did it solve this problem? I bought my Xiaomi phone from a shady seller who tampered with it to unlock the bootloader, so that I avoid all of this. I'm probably not the only one.
Then they sell the phone as a newer/better model than it is, and most users are unaware. If you complain to AliExpress they'll tell you to run AnTuTu or Geekbench, and both of those apps will report fake results.
Scam products will always exist. What makes phones so incredibly different from laptops, desktops, hard drives, cars (where people may claim false mileage numbers), or any other product category with specs which can be faked?
And why is the solution to lock the boot loader, rather than implementing some tamper evidence system? Show a "This phone has been tampered with!" screen on boot if the boot loader has been unlocked, problem solved.
The vast majority of apps won't run on android 4 anymore.