaying any Snapdragons anytime soon. That being said, they do perform well for more casual usage – which is really what this tablet is for anyway.
It packs an okay battery for the price too, coming in at 6000mAh. To put that into perspective, my current phone has a 5000mAh battery and lasts the full day without charging with some binge-watching thrown into the mix. For a budget tablet, this isn’t too bad at all.
It has dual SIM card slots, which is great if you’re traveling to different countries or just don’t have access to WIFI everywhere you go. It’s not essential – but can be a bit of a game-changer. A good feature for the money in all honesty.
Overall, we’d say go for this if you’re looking for good value for money, and aren’t too fussed about using it for more demanding tasks.
Best value Chinese tablet – Chuwi Hipad XPro
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Chuwi was founded in 2004 and started entering the overseas market around 2014. It’s a brand that’s all about making super affordable products, and it’s had some great success doing so. For a super affordable Chinese tablet, we’d say the Hipad XPro is the best way to go.
The display is IPS with 1920 x 1200 resolution, which is similar to many budget tablets on the market. It has a Unisoc T616 octa-core processor, which is actually quite punchy, and should be more than enough for most tasks. It comes with 6GB of RAM, 128GB internal storage, with 1TB expandable – again, quite standard specs at this price range.
For those planning on having a tablet for travel, we think this ticks more than a few boxes. It supports 5G, has dual sim card slots, a 7000 mAh battery, weighs in at just 510g, and has fast charging too. Just writing this makes me feel less stressed – so for anyone running around for work, we think this tablet could be a great option.
Cameras are often a bit of an afterthought with tablets, so we don’t tend to focus on them too much. This tablet’s cameras are okay but not great. The 5MP selfie camera won’t be amazing for video calls – but again, if you’ve got a phone that’s not an issue.
Overall, this is a solid, great-looking, tablet that’s excellent for taking on the go and easy on the wallet too.
Best mid-range Chinese tablet – OnePlus Pad
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OnePlus was founded in 2013 and has some seriously impressive phones, earbuds, and of course, tablets. The company notably merged with OPPO and now has a partnership with Hasselblad – meaning that OnePlus cameras are pretty great. As far as its tablets go, they are sort of a middle ground between price and performance, and we think the OnePlus Pad is a good option for those who want a tablet that can do a little more than a fully budget option.
The screen is actually one of the biggest on the list, coming in at 11.61 inches. It has an LCD display, which is quite standard, and boasts 500 nits of brightness with 10-bit color. If you’re wondering what that means, it’s essentially HDR10. And if you’re wondering what that means, it’s a tablet that can provide deep contrast and vivid color.
It has the highest resolution out of any of the tablets on this list, coming in at 2800×2000. It even has 296 PPI, which means its pixels per inch are similar to the quality needed for print. In short – text will look very sharp on this.
When it comes to the processor, you’re getting a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 with 8GB of RAM. You’re also getting 128GB of internal storage. MediaTek chips are pretty punchy and often go toe-to-toe with the likes of Snapdragon. This particular chip will certainly be powerful enough for more demanding tasks.
In terms of portability, this weighs in at just 552g, is super thin, and has 67W fast charging which gets this tablet to 100% in just over an hour. It also has a huge battery of 9510 mAh.
The cameras aren’t too shabby either. The rear is 13MP and the front is 8MP. That’s more than enough for video calling or the occasional photo from time to time. Head to the phones if you want to get the most out of the Hasselblad partnership we reckon.
Overall, for the price, we reckon this a good option for most who aren’t too into the budget options, and are planning on using a tablet for work.
Best cheap Chinese tablet – ALLDOCUBE iPlay50mini Pro
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Alldocube was founded back in 2005 and started expanding in around 2009. It isn’t at the same level as some of the other brands on this list, which means it’s a good option if you’re sticking to a budget. This smaller tablet is a good call if that sounds like you.
The display is 1920 x 1200, which when combined with a screen size of 8.4 inches should look sharp. It comes with 16GB RAM (8 virtual), and a massive 256GB of internal storage that you can expand to 512GB with an SD card. In terms of the chipset, you’ve got a MediaTek Helio G99 – which is a decent chip and typically found in more budget smartphones. It’ll be good enough for casual usage, but not the best for anything more demanding.
For travel, this tablet is okay. It has a 5000 mAh battery and 18W fast charging, which is similar to most phones on the market. It’s super lightweight and will easily fit into even the smallest slings and bags. This is the type of tablet we could see being used for reading in a cafe or providing some light entertainment on the go.
Once again the camera is a little lacklustre, coming in at just 5MP for the selfie and a respectable 13MP for the rear. That’s not bad, but not too great either.
If you’re looking for a Chinese tablet for more casual usage for an unbeatable price – we’d say check out what Alldocube has to offer.
Should you buy a Chinese tablet?
Chinese tablets can be a good move if you’re looking for something less expensive, but still with decent performance – but way more research is needed before making your choice. Since some services are restricted in China, you may find that you have to install certain popular apps onto the tablet after you buy it. This can sometimes require a bit of a workaround – which isn’t for everyone, especially those who aren’t too tech-savvy.
There are also varying levels of customer support available. Forums may not be as helpful as those from brands with a larger presence in the West.
Personally, I’d always lean towards the familiar brands, but for those who are a little more tech-savvy and want to find a hidden gem for a great price, Chinese tablets have some real winners.
Verdict
We think the best overall Chinese tablet is the Xiaomi Pad 6, thanks to its impressive display, excellent battery life, and premium build quality. If you’re looking for a cost-effective alternative to some of the more familiar brands on the market, we’d say this would be the best option for you right now.
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If you’re looking for more options, we’d recommend checking out the best tablets for dual booting and for more powerful options, our top tablets for photo-editing.