Chinese brands winning war of the mobile phones

Innovative, affordable local brands make gains over Samsung, Apple

Zhang Jing, 29, who works at a research institute in Shenzhen, has been using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone for two years. Its exquisite design and high-megapixel camera made her a big fan of the South Korean tech giant. Zhang had planned to upgrade to a Note 7.

But the love affair came to an end after explosions of the newly launched Note 7 were reported. Samsung said earlier this month it would recall about 190,000 Note 7 phones in China to avoid further battery explosions.