(Originally published on RaceTechChina Blog on Jan 17) A year ago, I wrote my first post for this blog looking at Chinese manufacturers’ smartphones announced at CES 2013. Well CES 2014 just closed and I wanted to do a similar roundup, checking if they did better.

A year ago, I was disappointed with the announcements from global companies. Few market-ready products were announced, as the likes of Samsung, HTC, Sony and others prefer to wait for Mobile World Congress the next month, or follow their own schedule of events. This year was very much the same, leaving the space wide open for Chinese companies to take center stage. And they tried: according to The Verge, Chinese exhibitors grew 40% from last year. (Yes, the article is about booth babes, a national sport in China.)

I say they tried, because if companies came in hordes, interesting product announcements did not.

Huawei announced a refreshed version of their enormous Ascend Mate 2, with a battery that should last two days and has a reverse charging functionality. Their selling point was that you can charge an iPhone with it. You know, for those of us who switch phone brands depending on the café we have lunch at to always look cool.

Meizu attended CES but didn’t announce a new device; instead they told media of plans to enter the US market in Q3. No indication of device or carrier though.

ZTE, much like Huawei, unveiled a refreshed version of its flagship device, the Grand S II. Their key innovation for the phone was their own take on voice-assistant functions, competing with Google Now or Siri, but currently only understanding Chinese. ZTE also won the prize for the announcement of a product nobody asked for with this wifi hotspot that doubles as a projector.

Lenovo stayed clear of smartphones, deciding to focus on PCs. Oppo mobile, one of the hottest brands from China right now, was not attending.

Did I forget anything? Let me know on my twitter