[Android] Meizu Pro 5

Specifications

Display: 5.7-inch FHD Super AMOLED, 350 nits brightness, Gorilla Glass 3 2.5D arc glass, cool colour temperature
SoC: 2.1GHz Samsung Exynos 7420, 14nm 3D FinFET
ROM: Flyme OS 4.5 (Android 5.1), Flyme 5.0 upgrade coming November 15
Storage: 32/64GB UFS 2.0, expandable through microSD
Memory: 3/4GB LPPDR4
Rear Camera: 21.16MP Sony IMX230 sensor, Largan 6P ƒ/2.2, dual-tone LED flash
lense, 0.17-second focusing speed (PDAF + laser-aided focusing)
Front Camera: 5MP OmniVision OV5670 sensor, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Connectivity: USB 3.0 Type-C, 2.4/5GHz 802.11 ac/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1
Battery: Sony/ATL cell, 3050mAh capacity
Fast-Charging: mCharge 2.0, up to 24W, 0-65% in 30 minutes
Audio Processing: ESS ES9018K2M DAC, TI OPA1612 headphone amplifier
Fingerprint Reader: mTouch 2.1, 360° capacitive touch sensor, 0.48s response time
Dimensions: 156.7 x 78 x 7.5mm, 168g
Colours: Black & Silver / White & Silver / White & Gold
MSRP: $440 (¥2,799) / $485 (¥3,099)
Release: October 12 (China)

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/meizu-pro-...ship-killer-like-oneplus-2-moto-x-play-647785
http://www.gsmarena.com/meizu_pro_5_handson-review-1309.php
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/reviews/meizu-pro-5-first-impressions-743819

Any takers?

 

Whooo and Apple complained about Samsung having iPhone ripoffs...I've never heard of this company....guess small boutique smartphone manufacturers are popping up all over China..

 

I dunno, if they were going straight for iPhone ripoff, I'd expect a corner-mounted camera and circular fingerprint reader, not a center-mounted camera module and an oval-shaped fingerprint reader (both of which are used on Samsung but not Apple phones). Also, the cross-section But then it's not an obvious Samsung knock-off because there's no glass back and the camera module is round, not square. The rounded edges (which I personally disike because they're slippery) have shown up on a number of phones besides just the iPhone recently, including some HTC Desire models. Overall, the design feels very familiar and unremarkable to me, but I wouldn't call it a knockoff of any one phone in particular.

 

I think the most iPhone-esque design element of the Pro 5 is the bottom section with the two small screws and the speaker grill on the right. Meizu is not afraid or ashamed to admit that they're following other big players' example, and the way they go about it could be a bit of a problem since they, just like Xiaomi, plan to sell phones in the US sometime in the future.

As for the company itself, Meizu is not a new player. They started off making MP3 players before they moved on to phones in 2009 with the Meizu M8. I'm not sure if they've made it past the spot of the 13th largest smartphone manufacturer in China yet, but a lot of growth is expected. They sold 8.9 million phones the first six months of this year and are predicted to reach the milestone of 20 million by the end of the year. Another indicator of their growth is how Alibaba decided to invest $590 million in Meizu earlier this year. To me, expected growth, along with how the company manages to make exclusive hardware deals, means that Meizu is a company that's worth keeping an eye on.

Onto the Pro 5, Meizu often recieves top marks for their hardware, especially for the feel of quality and workmanship of their metal chassis. What has been a sore point is the lack of Flyme OS developement. The MX5 poses most of the issues the MX4 and MX4 Pro had before it. For Meizu's sake, I hope they've put a lot of thought and resources into Flyme OS 5.0, because a journalist attending the Pro 5's launch event was quick to point out familiar camera behaviour:

Then there's the AMOLED panel. It sounds like the panel used in the MX5 is capable aside from being on the dim side, but Meizu, according to PhoneArena, went with a very unnatural colour balance. Even if people that went hands-on with the Pro 5 praise the display, closer examination could reveal a colour profile similar to the MX5's.

The Pro 5's spec sheet leaves little doubt, and Flyme OS 5.0 could be a major revision that addresses previous shortcomings, but before serious reviews are out, I don't think there's enough information available to pass a verdict.

 

Meizu has been around for a long time, they're just not a big player in North America.