The latest Android flagship killers have just launched—but the U.S. is being left out of the party. These new phones are powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, along with other top-tier specs, and they’re coming in at surprisingly low prices.
These new flagship killers have amazing specs for a low price
If you have even a passing interest in global Android smartphone releases, you’ve probably noticed that Chinese phones tend to offer the best value for the money. While they’re popular across Asia, Europe, Africa, and even South America and Australia, these brands still lack a strong presence in the North American market.
What makes these phones particularly interesting is the SoC that powers them. At the heart of these new Chinese flagship killers isn’t some budget Snapdragon or MediaTek chip—it’s the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the same chip expected to appear in upcoming flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S26, which should launch early next year.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip brings a notable improvement even over last year’s powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite, which itself was a major leap from its predecessor, the Snapdragon Gen 3 (I hope you’re still with me here).
According to Qualcomm, the 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers a 20% CPU performance boost with 35% greater efficiency, and a 23% GPU performance increase while being 20% more efficient than before. The result is 16% lower overall power consumption, plus a host of AI-focused enhancements thanks to a 37% faster Hexagon NPU.
The first phone equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the Xiaomi 17 Pro, which gained some notoriety for copying the iPhone 17 Pro’s design, albeit with a display at the back. It launched in late September, and other Chinese manufacturers followed shortly after.
A phone I’ve had my eye on for a while, the Realme GT 8 Pro, just launched, as well as the ZTE nubia RedMagic 11 Pro, Honor Magic8, and Xiaomi Redmi K90 Pro Max. The Poco F8 Ultra is also rumored to launch sooner than expected, likely to compete with these other flagship killers.
While their specs vary slightly, many of these phones pack features that Apple, Samsung, and Google could only dream of: silicon–carbon batteries with massive capacities, LTPO AMOLED displays running at 120Hz–144Hz with peak brightness levels up to 7,000 nits, impressive main camera sensors, telephoto lenses with impressive zoom, high-resolution ultrawide cameras, lightning-fast UFS 4.0/4.1 storage, and ~100W wired and ultra-fast wireless charging.
Given all these crazy specs, you’d expect these phones to retail at over $1,000, but that’s the best part—they’re all in the $500 to $800 range.
Released in China, coming to global markets—but not the U.S.
It’s important to clarify right away that these Chinese phone brands almost always launch their phones in China first, with global releases usually following a few weeks or months later. This is fairly standard practice, and this wave of phones is no different. However, some of these brands do not compete in the U.S. market at all.
This is likely due to a combination of factors, including the recent implementation of tariffs on imported goods, the requirement for antennas that support U.S. network bands, FCC certification requirements, and the fact that many U.S. buyers tend to stick to a handful of popular brands like Apple, Samsung, Google, and Motorola. It’s a tough market to enter, given all the hurdles.
For instance, Realme (a subsidiary of Oppo and sister company to OnePlus) has a strong presence in regions where budget Android phones are popular, but the brand is not present in the U.S. I believe that it’s because Oppo did not want to cannibalize OnePlus sales in the U.S., as Realme offers similar phones at a significantly lower price, albeit without the OnePlus brand prestige.
That said, some of the phones I mentioned are rumored to arrive in the U.S. at a later date. If any of them have piqued your interest, wait for the global launch to see if they will also be released in the U.S.
You can buy some Chinese phones, but should you?
Although the phones have only been launched in China, there are ways to buy these Chinese versions and ship them globally, including the U.S. Several popular sites sell phones like the Realme GT 8 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro a bit above the Chinese launch price, so technically speaking, there is a way to buy them. The real question is, should you?
I’m in Europe and have asked myself the same question. Sites like TradingShenzhen make it easy to check network compatibility, and these phones should work in my area without issue. However, the catch is that you may encounter some major compatibility problems—many of these phones don’t even come with the Play Store pre-installed, which is why these retailers have to open the box and install it themselves.
Android Auto, in particular, doesn’t work natively on Chinese phones with the Chinese ROM installed. This is because Android Auto isn’t available in China, and the only way to get it is to root your phone and flash the global ROM, which is risky but possible on some (older) Xiaomi and OnePlus devices.
For this reason alone, I’m likely to wait for the global launch of the Realme GT 8 Pro and consider it if it’s around the same price (or just get a used OnePlus 13).
9/10
- SoC
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform
- Storage
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256GB/512GB UFS 4.0
The OnePlus 13 is a high-performance smartphone boasting a Hasselblad camera system with a 50MP sensor, a lightweight and intuitive OxygenOS 15 operating system, and a sleek, durable design. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.
U.S. buyers face an additional challenge: many of the network bands used in the U.S. aren’t supported on most Chinese phones. This can result in spotty coverage, and since you can’t leave such an important factor to chance, I advise against buying China-only devices. Well, unless you just want a glorified Wi-Fi–only phone to replace your tablet.