FAQs 

6 Android Phones You Need to Rethink Before Buying

David Tremblay
Android smartphones in Canada to think twice before you buy

You can find various Android smartphone brands in Canada like LG, Samsung and others. Did you know there are certain brand of Android mobile phones that you can get somehow in Canada from online stores or from a third party dealer but you need to think twice before buying them. The reason is simple these Android mobile phones are for Europeans and Asian users and don’t have all the Google Services or apps that might work all smooth in Canada.

Android Phones You Need to Rethink Before Buying

Here are six such Android phones that Canadians need to rethink before buying.

1. Vivo Nex

Vivo Nex Android

In February 2018 Vivo revealed a prototype handset called the Apex FullView. This  has some awesome features like the front-facing camera pops out of the top of the phone like a little jack-in-the-box. Also has an in-display fingerprint besides the NEX features a 4,000 mAh battery, 8GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 845 and an almost a 6.6-inch super AMOLED display that remains beautifully unobstructed by a notch. The phone also features a tiny bottom chin, but other than that it’s almost all-display.

The phone starts at $860 CAD on Amazon and comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. On eBay, the phone costs between $837 to $1,278 CAD.

2. Oppo- Find X

Oppo Find X

The Find X is new phone from Chinese company Oppo which is also the parent company of OnePlus and produces a wide range of handsets every year. The Find X is one of the only edge-to-edge display smartphones because of a section of its back that slides up to reveal the camera. The phone sepcs features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8GB of RAM and packs a 3,730mAh battery. The display features a 6.4 inch AMOLED screen that covers most of the front of the phone. The device comes in two colours: ‘Glacier Blue’ and ‘Boudreaux Red.’

The Find X appears to use a number of low 700Mhz frequencies but avoids Band 7, a commonly used frequency for Bell, Telus, Rogers and Videotron as the phone has enough high frequencies to get acceptable coverage. So while you should usually be connected to 4G, it will not have the fast speeds. It’s unclear if the Oppo Find X uses Band 4 or 13. This means that if you’re with MTS, SaskTel, Eastlink and Freedom, purchase the Find X at your own risk.

At Amazon.com search for the Find X on the American version of Amazon. There it’s priced $986.71 USD ($1290 CAD) and the shipping costs $7.77 USD  ($10 CAD). At Amazon Canada Find X sells for $1,369 CAD. At eBay Canada the price of the Find X ranges from $730 to $1,487 CAD. The phone is available in both the two colours.

3. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S

Mi Mix 2 s

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S currently has two flagship offerings with similar specs. The global versions of Xiaomi’s phones often come with Google Play, but the Chinese models do not. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S features a Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, dual 12-megapixel rear camera sensors and a 5-megapixel selfie shooter. Since the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S includes Band 4, Band 13 and Band 7 support, expect pretty full 4G coverage with Canadian carriers, except Freedom Mobile.

At Amazon Canada the Mi Mix 2S is available for $699.94 with Prime shipping. You can also purchase the Mi Mix 2S for $724.95 with Prime fulfilment from JP Mobiles, which has more than 2,000 ratings on Amazon.

Newegg sells both the white and black variant of the Mi Mix 2S. The two phones retail for different prices though. The white option costs $815, while the black one costs $789. Both offer 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

4. The Xiaomi Mi 8

Xiaomi Mi 8

The Xiaomi Mi 8  is the second flagship available from Xiaomi. The phone features a 6.21-inch display with a hefty iPhone X-style notch. Further, it includes up to 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, dual 12-megapixel rear-facing camera sensors and a 20-megapixel selfie shooter. With Xiaomi Mi 8 lacks Band 13, however, the phone does feature Band 12 and Band 17 and you can  expect average coverage with Rogers, Bell, Telus and Videotron. You’ll also experience mediocre coverage with  MTS, SaskTel, Eastlink and Freedom Mobile.

At Newegg, it appears the phone is available starting at $759 and goes up to $839. The variant available at Newegg features 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

At  Amazon Canada the Xiaomi Mi 8 is available through Amazon Canada. At eBay the Mi 8 is available at eBay from $592.98 plus a $26 shopping fee.

5. Huawei Honor 10

Huawei Honor 10

The Honor 10 shares many similarities to the Huawei P20, such as the 5.8-inch display, 970 Kirin processor, a 3,400mAh battery and a front-facing fingerprint scanner. The phone features a dual camera setup with a 16-megapixel shooter and 24-megapixel shooter.  The Huawei Honor 10 has very low LTE coverage, resulting in 3G speeds. In urban areas expect some high-speed 4G usage with the high-frequency Band 7.

The Huawei Honor 10 is available at Amazon Canada for $886.48. This variant comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. On eBay, you can get the Honor 10 anywhere from $455 to $546. There are multiple options available.

6. Xiaomi Pocophone

Pocophone

Xiaomi’s newest Pocophone features a 6.18-inch IPS LCD display with a Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. The phone also has a dual rear-camera setup with a 20-megapixel selfie shooter. While the phone seems excellent and features a low price, even when converted to Canadian, it lacks wireless charging, IP68 water resistance and NFC. The Pocophone also has very low LTE coverage, which means you’ll mostly get 3G speeds. In urban areas expect some high-speed 4G usage with the high-frequency Band 7.

You can purchase the Pocophone from many third-party sellers. The phone is available for as low as $560.25 for the variant with 64GB of storage and 6GB of RAM at eBay.

What you should rethink before buying these above six phones

  • With these Android phones you will find a bit difficult to download Google Play Store
  • You can only buy them online or from a third party retailer in Canada
  • Sites like Amazon and Ebay have their own set of rules regarding returns or refunds when you buy them so check out the rules with the online stores or read the agreement and terms of the third party retailer selling to understand the refund or guarantee/warranty policies.
  • Not all Canadian Telecom Carriers might support these phones

Still if you think you can get on with these smartphones then that’s your choice. The prices of these phones may vary online.