It is already 2026. Looking back at the domestic mobile phone market in 2018, it was indeed a year in which a hundred flowers bloomed and the competition atmosphere was extremely fierce. Many friends wanted to know "which brand of domestic mobile phones is the best" when they were replacing their mobile phones or looking for classic models on second-hand platforms. Today, we will talk about the top ten brands in the 2018 domestic mobile phone rankings based on a popular list of the year, and take a look at their respective characteristics and their status in the world that year.
Huawei mobile phones: the leader in technology
Huawei’s mobile phone, which ranks at the top of the list, has already demonstrated its strong technology research and development capabilities in 2018. Relying on its self-developed Kirin chip and powerful camera system in collaboration with Leica, Huawei’s P series and Mate series have successfully consolidated their position in the high-end market, especially the Mate series. The "Yuba" three-camera and reverse wireless charging function on the 20 series made many people feel for the first time that domestic mobile phones have surpassed internationally renowned brands in terms of innovation. Huawei's advantages lie in communication technology and hardware integration capabilities. Excellent signal, strong battery life, and top-notch photography were the common evaluations of users at the time. However, prices are also increasing year by year, starting to impact the price range of Apple and Samsung.
Xiaomi mobile phone: the king of cost performance evolves again
Xiaomi mobile phones followed closely behind, and it happened to celebrate its eighth anniversary in 2018. That year, Xiaomi Mi 8 was the main model. Although it was joked that it looked like the iPhone X in terms of appearance, its powerful performance and extremely competitive price still made it a "real fragrance machine". Xiaomi's advantages are very clear: it provides you with near-top performance at half the price. At the same time, the MIUI system is extremely sophisticated in localized functions, such as universal remote control, application dual-opening, spam SMS interception, etc., which are particularly in line with the habits of domestic users. This year, Xiaomi has been trying hard to go high-end, and the MIX series continues to explore full-screen forms. More people have seen the design potential of domestic mobile phones.
OPPO and vivo: technological breakthroughs of offline giants
The third-ranked OPPO mobile phone and the fourth-ranked vivo mobile phone, this pair of mobile phone brands known as the blue-green brothers, achieved outstanding transformation in 2018. In the past, everyone always thought that they were "low configuration and high price", but this year they showed real black technology. OPPO Find Vivo was the first to launch the screen fingerprint phone X21, and achieved a lifting front camera design on the NEX. Both companies have also been working hard in the field of fast charging. VOOC flash charging and dual-engine flash charging have solved the worrying situation in terms of battery life. Coupled with extremely powerful advertising and promotion activities and offline sales channels that penetrate into rural areas, they are still the most accessible and trustworthy brand category for ordinary consumers.
Smartisan and Meizu: small but beautiful defenders
The sixth-placed Meizu mobile phone and the fifth-placed Smartisan phone represented the "characterful" category in the field of domestic mobile phones at that time. Smartisan Technology launched the Nut R1 and TNT workstations in 2018. Although the "revolutionary" concept proposed by Luo Yonghao is highly controversial, the "Big Bang", "One Step", "Snap Capsule" and other functions in Smartisan OS have indeed solved many efficiency pain points and attracted a group of loyal fans. After Huang Zhang came out, Meizu launched the meticulously polished Meizu 16th. With its ultimate vertically symmetrical full screen and excellent hand feel, it gained a reputation as a "true flagship". Although these two brands are not as large as the top four, they can always give people a bright feeling in terms of design and system interaction.
LeTV, OnePlus, ZUK and Coolpad: different fate trajectories
The situations in which stories are placed in the bottom four of the list are different. LeTV mobile phones were in trouble due to financial problems in the ecological chain in 2018. However, the "ecological subsidy hardware" and CDLA full digital lossless audio standard it proposed that year left a very deep impression on the market. Although the sales of OnePlus mobile phones are not among the top in China, its reputation among overseas geek circles is exploding. OnePlus 6, with the name of "Thug in Suit", relying on the near-native Hydrogen OS and top-notch hardware configuration, has become a favorite among flash enthusiasts. As an Internet brand under Lenovo, ZUK mobile phones feature high cost-effectiveness and a refreshing ZUI system experience. ZUK Z2 Pro and other models were quite capable for a period of time. However, the brand was later integrated, which became a regret for many fans. As a veteran manufacturer, Coolpad mobile phones had great success in the early days of 3G and 4G. However, by 2018, its market share had shrunk significantly. It mainly focused on overseas and operator channels, and its domestic presence was not strong.
The advantages and disadvantages of the year
Looking at the domestic mobile phones in 2018, its advantages are clearly visible. The first point is that the price is relatively close to the public, and a mobile phone priced at 1,000 yuan can buy a good configuration. Secondly, the localization optimization has been carried out very well, such as incoming call firewall, spam SMS interception, holiday reminder, lunar calendar display, etc. These are all details that foreign brands rarely pay attention to. In addition, it also has a colorful appearance and generous hardware configuration, such as a large-capacity battery and sufficient storage, which is very in line with the usage habits of Chinese people. Of course, its disadvantages are also very prominent. Many small and medium-sized brands rely on the public version of the MTK platform, resulting in extremely serious homogeneity of product functions. The appearance of imitating international brands still exists, and the workmanship and quality control of some models are not up to standard. In particular, complex structures such as sliders and clamshells are more likely to cause problems. In addition, the outsourcing of after-sales outlets resulted in uneven maintenance levels, which was also the reason why many consumers were deterred at the time.
Generally speaking, the top ten domestic mobile phones in 2018 basically showed the market situation during the "big wave" period. Huawei and Xiaomi have played a leading role in the two directions of technology and cost-effectiveness respectively. OV has achieved brand upgrades through innovation. Brands such as Smartisan, Meizu, and OnePlus have retained some niche users by relying on their own characteristics. Although LeTV, ZUK, and Coolpad are no longer in the mainstream category, their exploration of the industry back then is worth remembering. Knowing this list is not just a memory, it can also help you understand the technical heritage and characteristics of each brand more clearly when you are buying a mobile phone.
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