In a not-so-distant future, brands like Xiaomi and Huawei were considered low-quality Made In China products. As time passed, they were able to break stereotypes and gain trust and popularity.
AliExpress has a ton of stores and brands: some good, some – not so much. In this post we decided to compile a list of up and coming Chinese brands that are less-known, but which definitely deserve recognition. We picked them and their products based on the feedback from the buyers.
Best TECH / GADGETS Stores on AliExpress
XIAOMI MI STORE
1.6M+ followers
Xiaomi is probably the best-known brand in China, except for Huawei. The quality of products is as good as any other big-name mainstream brands, but the prices are much lower than what you’d see in retail.
In this store you can find a variety of Xiaomi products like earphones, smartphones, MiBand fitness trackers and accessories for them, and other various home accessories.
FLOVEME
820,000+ followers
If you have gadgets that require charging, this is the store for you.
FLOVEME is mostly known for power banks, high-quality charging cables and high-capacity fast-charge blocks (for homes and cars).
BASEUS
1,282,000+ followers
Go to BASEUS store for all things power: portable power banks, cables, QI charging docks and fastcharge blocks.
Good quality like FLOVEME, but different designs. Much better than going no-name.
ANKER
923,000+ followers
Anker store sells everyday electronics, and they carry audio equipment and home projectors.
However, they are best-known for Bluetooth speakers, TWS earphones (Life P2 is their best-selling earbud model) and wireless charging pads.
QCY
1,505,000+ followers
QCY at this time is, without a doubt, a leader in True Wireless (TWS) earphones.
There is just too many models to name – make your pick based on the shape and size preference. Personally, I would recommend T1C because of their specs.
INSTA360
19,400+ followers
Insta360 is a globally-known brand of 360 cameras.
But their product lineup goes beyond that: they are releasing action cameras, POV cameras, camera accessories – like gimbals, and even super versatile true-4K webcams.
SJCAM
107,000+ followers
If you are looking for a budget action camera and don’t want to buy off-brand, SJCAM is your go-to store.
They have interlaced 4K cameras, some great waterproof ones that don’t require a case and a full specter of accessories for them.
BLACKVIEW
680,000+ followers
Budget smartphones is what Blackview is known for, but they also started making smart watches, tablets and TV boxes.
I’ve briefly used their A80Pro smartphone, and it was pretty good!
UGREEN
1,116,000+ followers
UGREEN is another well-known manufacturer of cables.
They also started producing SSD cases, USB hubs (this type-C USB 3.0 is the best-selling model), and charging blocks.
ESSAGER
553,000+ followers
Essager is a relative newcomer to the scene, that is making pretty big moves.
Known for high-quality charging cables, power banks, USB 3.0 hubs and quick charger power blocks.
Already rated with a PLUS rating (among the highest-rated stores on the platform).
TOPK
547,000+ followers
TOPK has a variety of different gadgets, but their best products are heavy-duty cables.
MI AQUARA/YEELIGHT
9,500+ followers
MIJIA / Yee are also related to Xiaomi. Yee makes smart lights (I have one – review here) and smart home electronics, but they go much more beyond than that – there are too many products to list.
They all have one thing in common though: simplistic design and impeccable quality.
XIAOMI YI
862,000+ followers
YI is another Xiaomi’s subdivision. It makes action cameras (I have a YI 4K – video review), dash cameras and webcams. All are well-rated by the buyers.
BLUEDIO
1,217,000+ followers
Bluedio is well-known for their high-quality audio products and solid warranty.
Their Bluetooth headphones, earphones and speakers are very worth the money. There is only a handful of models per category, which shows that you don’t need to have a lot of options to be successful – just need a few current ones.
FIIO
26,000+ followers
This is more of a niche product: FiiO makes audio accessories that help you get the most out of your music and music devices.
There are portable amps, lossless MP3 music players that make your music sound really good and $300 earphones (that people actually buy!).
ORICO
1,065,000+ followers
ORICO has good card readers, USB 3.0 and 3.1 hubs and various electronics-related knick-knacks.
UMIDIGI
547,000+ followers
UMIDIGI is another budget smartphone brand that has been on fire lately. I’ve used their F1 smartphone (video review) for about a year – it has been great: amazing battery life and a bone stock version of Android with no bloatware.
But if you are looking for a new phone, I highly recommend looking at the Bison X20: WOW (excellent price to feature ratio)!
TRONSMART
MIFA
486,000+ followers
MIFA is known for their graffiti-design speaker and the rugged outdoor-oriented IPX6 speaker, but they have a few other models. Ultimately, your preference in design will help to decide between Mifa and, say, Bluedio.