Meizu smartphones are gradually gaining popularity, plus the company works closely with MediaTek and is funded Alibaba group. So now Meizu can afford to release more models. Meizu MX5 is the latest flagship model at the moment. The release of the Pro version was also expected, however, judging by the latest data, Meizu decided to change its strategy somewhat and there will be no new models in the near future, and something else will appear a little later.
What is it?
Meizu MX5 is the current flagship of the manufacturer with a large screen and powerful hardware, in addition to this, the company decided to make not the frame, but the entire body out of metal.
Why is he interesting?
In Meizu MX5, the manufacturer decided to move away from its usual practice of using IPS screens and installed a 5.5-inch AMOLED. The processor uses a powerful 64-bit eight-core MediaTek Helio X10 solution with 3 GB of RAM, which in total should give impressive performance. The case is almost completely made of metal, non-separable. As the main camera, the company decided to again use the Sony module at 20.7 megapixels, but also added a laser rangefinder, which should speed up autofocus. Like all modern top models, the MX5 is equipped with a fingerprint scanner.
What's included?
The smartphone will be delivered in a white box familiar to Meizu. The Chinese variant will be in a flat square like earlier models, the international version will be in a more standard rectangular one. The smartphone itself is traditionally located in the "book", it also describes the main features. A smartphone in such a book came to us for review, without the top box and the rest of the kit. The set will be standard: a smartphone, a charger, a cable, a paperclip to remove the SIM card tray and instructions. In some variants there will still be a simple headset. Judging by her appearance - only for show.
What does it look like?
The smartphone has retained the main features of the latest Meizu models, especially the MX4 Pro and M2 note. One of the main features is the metal case (more precisely, most of it). At the presentation, Meizu paid special attention to this and claimed that the creation of a 21-gram frame takes a 250-gram bar of T6063 aluminum, which is processed for a month and goes through 68 processing steps in total. Machining, nano casting, precision machining, polishing, anodizing and diamond cutting. At the same time, the accuracy of execution reaches 0.01 mm. Sounds serious and promising, but back to the look.
The front panel is covered with a sheet of Gorilla Glass 3 with a slot for the earpiece and a fingerprint scanner. Under the glass is a 5.5-inch display, a set of sensors, a front camera and an LED indicator. The bezels on the sides of the screen are thin, as befits a modern flagship. Along the perimeter, the front panel is surrounded by a thin metal edge with a chamfer, which protrudes just a little above the glass. Black and white front options will be available.
Previously, in Meizu, the role of the indicator was performed by a round touch button under the screen. In the latest models, this solution was abandoned and it is now separate, above the screen:
Under the display is a mechanical button, it is also a fingerprint scanner mTouch 2.0. It is slightly recessed into the body and has an oval shape. On the MX4 Pro, this button was more rectangular. A touch performs the "back" function, a press "home", and a long press locks the smartphone:
All edges have a rounded profile. On the left side there is a tray for two SIM-cards:
The bottom end is familiar to the company's smartphones. It has a MicroUSB connector, four round holes for an external speaker, and a microphone hole:
Meizu listened to users and moved the power button to the side. In the MX5, it is located on the right, along with the volume rocker. I will not say, but it looks like they are also metal (or the paint for the body is very accurately matched). They fit well and are comfortable to use:
Top - 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone for noise reduction:
As we have said, almost entirely the back cover is made of metal. The exception is plastic inserts at the top and bottom, antennas are brought out there. The case looks really very cool and expensive. The metal is very well processed, it does not leave prints and stains. Yes, and leave a scratch on it - you need to try hard:
The camera module looks familiar to Meizu: a large lens and a flash under it. In this case, the lens protrudes slightly above the body and has a metal frame. The flash is double, and under it is a laser rangefinder for fast autofocus:
Plastic inserts differ slightly in color from the main part of the case, and at the junction there is a small furrow, which is felt to the touch, but it cannot be said that it is somehow annoying:
The tray has two nanoSIM card slots. Unfortunately, you cannot insert a MicroSD here instead of one of the SIMs, as in the M2 Note or some Huawei smartphones:
The smartphone is perfectly assembled, monolithic, looks beautiful and expensive. There is no talk of any deflections or backlashes. There is simply nothing to stumble here. Meizu MX5 has a very good body shape and compact (as for a 5.5-inch smartphone) dimensions and lies perfectly in the hand.
How is his screen?
For the first time, Meizu decided to use instead of an IPS screen SuperAMOLED manufactured by Samsung with the same PenTile, Diamond sub-pixel arrangement. The solution is controversial: not without its advantages and disadvantages. Blacks in the MX5 are truly black, very high contrast levels, lower power consumption than IPS and very rich colors. The downsides include a lower maximum brightness level than good IPS, some greenishness at low brightness at an angle, and the fuzzy fonts inherent in PenTile.
The screen resolution is 1920x1080, the pixel density is 401 ppi, which is absolutely enough with such a diagonal. The picture looks great and smooth, the colors are very juicy and bright. By eye, from AMOLED problems, I noticed only a minimal greenish white color at low brightness when viewed from an angle. A very special case, so it cannot be called a significant problem. For obvious reasons, the smartphone has no problems with viewing angles:
At the time of testing fell just very hot and sunny days. Despite formally far from the record maximum brightness, there are absolutely no problems with reading information, there is even no need to strain and look closely. The light sensor works very adequately:
The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, but this does not give a 100% guarantee against damage and a scratch can be delivered with a strong desire, which was successfully done with a test sample before me. The oleophobic coating is good: fingers glide well, fingerprints remain within reasonable limits and are easily removed. Supports multi-touch up to 10 touches:
The declared maximum display brightness is 350 cd / m 2 , the colorimeter showed a little more: 373.623 cd / m 2 , contrast indicators are familiar to AMOLED (in the table below). The color reproduction is good, but not perfect: there is a slight bias towards the cold side, which can be corrected using the utility:
Measurement results
Comparison with competitors:
| Device name | Brightness of the white field, cd/m2 | Black field brightness cd/m2 | Contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meizu MX5 | 373.623 | 0 | ∞ |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 4 | 345.91 | 0 | ∞ |
| Meizu MX4 Pro | 509.474 | 0.409 | 1246:1 |
| Huawei Mate7 | 394.85 | 0.4 | 987:1 |
| LG G3 | 355 | 0.61 | 582:1 |
How is the smartphone doing with performance and autonomy?
Meizu usually uses Samsung Exynos or top-end MediaTek processors. Meizu MX5 is no exception: it has a powerful 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795T) and 3 GB. In some tests, it loses to competitors, although this may be software optimization problems, because in practice it works perfectly, nothing slows down, and the most interesting thing is that it does not get very hot, even with a metal case. Some stoves with less powerful Qualcomm options heat up significantly more. Programmatically provides a choice of performance mode, it really works:
All modern games run fast, without brakes at maximum settings:
The smartphone will be sold with 16 or 32 GB of internal memory, there is no microSD slot, as we recall. So, if you want to play games and listen to music, then the 32 GB option would be a more reasonable choice. With the work of GPS in the smartphone, everything is fine, a cold start takes a minimum of time:
The 3150 mAh battery is non-removable, things are going very well with autonomy. With half an hour of calls a day, always on 3G or Wi-Fi and synchronization of all available accounts, about an hour of games and half an hour of music, the smartphone lasts more than a day. HD video plays for about 10 hours, so the performance is very good. There is a function mCharge, which allows (in theory) to charge 60% in 40 minutes. In practice, we didn’t have a branded charger, and from a third-party phone it was charged by about 50% in an hour.
The NXP TFA9890 chip is responsible for the sound from the external speaker. It plays loudly and with good quality, but the HTC One and MX4 Pro line is subjectively a little better. The Wolfson solution is responsible for the sound in the headphones. The player reads all common formats, there is an equalizer and the usual Meizu enhancer Dirac HD Sound for the most popular headphone models. As for the quality, the sound is really very good, as for a smartphone, but again, it is minimally inferior to the MX4 Pro. The player itself has the same look:
For those who want to know more
The smartphone uses a 64-bit MediaTek Helio X10 ( MT6795T ) with 8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores that operate at up to 2.2 GHz and a PowerVR G6200 graphics accelerator and 3 GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The smartphone absolutely does not slow down in any tasks and pleases with the fact that it does not get very hot during prolonged loads. In benchmarks, the smartphone gives controversial results, which may be due to the software itself and not the final firmware. At the presentation, they promised 53,000 parrots, in practice it gives out stable 47,000, which is also very good, although I'm sure that with more stable firmware it will be even better:
How user-friendly is the interface?
Over the past year, little has changed in the Flyme shell: the Android version is being completed and updated, we have repeatedly considered the shell in reviews Meizu M2 Note, MX4 and MX4 Pro, so it makes no sense to dwell on it tightly. Our sample was running on version 4.5.2.2I, Android 5.0.1:
As usual, it lacks a separate menu with applications:
The curtain is double, the full option is called by a second swipe or a button in the upper right corner:
Fingerprint settings have not changed since the MX4 Pro, the sensor itself has become really more accurate and faster. The fingerprint is read instantly:
There are a number of pre-installed utility applications, some of them are:
We are regularly asked about the Ukrainian language. Our firmware has it, but so far the quality of localization leaves much to be desired. MIUI has been brought to mind in this regard, so that Flyme will be adequately localized over time:
How are things with the camera?
The main camera received the same Sony IMX220 Exmor RS module at 20.7 megapixels, but now with 6-element optics. F/2.2 aperture, dual LED flash and laser autofocus. The camera focuses really quickly and accurately. It would be interesting to compare this figure with the LG G4, for example. Unfortunately, there was no such possibility. Supports HDR, 4K video, and 100 fps slow motion in HD resolution. Front - 5 megapixels.
The interface hasn't changed much since the MX4 Pro. on the main screen there are buttons for shutter release, video, viewing the previous photo / video, settings and mode buttons. In the settings menu, you can select the resolution of the photo, video, enable HDR, grid, electronic level and self-timer:
Standard mode:
Unfortunately, something went wrong with Youtube and 5 attempts to upload test videos ended with Youtube giving an error. More attempts will be made to fill in, as soon as this happens - they will appear in this section.
In the dry matter
It is worth paying tribute to Chinese engineers: the smartphone has a lot of advantages that far outweigh the disadvantages. Meizu MX5 received a practical, beautiful and comfortable body of a fairly compact size, good performance without overheating, traditionally for Meizu good sound quality, impressive battery life, a very fast and accurate fingerprint scanner and an intelligent camera with fast autofocus. Of the minuses, we can note the lack of a slot for memory cards. We will have available options for 16 and 32 GB, which may not be enough if you actively use your smartphone for games and listening to music. The controversial issue is the AMOLED screen, although this is more of a "taste". The smartphone will go on sale on August 20, the price for 16 GB will be UAH 9,000.
6 reasons to buy Meizu MX5:
- Excellent metal body and build;
- high performance;
- decent battery life;
- high-quality camera with laser autofocus;
- fast and accurate fingerprint scanner;
- good sound quality.
1 reason not to buy Meizu MX5:
- no microSD slot.
| Specifications Meizu MX5 | |
|---|---|
| Display | AMOLED, 5.5 inches, 1920x1080 , 401 ppi, no air gap, Gorilla Glass III |
| Frame | dimensions 149.9x74.7x7.6 mm, weight 149 g |
| CPU | 64-bit MediaTek Helio X10 MT6795T , eight Cortex-A53 cores (2.2 GHz), PowerVR G6200 graphics |
| RAM | 3 GB LPDDR3 |
| Flash memory | 16/32/64 GB |
| Camera | 20.7 MP, laser autofocus, dual flash, 6-element optics, f/2.2 aperture, 4K video recording, 100 fps slow motion video, 5 MP front camera, f/2.0 |
| Wireless technologies | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (dual-band, 2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1LE |
| GPS | GPS, Glonass |
| Battery | 3150 mAh non-removable |
| Operating system | Android 5.0.1 + Flyme 4.5.2.2I (in the test sample) |
| SIM card | 2xNanoSIM |
The new flagship of the Chinese company in a metal case and on the latest Mediatek Helio X10 platform
The popular Chinese smartphone maker Meizu continues to gain momentum, introducing its new products more and more often - now this happens several times a year. The next product, presented at the beginning of last week in Beijing, was the new flagship device Meizu MX5, which led the company's smartphone family.
Representatives of our editorial board managed to attend the event, and it should be noted that the scale was really impressive. Several thousand people gathered in the huge complex of the Beijing International Convention Center, groups of dozens of fans helped warm up the atmosphere, the honor of opening the presentation fell to one of China's most popular crooners, everything was grandiose and pathetic. But it is also worth noting the fact that European journalists among those invited could be counted on the fingers. This is explained by the fact that for Meizu the entry into the international market, which so far does not account for even a few percent of its sales, is still ahead.
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And yet, fame is ahead of the heroes, and those people who, until recently, have not even heard such a name, are starting to talk more and more about the quality of Meizu products. Smartphones of this company really sometimes make up that very rare combination of good quality and favorable price, which is called the "golden mean". Recall at least the M1 Note, excellent in most characteristics, which is still one of the best products in its middle class in terms of price and quality - many are equal to it even now.
The smartphone that will be discussed in today's review is, of course, more expensive, but this is already a completely different level. The flagship device called Meizu MX5 not only became the next top-end product in the mobile market, it was also a kind of work on the mistakes made in its predecessors.
The new flagship Meizu has increased the screen diagonal, the aspect ratio of the display has “corrected” (it has become “like everyone else”), real metal has become an integral component not only of the chassis, but of the entire body, a fingerprint scanner has been added, autonomy has been significantly improved, even better The speakers began to sound and the camera to shoot. As for the dimensions and weight, they are almost a record for such a large screen, a device with a 5.5-inch display really looks and feels almost miniature.
But it was not without a fly in the ointment: if replacing an IPS screen with an AMOLED with PenTile still looks like just a moot point, then the exclusion from the operating frequencies of the LTE modem, the most common frequency in our country, 2600 MHz, will certainly be considered by domestic users as a "hit below the belt" . And yet, even with such shortcomings, the device turned out to be extremely interesting, and today the readers of our publication will have the opportunity to be among the first to get acquainted with this outstanding smartphone in detail.
Video review
To get started, we suggest watching our video review of Meizu MX5 and LeTV One (X600) smartphones:
Now let's look at the characteristics of new items.
Key Features of Meizu MX5 (Model M575H)
| Meizu MX5 | LeTV One | Nexus 6 | LG G Flex 2 | HTC One M9 | |
| Screen | 5.5″ Super AMOLED | 5.5" IPS | 5.96" AMOLED | 5.5″ P-OLED | 5″ S-LCD 3 |
| Permission | 1920×1080, 401ppi | 1920×1080, 401ppi | 2560×1440, 493 ppi | 1920×1080, 401ppi | 1920×1080, 441ppi |
| SoC | Mediatek MT6795T Octa-core (8x Cortex-A53 @2.2GHz) | Mediatek MT6795 Octa-core (8x Cortex-A53 @2.0GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 (4x Krait 450 @2.7GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0GHz + 4x Cortex-A53) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5GHz) |
| GPU | PowerVR G6200 | PowerVR G6200 | Adreno 420 | Adreno 430 | Adreno 430 |
| RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Flash memory | 16/32/64 GB | 16/32/64 GB | 32/64 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Memory card support | — | — | — | microSD | microSD |
| Operating system | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 5.0 |
| Battery | non-removable, 3150 mAh | non-removable, 3000 mAh | non-removable, 3220 mAh | non-removable, 3000 mAh | non-removable, 2840 mAh |
| cameras | main (20.7 MP; video 4K), front (5 MP) | main (13 MP; video 4K), front (5 MP) | main (13 MP; video 4K), front (2 MP) | main (20.7 MP; video 4K), front (4 MP) | |
| Dimensions and weight | 150×75×7.6mm, 149g | 148×74×9.5mm, 168g | 159×83×10.1mm, 184g | 149×75×9.4mm, 154g | 145×70×9.6mm, 157g |
| average price | N/A | N/A | T-11153512 | T-11883628 | T-12259334 |
- SoC MediaTek MT6795T (Helio X10 Turbo), 2.2 GHz, 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53
- GPU PowerVR G6200 @700 MHz
- Android 5.0 operating system with Flyme 4.5 shell
- Touchscreen display AMOLED, 5.5″, 1920 × 1080, 401 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB, internal memory 16/32/64 GB
- No microSD card support
- Support Nano-SIM (2 pcs.)
- Communication 2G: GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz
- 3G communication: WCDMA 900/2100 MHz
- Data transmission FDD-LTE: 1800/2100 MHz
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct
- Bluetooth 4.0 BLE
- Micro USB 2.0
- GPS (A-GPS), Glonass, BDS
- Camera 20.7 MP, Sony IMX220, autofocus, f/2.2, LED flash
- Camera 5 MP (front), OV5670, f/2.2, fixed focus
- NXP TFA9890 Sound Chip
- Proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic compass, fingerprint sensor
- Battery 3150 mAh
- Dimensions 150×75×7.6 mm
- Weight 149 g
Contents of delivery
Meizu MX5 goes on sale in a package that has already become traditional for this brand: a flat cardboard “book” with three hard sheets and an internal compartment designed to store the smartphone itself is enclosed in an ordinary cardboard box. This unusual way of presenting has been rooted in Meizu since the very first flagships of the MX line.
This time, the bundle was a pleasant surprise: Meizu provided its new flagship not only with the usual charger (5 V, 2 A) and a Micro-USB connecting cable, but also with headphones, which have become a rarity for smartphones today. Headphones, of course, of their own manufacture, and we know that their company really knows how to make good ones, quite successfully selling such models at retail.
Appearance and usability
The design of the new device of the flagship Meizu series can be admired or treated as neutral, but the two most outstanding points must be mentioned without fail. Firstly, Meizu MX5 received a metal case, and this is a rarity for smartphones of this brand. True, the case here is clearly not all-metal, as the developers stated during the presentation: obviously non-metallic elements are cut into the top and bottom at the ends, but still the middle part of the case is really made of real aluminum.
As for the upper and lower segments, it would be strange if they were also made of metal. After all, the antennas here are not brought out into the outer grooves, as in HTC or Apple devices, and a one-piece metal case would shield these elements. And yet, these small lids are made so similar to real metal ones that you can’t tell right off the bat.
And the second point, which should be especially noted in connection with the design, is the unusually miniature dimensions and weight of the device. With a 5.5-inch screen that has already become standard for top smartphones, the Meizu MX5 turns out to be much smaller than the same iPhone 6 Plus, and the weight of less than 150 g is a record for modern flagships with such a display size.
Due to such outstanding indicators as an unusually small case thickness, weight, and overall dimensions of the case, the Meizu MX5 smartphone is very comfortable to hold in your hand. The metal surface here is matte, slightly rough, there is no gloss at all, so the device does not slip out of the hands and is not covered with fingerprints. The extremely narrow frame around the screen does not cause any discomfort.
Since the back cover of the Meizu MX5 case is non-removable, the appropriate method of attaching cards is used here: a metal farm with SIM cards inserted into it enters the side slot, and it is removed by pressing a hidden button using a paper clip or a complete key.
The smartphone supports two Nano-SIM SIM cards, but the Meizu developers, as usual, did not provide for memory expansion through microSD cards at all. It is logical that in this case it is possible to choose a modification with a different amount of internal memory (16, 32, 64 GB), and you can also connect external flash drives via an OTG adapter.
On the right side of the case, mechanical keys for blocking and volume are habitually located. Large metallized buttons are not far from each other, they protrude quite strongly from the surface of the case, they are easy to find blindly, they have an elastic and distinct move. There are no claims in general to these elements.
The main speaker of the Meizu MX5 is not placed on the back surface, but on the bottom end, so that the sound of the device lying on the table is not muffled at all. The end is beautifully designed in the style of the iPhone, there are also two shiny metal screws screwed in on both sides of the Micro-USB connector, and the grill covering the speaker is made in the form of several large round holes.
The upper end is given over to a minijack (3.5 mm) for headphones, a second, auxiliary microphone is placed next to it. The connectors are not equipped with plugs, since the device does not have protection against moisture and dust.
On the back surface, one can note the presence of a laser rangefinder for measuring the distance to the subject of photography, combined with a single unit with a two-segment multi-colored LED flash. The large round window of the main camera located next to it is slightly raised above the surface and covered with protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass.
At the bottom of the front panel there is an equally interesting element: it is a mechanical key with a fingerprint scanner built into it. The button reads the fingerprint at the same time as pressing, unlocking the screen. The very process of reading the fingerprint and setting the lock are identical to those in the iPhone: there is no need to drag your finger along the button, a point touch is enough. Naturally, you can add several fingers for recognition, and for reliability, you will be asked to come up with a code. Recognition is always clear, we have not recorded erroneous clicks. The fingerprint scanner is implemented in the new version of mTouch 2.0 with an improved controller and increased detection accuracy - just like in the MX4 Pro model.
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It should be noted that in the light version of the front panel, this oval button is additionally surrounded by a golden rim, and this is clearly visible. The black panel has no rim around the button, it merges with the general background and becomes visible only at a certain angle.
As for the color options, in this regard, the Meizu MX5 turned out to be somewhat more unexpected: now there is neither dark gray nor light gray - instead, both modifications have the same color of the back of the case and differ only in white or black color of the front panel . There is also a third, golden version of the color of the rear surface, it has a front panel under the glass is also white.
Screen
One of the most significant surprises during the release of Meizu MX5 turned out to be related to the screen. The fact is that all previous Meizu flagships were famous for their excellent displays, these were always some of the best IPS screens on the market. And suddenly the developers announced that they are releasing their next flagship with a Super AMOLED screen manufactured by Samsung. During the presentation, such an unexpected turn, of course, was presented by representatives of the company as a boon for the user, although the replacement of excellent IPS displays with AMOLED, and even with PenTile, was perceived by many fans of the brand not so unambiguously.
The screen dimensions of the Meizu MX5 are 68 × 121 mm, the diagonal is 5.5 inches, and the resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels. The width of the frame from the edge of the screen to the edge of the case is once again record-breaking small: from the sides it is less than 3 mm, from above and below - about 15 mm. The frame is really very narrow, but it does not cause discomfort, since the well-thought-out shape of the case with one-sided rounding of the side edges prevents accidental pressing on the edges of the screen.
The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment based on the operation of the light sensor. The multi-touch technology here allows you to handle 10 simultaneous touches. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using the proximity sensor. The screen can be unlocked by double tapping on the glass, or by simply swiping anywhere on the screen.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Meizu MX5, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Meizu MX5 is slightly lighter (brightness in photographs is 106 versus 104 for the Nexus 7) and has a brownish tint. Note that the reflection from bright objects on the screen of the Meizu MX5 has a pale bluish halo a little more pronounced in the transverse direction. The doubling of reflected objects in the Meizu MX5 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the screen layers (OGS type screen - One Glass Solution). Due to the smaller number of borders (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, even better than the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.
With manual brightness control and with a white field displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was approximately 340 cd / m², the minimum was 1.2 cd / m². The maximum brightness is not very high, but you need to take into account the excellent anti-glare properties of the screen and the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, readability during the day in the sun is at a fairly good level. The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without any problems even in complete darkness. There is an automatic brightness control according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. This function depends on the position of the brightness slider. If it is at 100%, then in complete darkness, the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 120 cd / m² (too light), in an office lit by artificial light (about 400 lux) it sets to 170 cd / m² (normal), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to a maximum - up to 340 cd / m² (which is what you need). Brightness slider at 50% - the values are as follows: 37, 95 and 340 cd / m² (from our point of view, acceptable values), at 0% - 2.4, 12 and 340 cd / m² (the logic can be traced). In general, the automatic brightness adjustment function works adequately.
Only at a low level of brightness is there a significant modulation at a frequency of 237 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for several brightness values:
It can be seen that at maximum and medium brightness, the modulation amplitude is minimal, its frequency is approximately 59 Hz (screen refresh rate), so there is no visible flicker. However, with a strong decrease in brightness, modulation with a large relative amplitude appears. Therefore, at low brightness, the presence of modulation can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses an AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphoto:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
On the fragment above, you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), while repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without gaps and overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution based on green subpixels, on the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the sub-pixels in this variant is similar to the variant in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen and some other newer devices from Samsung (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some uneven contrasting borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to the high resolution, they have a minimal effect on image quality.
The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, the white color, when deviated even at small angles, acquires a light blue-green tint, and at some angles it turns a little pink, but the black color remains just black at any angles. It is so black that the contrast parameter is simply not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is good. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Meizu MX5 and the second comparison participant, while the brightness of the screens is initially set to about 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. A white field is perpendicular to the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:
The color balance of the screens is slightly different and the colors of the Meizu MX5 are oversaturated and unnatural. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen.
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Meizu MX5 at an angle is noticeably higher. And the white box:
The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (in order to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to the previous two photos), but in the case of the Meizu MX5, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Meizu MX5 screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device at least at a slight angle.
Switching the state of the elements of the matrix is \u200b\u200bpractically instantaneous, but at the on edge (and less often off) there may be a step about 17 ms wide (which corresponds to the screen refresh rate). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back when the field is displayed in full screen:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use it is difficult to see these artifacts. On the contrary, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “twitchy” movements.
The gamma curve constructed from 32 points with an equal interval according to the numerical value of the shade of gray did not reveal a blockage either in the shadows or in the highlights. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.27, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve practically does not deviate from the power dependence:
Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image: it decreases for light images in general and increases for dark ones. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond slightly to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential grayscale output almost on the entire screen. There is no possibility of choosing a color correction profile, and in particular a profile with hardware color gamut reduction, in this case, as a result, the color gamut of the Meizu MX5 is very wide:
The spectra of the components (that is, the spectra of pure red, green, and blue colors) are very well separated:
Note that on screens with a wide color gamut without proper color correction, normal images optimized for sRGB devices look unnaturally saturated. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good. The color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) throughout the entire significant part of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of the color balance:
(The darkest areas of the gray scale in most cases can be ignored, since there the color balance does not matter much, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
This device has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the hue warmer-colder.
However, even with the default value, the color temperature is close to the standard value, so there is no point in touching this setting.
Let's summarize. The screen does not have a very high maximum brightness, but it has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating and close to standard color balance. At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected on the screen), good white field uniformity, noticeably smaller than that of LCDs, a drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include flickering of the screen, which manifests itself at low brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience fatigue as a result. The negative properties include an excessively wide color gamut, which makes ordinary images look unnatural. However, overall the screen quality is high.
Sound
In terms of sound, there are no complaints about the Meizu MX5. There is only one external speaker here, but the device equipped with a separate sound chip produces sound of sufficient quality for comfortable listening both through it and through headphones. This is not the level of Oppo or HTC, the smartphone does not abound with excessive volume and deep bass, but still the sound is loud enough, moderately saturated with all frequencies, bright, the sound at any volume level remains clear, without distortion and impurities, low frequencies are partly present, though and not fully.
To play music, a proprietary player is used. In its settings, it is possible to use an equalizer with preset values. To enhance your headphone sound quality, you can choose from several different Dirac HD Sound system profiles for the most popular headphone models.
The device is able to record telephone conversations from the line, for this it is enough to press the corresponding button in the interface of the telephone application right during the call. There is no FM radio support in the smartphone.
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Camera
The hero of the review has complete order with the cameras. Meizu MX5 is equipped with two decent digital camera modules with a resolution of 20.7 and 5 megapixels. The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel OmniVision OV5670 sensor and an f/2.2 aperture lens without autofocus and flash. The maximum resolution when shooting video on the front camera is 1920 × 1080 pixels. You can also shoot on the front camera using the hardware volume control key, which is convenient when creating self-portraits. The quality of pictures for the level of a selfie is more than decent.
The main camera in the Meizu MX5, contrary to expectations, was equipped with the same familiar 20.7-megapixel Sony IMX220 sensor with a six-lens lens and f/2.2 aperture. The camera has its own laser rangefinder, very fast autofocus and dual-color LED flash. The lens is covered with protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Video recording is carried out with a resolution of up to 4K.
The camera control menu has not changed at all since the previous models in the series. There are several modes: in addition to automatic and manual, the user is given the opportunity to additionally use panoramic, portrait, night modes, as well as more specific ones, such as manual focus change, macro photography, and even a special built-in barcode recognition mode. There is a "Focus" mode, after shooting in which, already on the finished picture, you can touch different areas in turn to focus on objects that were at different distances from the camera during shooting. Shooting modes are changed by scrolling with a horizontal gesture, and depending on the selected mode, additional settings that are inherent in each specific selected mode pop up at the bottom.
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The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 4K, the quality of shooting is excellent. It is a pity that there is no possibility of shooting in a more interesting combination of size and quality of video in 1080p mode at 60 fps, but there is a Slo-mo mode: 720p, 100 fps. Sample test videos are shown below.
- Video #1 (82 MB, 3840× [email protected] fps)
- Video #2 (22 MB, 1280×720, Slo-mo)
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Night shooting works relatively well with the camera. |
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Good close-up for long exposure, low light and high ISO. |
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Another example of good indoor work. |
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The camera copes well with shooting difficult objects, without unnecessary artifacts. |
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With good lighting, the pictures are obtained at the level of good compacts. In addition, thanks to the accurate noise reduction, the camera manages to preserve a lot of details. |
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Car numbers vary without any problems. |
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The color of the sky is not very even, however, due to the fine grain of the noise reduction, this is almost imperceptible. |
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An example of a decent indoor shot for a smartphone. |
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Even small inscriptions on signs can be disassembled if desired. |
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The macro works well for the camera, but only in the central part of the frame. |
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The camera works well with details on all shots. |
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The text worked out well only in the center of the frame, while sharpness drops towards the edges, although not very much. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench according to our methodology.
Meizu MX5 managed to get a very decent Sony sensor. Despite the seemingly stock software of the MediaTek Camera Application module, the camera works almost perfectly. Its main advantage is good performance at high values of light sensitivity in low light. In addition, due to the high resolution, the noise reduction manages to get by with a fairly fine grain during processing. As a result, many small details are perfectly worked out.
However, the camera also has disadvantages. When shooting macro, the focus “moves out” a little, and blur zones appear along the edges of the frame - not very strong, but unpleasant. It is difficult to say what exactly is the reason for this behavior, but it is possible that such a flaw can be corrected programmatically or is a marriage of a particular sample. Checking a smartphone for the presence of this defect when buying is not difficult.
Unfortunately, the MX5 fell short of the famous flagships in terms of camera, which is confirmed by the laboratory test. In general, the camera will cope well with both documentary and artistic shooting.
Telephone part and communications
The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, there is also support for LTE FDD, but, unfortunately, Meizu MX5 can only work at frequencies of 1800/2100 MHz, and does not support the most common frequency of 2600 MHz, that is, with 4G the device will work in Russia far from everywhere and not with all operators.
The remaining network capabilities of the smartphone are standard: NFC is not supported, but there is Bluetooth 4.0 that supports work with wearable gadgets such as smart watches and bracelets; supports two Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The Micro-USB 2.0 connector supports the connection of external devices (USB Host, USB OTG), so you can connect flash drives and mice with keyboards to this port. The navigation module works not only with GPS (with A-GPS), but also with domestic Glonass. There are no complaints about the operation of the navigation module, the first satellites are detected during the first minute during a cold start. Among the sensors of the smartphone there is a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the digital compass works in navigation programs.
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The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is also carried out immediately by the first letters in contacts. Swype seamless swipe input is not supported by the stock keyboard, but the device comes pre-installed with an alternative third-party keyboard TouchPal with a wider range of settings and features. For the convenience of working with a large screen with one hand, the Smart Touch function is standard for Meizu smartphones. Enabling this mode brings up a virtual round multi-function button on the screen, which, among other things, allows you to move the entire home screen halfway down, just like in the Apple iPhone 6.
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The smartphone supports two SIM-cards. When making a call, you can select the desired card, but you cannot pre-assign one of the SIM cards as the main one for organizing voice calls or sending SMS messages. A SIM card in any slot can work with 3G / 4G networks, however, only one of the cards can operate in this mode at the same time. To change the assignments of card slots, you do not need to swap places - this can be done directly from the phone menu. Working with two SIM-cards is organized according to the usual Dual SIM Dual Standby standard, when both cards can be in active standby mode, but cannot work at the same time - there is only one radio module.
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OS and software
The system uses the latest Google Android software platform version 5.0.1, but the proprietary features of the fifth version of the LolliPop OS with its Material Design, interactive tiles, its own notification curtain, a promising menu of recent open programs, etc. cannot be found here, the interface has been completely modified on your own - the Flyme OS shell is used. The proprietary graphical user interface has the latest serial number 4.5, however, there are almost no innovations, the Flyme shell serial number update is mainly due to the fact that it works with the new version of the Android OS, but otherwise remains almost the same in appearance and capabilities as in previous models of the series.
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Traditionally, much attention has been paid to gesture control. With gestures, you need to open the menu of recently used applications, clear the smartbar and remove it from the screen. That is, otherwise than with a swipe from the bottom up from the bottom edge of the screen, you can’t enter the menu of the last open applications, which is inconvenient. But it is even more inconvenient to close all the programs in it at the same time: if the finger gets at least a little bit in the wrong place, nothing happens, so training is necessary. This whole idea with a lower smartbar is extremely inconvenient, and what is most offensive, users have to suffer with it only because Meizu once headed for copying the iPhone, so to this day they refuse hardware control buttons (except one).
But the use of the central key here is not limited to a simple press: for example, you can return to the previous menu by briefly touching it - this compensates for the lack of a separate hardware back button. You can unlock the screen by swiping anywhere on the display or by double-tapping. You can also immediately unlock the screen with a simultaneous transition to a specific program (camera, for example), but again, you need to remember in which direction which shift works. The aforementioned Smart Touch function with its virtual button, which can be placed anywhere on the screen and repelled from it when using specific gestures, also adds variety to the work with gestures.
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Performance
The Meizu MX5 hardware platform is based on the latest and most powerful of the entire family of MediaTek single-chip systems, and it uses an overclocked modification - MT6795T, called Helio X10 Turbo. This 64-bit platform is made on a 28 nm process technology, it includes eight 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz.
The modern PowerVR G6200 video accelerator is responsible for processing graphics in the SoC. The amount of RAM of the smartphone is a decent 3 GB. For the needs of the user in the device is available 16, 32 or 64 GB of built-in flash array. The memory cannot be expanded by installing microSD cards, but the device supports connecting external flash drives to the Micro-USB port in OTG mode.
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Meizu MX5 is not the first device to be released on the latest and most productive of the modern SoCs from MediaTek. The Chinese company LeTV has already launched its own LeTV One smartphone based on the Helio X10 platform, and it should be noted that in comparison with it, the results of the Meizu novelty were surprising. Perhaps the developers slightly “strangled” the powerful processor so that the metal case does not heat up too much, or the firmware in the Meizu test samples is still damp, but the Meizu MX5 is on the same platform and with a higher core frequency (2.2 GHz versus 2.0 GHz for LeTV One) showed in all tests the results are the same or even slightly worse than LeTV One.
In comparison with the main opponent, the top Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 platform, the results of Helio X10 were also not impressive. In the comprehensive AnTuTu test, both platforms show parity, and in graphics and browser tests, the Helio X10 performance was noticeably lower than that of the Snapdragon 810. Summing up, we can state that if mid-range and entry-level platforms such as MT6752 and ”in all tests, competing analogues of Qualcomm (Snapdragon 615 and 410), then at the top level for MediaTek everything is not so rosy - at least, this is how it turns out according to the results of the first signs on the new SoC Helio X10 (MT6795).
Be that as it may, the hardware filling of the Meizu MX5 smartphone is in any case productive enough to cope with any tasks set by demanding programs and heavy 3D games. In this regard, the smartphone will remain relevant for a long time.
Testing in the latest versions of AnTuTu and GeekBench 3 comprehensive benchmarks:
For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing a smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks in tables. Several other devices from different segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the received dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.
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Graphics subsystem testing in 3DMark, GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark gaming benchmarks:
When testing in 3DMark for the highest performing smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (due to which the speed can rise above 60 fps).
| Meizu MX5 (Mediatek MT6795T) |
LeTV One (Mediatek MT6795) |
HTC One M9 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810) |
LG G Flex 2 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810) |
Nexus 6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 805) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better) |
Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better) |
16390 | 16750 | 20538 | 24102 | 23234 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen) | 27 fps | 26 fps | 37 fps | 46 fps | 23 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen) | 27 fps | 27 fps | 36fps | 46 fps | 29 fps |
| Bonsai Benchmark | 3966 (57fps) | 3874 (55 fps) | 4092 (58fps) | 3613 (52 fps) | 3633 (52 fps) |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them depend significantly on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
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thermal images
Below is a thermal image of the back surface (top right in the image; the lighter, the higher the temperature), obtained after 10 minutes of running a battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:
It can be seen that the heating is higher in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. However, localization is weak, as the metal back of the case distributes heat well. Also in the picture, plastic inserts are clearly visible at the top and bottom, which, due to low thermal conductivity, have a temperature significantly lower than the metal surface adjacent to them. According to the heat chamber, the maximum temperature was 41 degrees Celsius, which is the average temperature for this test among modern smartphones.
Video playback
To test the "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.
According to the test results, just like the previous models of the series, the next Meizu flagship was pleasantly surprised by the presence of hardware support for the AC3 sound decoder, but it could not play videos in the XviD container without using a third-party player. But even in a third-party MX Player, in order to successfully play them, you will need to switch to the additional Hardware+ decoding mode.
| Format | container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Regular video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | not playable | |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally with decoder Hardware+ | not playable |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280x720 3000Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280x720 4000Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920x1080 8000Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
Video output features tested Alexey Kudryavtsev.
Video playback
We did not find the MHL interface, as well as Mobility DisplayPort in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output frames of video files with different parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In tests, we used the MX Player video player in Hardware mode. The test results are summarized in the table:
Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.
According to the frame output criterion, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) to be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. Except for files with 60 fps, in which case one frame is skipped about once per second due to a non-standard screen refresh rate (approximately 59 Hz). When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in its original resolution. On the test worlds, the features of PenTile appear - the vertical world through the pixel looks like a grid, on the horizontal world with stripes through the pixel there is a typical greenishness. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows, only a couple of shades closest to black do not differ from it in brightness, in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.
Battery life
The Meizu MX5 has a 3150 mAh non-removable battery worthy of any modern flagship, and it should be noted that in terms of autonomy, the Meizu smartphone significantly outperformed its rival LeTV One on the same platform. And in general, for a smartphone with a huge Full HD screen and top-end hardware stuffing, the Meizu MX5 unexpectedly showed very good autonomy results - much better than the previous model in the line (MX4). In principle, this once again confirms the suspicions that either we are dealing with raw firmware (in terms of achieving maximum performance), or developers from Meizu somehow deliberately “strangled” the productive platform, but in any case, this level of autonomy is not may not be happy. Naturally, it is possible, if necessary, to use the power saving mode provided in the smartphone.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D game mode | |
| Meizu MX5 | 3150 mAh | 15:00 | 11:00 a.m. | 4h 10m |
| LeTV One | 3000 mAh | 10:30 | 8h 20m | 3h 50m |
| HTC One M9 | 2840 mAh | 11:00 a.m. | 8h 20m | 3h 50m |
| Samsung Galaxy S6 | 2550 mAh | 20:00 | 12:00 p.m. | 4 a.m. |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | 2600 mAh | 22h 10m | 12:00 p.m. | 3h 20m |
| Samsung Note 4 | 3220 mAh | 10:30 | 8:30 a.m. | 3h 50m |
| Google Nexus 6 | 3220 mAh | 18:00 | 10:30 | 3h 40m |
| Lenovo Vibe X2 | 2300 mAh | 13:00 | 6 a.m. | 3h 15m |
| Meizu MX4 | 3100 mAh | 12:00 p.m. | 8h 40m | 3h 45m |
| Meizu MX4 Pro | 3350 mAh | 16:00 | 8h 40m | 3h 30m |
| Sony Xperia Z3 | 3100 mAh | 20:00 | 10:00 a.m. | 4h 50m |
Our own tests in the most common modes of use showed that continuous reading in FBReader (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness set to 100 cd / m²) lasted 15 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and with continuous viewing video in high quality (720p) with the same level of brightness through a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted at least 11 hours. In the 3D gaming mode, the smartphone confidently worked for more than 4 hours.
The smartphone supports proprietary mCharge fast charging technology, in which the device is able to charge the battery up to 25% in the first 10 minutes, and up to 60% in 40 minutes. The full charging time is less than 1.5 hours.
Outcome
As for the cost of the new flagship, it has not yet been finally determined for our market, but for the Chinese market it is 1799 yuan for the junior model, which in terms of rubles is about 16.5 thousand. This is a very attractive figure, but at such a price, an ordinary retail buyer is unlikely to receive this device, especially a Russian one. According to rumors, the device will be officially presented on the Russian market at a price of 26 thousand rubles.
Meizu's next flagship came out not just good: the main thing is that the new model can rightly be called a successful work on the bugs. Almost everything that was unsuccessfully implemented in previous models of the series has been corrected, refined and improved here. The smartphone received a practical and at the same time cute stylish metal case, the quality of materials and assembly are on top. A good large screen, an improved camera, excellent sound and autonomy, the presence of truly flagship features, such as a fingerprint scanner and a laser rangefinder, complete the rosy picture. The only noticeable disadvantage for the domestic user can be considered the absence of the most common LTE 2600 MHz frequency in Russia, but at such a declared price this is unlikely to stop the majority of thoughtful buyers looking for the best value for money - after all, in this regard, the Meizu MX5 satisfies most of the requirements like no other .
During the presentation of the Meizu MX5, the company said that the model was developed with a focus not on performance, but on user needs. The approach is sound, because in the current conditions, manufacturers have access to the same components, and to put them in the spotlight, it is no longer enough just to offer a fast processor or a high-resolution camera. We need interesting features, and not just for show, but useful ones. Let's find out what's special about the MX5.
Our dear reader, remember that only MyMeizu.ru and PixelPhone.ru are officially selling Meizu smartphones in Russia. There is a guarantee, after-sales service and cool accessories :)
Specifications Meizu MX5:
- Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA (900/2100 MHz), FDD-LTE (Band 1, 3)
- Platform (at the time of announcement): Flyme 4.5 based on Android 5.0 Lollipop
- Display: 5.5", 1920 x 1080 pixels, Super AMOLED, 401 ppi, contrast ratio 10,000:1, brightness 350 nits, Gorilla Glass 3
- Camera: 20.7 MP, autofocus, dual multi-tone LED flash, laser autofocus, 6-lens optics f/2.2, 1/2.3" Sony Exmor IMX220 sensor, video recording [email protected], [email protected], Gorilla Glass 3
- Front camera: 5 MP, f/2.0
- Processor: 8 cores Cortex-A53, 2.2 GHz, MediaTek Helio X10 MT6795T
- Graphics chip: PowerVR G6200 @ 700MHz
- RAM: 3 GB LPDDR3
- Internal memory: 16/32/64 GB
- Memory card: no
- Navigation: GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, BDS
- WiFi (802.11b/g/n/ac)
- Bluetooth 4.1 BLE
- microUSB
- 3.5mm jack
- Battery: non-removable, 3150 mAh
- Dimensions: 149.9 x 74.7 x 7.6mm
- Weight: 149g
Video review and unboxing
Design and equipment
The test sample MX5 came from a demo batch for journalists and it differs from the commercial one in a kit. In an impromptu book indicating the main advantages, there is a smartphone. Under it there is a “pocket” with documentation and a needle for the SIM tray. Even lower is the microUSB cable, charging (2A) and EP-21HD headphones. Unfortunately, the headset will not be commercially available. I also note that the Chinese versions come without a box - in the form of a book with a cardboard cover.
The company has been moving towards an all-metal case for quite a long time, timidly using it either in a frame or in a frame. "In pursuit of technological excellence," it takes Meizu 30 days to produce a 21-gram aluminum case (T6063 brand) from a 250-gram bar. The conversion process includes 68 steps, assuming an accuracy of 0.01 mm (10 µm). Four-axis CNC machines are used at all stages of metal processing, eliminating the influence of the human factor and guaranteeing the highest fit. It takes more than 40 hours to polish and paint.
At the presentation, the company paid quite a lot of attention to the production of a smartphone, and on the website devoted a whole section to this. And for good reason, as the chassis has become one of the MX5's greatest strengths. You won’t surprise anyone with the material itself now (well, metal and metal, what’s wrong with it, even if budgets from little-known Chinese firms have it), but the implementation is commendable. The new MX5 is really well built, has no cracks, no squeaks, no backlash, no dents. It is light (149 g for a 5.5” device is not much), thin (7.6 mm), has narrow bezels and small indents, and fits comfortably in the hand. To the touch, the MX5 feels flagship and looks expensive, but it tends to get dirty from wet hands (like the case of the iPhone 6/6 Plus). At the same time, not the entire rear area is metal - there are plastic inserts for antennas at the top and bottom. Between them and the body are strips processed with a diamond cutter, painted with a special colored varnish. In the press photo, the entire back is the same shade, but the demo has slightly darker polymer inserts, which does not feel uniform. Perhaps other color schemes do not have such a nuance, or maybe the technical process has been debugged in commercial samples. By the way, there are four colors in total: gold with a golden back, white with a silver back, black with a dark gray back and black with a silver back (our case).
Meizu has completely moved away from the touch mug, promoting a multifunctional mechanical key. The mBack button is built into budget models, and older models get mTouch. The capabilities of the keys are similar (the action is "back" by touch without pressing, "home" is performed by pressing with a click and "lock" by pressing with a second hold), but mTouch additionally has a finger scanner. The MX4 Pro has the first revision of mTouch, and the MX5 has got an improved one - mTouch 2.0. The finger scanner is connected to the key via a stainless steel plate on the baseplate behind the screen. Between the main button module and the display, there is a silicone gel lining to prevent moisture from getting inside. According to Meizu, the control has not only become simpler and more convenient, but also faster (reading speed is only 0.48 s), more accurate (scanner resolution has increased by 81%), and also more durable (the resource involves more than 300 thousand clicks). Actually, everything that the manufacturer claims corresponds to the key in the MX5 - the fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate, the button is convenient in interaction with the shell. Personally, I have no regrets about leaving the circle in the past.
Consider the arrangement of elements in the body. Above the screen are light and distance sensors, an LED indicator, and a 5-megapixel front camera. Below it is the mTouch 2.0 button. On the left is a tray with two nano-SIMs (unfortunately, it is not universal, like the M2 Note tray, which can optionally accept one SIM + microSD). On the right are the volume rocker and power button placed at a comfortable height. The lower part has a microphone, a microUSB port, four multimedia speaker holes (slightly above average volume) and two screws. The top one has an audio jack and an additional microphone. The back has an element that first appeared in Meizu smartphones. We are talking about laser focus, which is designed to help the 20.7-megapixel camera with dual two-tone flash.
carefully, 10 MB
The MX5 screen is perhaps the most controversial point in the novelty. For the first time, the company has moved away from a high-quality IPS matrix, choosing Samsung's Super AMOLED with Diamond subpixel layout. The company presents the choice as a step forward, giving significant arguments. Among them: the almost limiting contrast level for the human eye (10,000:1) with deep blacks and rich colors, reduced power consumption (each pixel is highlighted separately), full color gamut with wide viewing angles, small thickness (1.3 mm - on 32% thinner than MX4 screen). As you understand, there are no ideals, and Super AMOLED with “pentayl” has drawbacks. These include low maximum brightness (at the presentation of the MX5 it was said about 500 nits, and later a line with 350 nits appeared on the official website - this is 1.5-2 times lower than that of high-quality IPS), a dirty white color due to an unequal number color subpixels (there are more green ones, so the matrix can be called RGBG), greenishness under inclinations, friability of fonts, excessively juicy color reproduction. In a nutshell, the MX5's Super AMOLED outperforms the MX4's IPS panel in terms of power consumption (nearly double when watching videos) and black depth, while the MX4's IPS screen delivers nicer colors, whiter, brighter, and sharper (Samsung considers resolution AMOLED screen with PenTile on green subpixels, which are twice as many as red and blue - as a result, the pixel density perceived by the eyes is far from the declared 401 ppi). Subject's display boasts MiraVision technology, which dynamically adjusts saturation, sharpness, contrast, and brightness based on lighting conditions and the displayed image. In addition, the MX5's screen is easy to read outdoors in bright sunlight and comfortable to work in the dark, as the minimum brightness with ultra-dimming technology drops to just 1.4 nits.
Does all this mean the MX5's screen is bad? No, because if you don’t compare displays, you quickly adapt to color reproduction, there is enough brightness (under the sun, the MX5 is more readable than a LeTV One classmate with IPS, for example), and reduced power consumption for many will be more valuable than the whiteness of the panel. Samsung has been using AMOLED in its top devices for many years in a row and nothing - people use and even consider screens with this technology to be the best because of the black color and rich colors. Yes, and displays, by and large, very rarely act as a determining factor in the purchase. I don’t know of such examples when a person would refuse a device if everything suited him, but only PenTile was embarrassing. Even I, with all my dislike for the “penta-like”, used the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S6 as the main ones, I was positively disposed towards the Motorola Nexus 6, and the MX5 also didn’t really bother me during the testing process.
Software
As of the time of the review, the main firmware is Flyme OS 4.5.2I based on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop. We could not find any differences from Flyme OS 4.2 on Android 4.4 KitKat in MX4 and MX4 Pro - fresh code from Google and fixes are hidden from the eyes of the user, who is usually inclined to evaluate innovations by the shell. And the new interface with Flyme OS 5 will have to wait, apparently, until September, when the MX5 Pro debuts.
I will note the main features of the launcher if you have never encountered Flyme. All applications are placed on desktops, icons can be aligned up or down. Personalization is allowed with a change in background images and with the help of themes that replace many design elements. The notification curtain descends by swipe from any height, and the list of active programs pops up if you scroll up from the bottom edge. If you swipe the icon up in this list, then a specific application will close, and if you swipe down, the entire list will be cleared (holding blocks the program from clearing). Gestures on the screen off are extremely useful: double-tap displays the locker, swipes up from the bottom to unlock, swipes from top to bottom brings up the notification panel, side swipes switch tracks, and drawn letters launch tasks associated with them (for example, display O with your finger to turn on camera).
The key points of the settings are shown in the screenshots. These are personalization, a Flyme account (for searching for a phone, blocking it and getting root access), a SIM settings section, adjusting the white screen balance (it doesn’t make much sense for AMOLED), choosing a processor operating mode, entering fingerprints, gesture settings.
The company preinstalls few programs. Almost everything you need: a drawing tool with the necessary set of tools for creativity, a security center with cleaning up unnecessary and giving permissions to programs, a converter calculator, a convenient file manager, a gallery with a good editor, a video player working in the window, and a good music player.
Why just good? Because earlier the Meizu audio player could download covers and texts from the Web, but now it does not find anything (M1 Note, M2 Note with fresh firmware have a similar situation). Moreover, he even stopped seeing almost all the saved covers. Fortunately, there is nothing special in the player (online services for China were cut out of the international firmware for obvious reasons), so nothing prevents you from using the alternative - PowerAMP or Stellio. Meizu wouldn't be Meizu if it didn't work on sound. In terms of sound, the MX5 is a few steps above the MX4 (the new product plays louder and cleaner, the bass is not bulging) and just below the MX4 Pro (last year's flagship produces a slightly more detailed sound and has a huge headroom in volume - thanks to a dedicated amplifier and DAC). I also compared the sound of the MX5 with the LG G4 and I liked the sound from the new Meizu better (more emotional and louder). I listened to the tracks in FLAC format with Denon D600 headphones. MediaTek hides the marking of the audio chip built into the MT6795, but willingly shares its characteristics: support for 24-bit, 192 kHz, signal-to-noise ratio up to 110 dB. Overall the MX5 sounds great, looking forward to the MX5 Pro with Hi-Fi!
The quality of wireless connections caused no complaints. But the fact of inadequate support for European LTE frequencies, of course, will be unpleasant for many potential buyers. MX5 has only lanes 1 and 3, the first of which is not used by any operator in Russia, and the second is used only in a few cities, and not by all operators. In general, the model should be considered not as 4G, but as 3G. According to a representative of the Meizu global office, the European LTE frequencies were overlooked at the stage of approving the characteristics of the flagship (it must be understood that the international market accounts for a microscopic percentage of Meizu's sales compared to demand in China, so the Chinese thought about us last), and when they realized it, it was already too late. But we were assured that from now on all future models will be with full-fledged LTE (at least there will be Band 7, but a bunch of 7 and 20 is not excluded). Two SIM-cards for MX5 work in standby mode, if one is busy, then the other will be unavailable (one radio module).
Camera
The MX5 uses an improved camera module from the MX4. It includes a 20.7-megapixel Sony IMX220 (1/2.3”) sensor, 6-element optics with f/2.2 aperture, dual LED flash in different colors, laser autofocus, and Gorilla Glass 3 protective glass. Compared to the MX4, there were software algorithms have also been changed: new shutter release logic, color settings, white balance, sharpness. The most important innovation is a laser rangefinder capable of aiming at an object at a distance of half a meter in just 0.2 seconds. In real conditions, the camera is almost instantly aimed at close objects, regardless of the lighting, and focusing from near to infinity takes about 1-1.5 seconds. If you pick up the MX4 and MX5, then the difference in favor of the novelty will be simply huge - the laser helps to aim up to 5 times faster! Moreover, the MX4 can easily ignore the change of plan and have to help it with a finger, or re-target to trigger the automation. If you pick up the MX5 and LG G4, which also has a laser, then the Meizu phone picks up the foreground faster, but is slightly inferior when aiming into the distance. The Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge also focus quickly, which do not have a laser rangefinder, but have a phase focus. These comrades in good light focus even faster than the MX5 and G4, but in the semi-darkness they are slightly inferior.
The MX5 interface is the same as other current Meizu models. It is still sharpened for vertical use, offers several filters and modes. The manual mode still needs to be improved, as it does not involve white balance adjustment, and the exposure adjustment does not correspond to the range of + -3 in increments of 1. There is a separate exposure metering from the focus point. A square and a circle appear in the place of the tap - the square indicates the place of focus, and the exposure is metered near the circle (geometric shapes can be moved). This is a useful feature, but not very convenient, since dragging is not entirely intuitive, and in some conditions there may simply not be a bright area to darken the frame. I like the exposure slider more like the iPhone 6, Huawei P8 and Galaxy S6.
the left example is shot on "auto", and the right one is taken in manual mode with ISO400
without HDR and with HDR
In terms of photo quality, the MX5 is in the top of Chinese camera phones: the white balance is almost always chosen correctly, the colors are pleasant. Noise reduction is not aggressive, that is, noise in difficult conditions pours out every now and then, but the picture tries to remain sharp. At night, it makes sense to manually change the ISO. Detail at close range is good, but when focusing to infinity, the advantages of the 20.7-megapixel sensor are not revealed, as the frame is less clear than the 8-megapixel iPhone 6 Plus and 13-megapixel ASUS Zenfone 2. I hope that with updates this the moment will be corrected, since the camera module used is really good and has high potential.
The front camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and f / 2.0 aperture. The photos are noisy and not clear, but the front cameras in all modern smartphones do not yet deserve the “excellent” rating. Good for a selfie. Effects can be applied in real time.
There are several video shooting modes. There is 4K with high detail and a minimum of compression artifacts (not all players and video editors can open the file on a PC, YouTube did not recognize it either, but the HandBrake converter helped), there is a popular Full HD with a not very successful algorithm, there is slow motion, which is conducted with a non-standard resolution of 1280 x 736 pixels at 100 frames per second (the result is reproduced at 25 fps and for some reason not all video editors and video players are friends with it). In general, Helio X10 supports shooting at 1080p at 480 fps, but so far there is no smartphone with this feature. MediaTek explained to us that Meizu chose an old camera module that is not capable of delivering the maximum. Let's believe. As for the quality of the video in general, the color reproduction is pleasant and the manufacturer can finally be praised for the sound recording - the stereo effect is felt, the voice is written clearly, the surrounding sounds are also well audible. At the same time, old sores have not gone away: electronic stabilization is either poorly implemented or absent at all (we are not even talking about optical), and it is proposed to focus by touch (sometimes it feels like the laser focus is not involved at all when shooting video).
Benchmarks and performance
MediaTek's top chipset was chosen for last year's MX4, and Meizu was probably happy with it. So the MX5 also received a top-end SoC from this manufacturer - MediaTek Helio X10 in the MT6795T turbo version. It includes 8 Cortex-A53 cores up to 2.2 GHz, PowerVR G6200 graphics chip with a frequency of 700 MHz and is complemented by 3 GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The internal memory of the model can be 16, 32 or 64 GB (without microSD), but I would not be surprised if a 64 GB modification never sees the light of day. At least Meizu has done this in the past. The filling is cool and it would be strange if it could not cope with the latest toys. See the demo video above.
According to the manufacturer, the MX5 is 17% faster than the MX4. Let's check it in a separate comparison, but for now, take a look at the benchmarks of the current flagship: AnTuTu 5.7.1 - 50,752, Geekbench 3 - 934/5313, Basemark OS 2 - 1233, 3DMark Unlimited - 16,479, GFXBench 1080p - 4.9 /10/27 fps, Epic Citadel Ultra - 43.4 fps. The numbers are pleasing to the eye, but much more joyful is that throttling is practically absent and fps will not sag during the game due to heating. Six runs in a row in the heavy graphics test GFXBench serve as proof:
As you can see, the results of the runs are practically the same. But the processor frequency is still not always at the maximum level of 2.2 GHz. We found out the operating frequencies in all three power saving modes with a half-hour run of the Stability Test and CPU Spy. Here they are:
productive, balanced and energy-saving modes
Unlike the budget M2 Note, in the MX5 it really makes sense to choose the operating mode of the chip, since there is an influence: if you are not playing, you can leave the processor in power saving mode (the interface will still be smooth, and simple applications will have enough speed), for optimal you can choose a balanced mode, and for hardcore gamers it makes sense to switch to a performance mode before a gaming session.
The 3150 mAh battery paired with the Super AMOLED screen and the latest Helio X10 chip shows very good results. If the MX4 did not have enough stars from the sky in terms of energy consumption, then the MX5 has become a real long-liver in the Meizu camp. It's no joke - the device played video with maximum brightness and all active wireless modules for more than 10 hours, which is almost twice as high as MX4! And the discharge in the game Asphalt 8 for half an hour with a comfortable brightness was 12% (or 24% per hour). The MX5 not only drains slowly, but also charges quickly. mCharge technology feeds the smartphone up to 25% in 10 minutes and up to 60% in 40 minutes (real measurements gave similar results). In fact, this is the development of MediaTek Pump Express 2.0, which Meizu gave its own name.
We are used to the fact that if the body of a powerful smartphone is made of metal, then pastime in games can hardly be called pleasant due to high temperatures and uncomfortable sensations. However, the MX5 was very pleasantly surprised by the fact that even in a long gaming session it heated up tolerably and did not suggest buying a case. The maximum temperature on the internal sensor that I saw was only 43 degrees! And compared to the MX4 and MX4 Pro, the new MX5 even heats up noticeably less when idle. Just with the desktops open, the MX4, MX4 Pro and MX5 heated up to 39, 37 and 34 degrees in the upper region of the back, and their screens warmed up to 38, 37 and 34 degrees, respectively (measured with a pyrometer in the warmest areas). At the same time, the MX5 also cooled down the fastest.
findings
With a cursory acquaintance, it may seem that the Meizu MX5 is a small step forward from the MX4. In fact, almost everything has been redesigned in the smartphone and it feels truly new and advanced. In Russian retail, the novelty will cost 25 thousand for the version with 16 GB of memory and 27 thousand for the modification with 32 GB of memory. In my opinion, materials and assembly, battery life, camera and performance fully justify the cost. And Meizu wasn't lying when she said that the MX5 was built with a focus on user needs. All available innovations are useful and will be appreciated by the happy owners, who will replenish the rapidly growing army of Meizu fans.
Appearance and ergonomics
Meizu has established itself as a manufacturer that treats the design of devices with particular scrupulousness, for my taste, all their smartphones look good. The current flagship is no exception, but, surprisingly, the MX5's appearance has flaws. The body of the smartphone is all-metal and has two plastic inserts at the top and bottom, these inserts look sloppy and alien, plus the antenna separators do not fit into such a design.
Otherwise, the Meizu MX5 is a very pleasant device, and the claims of some reviewers that it is allegedly copied from the design are completely unfounded - the MX5 looks like an iPhone no more than any other smartphone with an aluminum case. The entire front surface is covered by Gorilla Glass 3, which, unlike glass in , is glued into a plastic substrate, and not filled with resin.
The weight and dimensions of the device are comfortable, due to the narrow bezels around the screen and the sloping shape of the body, the MX5 for a smartphone with a 5.5-inch screen is very comfortable in the hand. Three mechanical buttons are located under the thumb of the right hand, finally, Meizu moved the Power button from the top to the right. Below the screen is another mechanical button with a built-in fingerprint sensor. This sensor works flawlessly and performs its function perfectly, you quickly get used to it, and after that you don’t want to use a pin code or password at all.
The sync connector and the main microphone are located on the bottom edge, as is the ring speaker, which minimizes the chance of muffling the ringing signal. The headset jack and the second microphone are on the top edge, the camera eye is on the back surface in the top center, the module itself protrudes from the case by about a millimeter. There are fears that the glass Gorilla Glass 3 after some time will be covered with small scratches.
Screen
Meizu decided to move away from the tradition of installing screens of non-standard proportions in smartphones of the MX series. The MX5 has a 5.5-inch SuperAMOLED with FullHD resolution. The pixels are built according to the Pentile principle (for every 1 red and 1 blue pixel there are 2 green ones), the artifacts of which are almost invisible due to the high PPI.
The screen has a high contrast ratio and almost absolute viewing angles, however, when the eye deviates from the normal, the white color acquires a greenish tint. Those who do not like oversaturated colors may not like the screen, because. the color gamut is larger than the sRGB field, and there are no corrective profiles, as in Samsung smartphones, in the Meizu MX5.
The capacitive touch screen can detect up to 10 touches at the same time, it does not respond to gloved hands. The screen has an effective anti-reflective filter, under direct sunlight the image remains readable, although it fades.
Hardware platform and performance
The Meizu MX5 hardware platform is an MTK MT6795T system-on-a-chip, which includes: an octa-core CPU running at frequencies up to 2.2GHz (all cores are “weak” Cortex-A53), a PowerVR G6200 GPU running at frequencies up to 700MHz and 3GB LPDDR3 RAM. It's funny to see how MTK, by raising the frequencies of the Cortex-A53 cores, forces its chips to give out quite competitive performance, while Qualcomm can't cope with the heat of its latest systems-on-a-chip based on the "strong" Cortex-A57 cores. In the single-core test in Geekbench 3, the smartphone scores more than a thousand points, which allows it to be on par with Snapdragon 801/805 smartphones in terms of performance.
The actual performance of the chip was a pleasant surprise. Even GTA San Andreas with graphics settings turned up to the maximum, including 100% draw distance and 100% resolution, could not bring the smartphone to its knees. Needless to say, simple applications start instantly and work without brakes, there are no problems with the smoothness of displaying animations of the graphical interface either.
The volume of internal storage in the instance presented in the review is 32 GB (the actual volume is 29.1 GB), 25.9 GB is available to the user. There is no slot for memory cards in the device, traditionally for Meizu.
Cellular and interfaces
At the moment, there are several modifications of the smartphone, the review involves the model number M575M, which is intended for sale in China. At the time of writing, Meizu MX5 supports LTE networks, including frequencies: B1, B3, B38, B39, B40 and B41. Unfortunately, the most common B7 frequency in Russia is not supported, theoretically the device can catch 4G, but in practice in St. Petersburg on the Megafon network I have never seen the coveted icon in the status bar.
Meizu MX5 has two slots for nanoSIM cards and one radio module, simultaneous operation with two SIM cards is possible only in standby mode. There were no questions about the quality of voice reception and transmission during testing.
The device has a standard set of wireless interfaces, a wired USB interface supports OTG technology. Traditionally, Meizu lacks NFC and an IR port.
Battery and autonomy
The Meizu MX5 has a 3150 mAh non-removable battery. The manufacturer announced proprietary mCharge fast charging technology, thanks to which, in theory, the battery should be charged from 0% to 25% in 10 minutes and up to 60% in just 40 minutes. So the charger for this was put in the kit with a special one with a variable output voltage of 5, 9 and 12 V and a current of 2 A. In fact, the battery charges much longer: from 0% to 75% in 1 hour and 40 minutes, up to 100 % for two and a half hours.
The smartphone shows very average autonomy, in a mixed mode of operation, the Meizu MX5 will live from morning until late at night with 4-4.5 hours of screen activity - this is almost the same as that of the MX4. In general, these two devices are similar in terms of autonomy, with the exception of video playback time, here the MX5 is far ahead of its predecessor.
Note. Testing is carried out in the appropriate modes according to the methodology: - listening to music in headphones at maximum volume with the screen turned off; – viewing 1080p video from the device’s memory at 50% backlight brightness and maximum sound volume in headphones; - active browsing (constant opening of new tabs, active page scrolling, etc.) via Wi-Fi at 50% backlight brightness; – 3D games (Real Racing 3) at 50% backlight brightness.
Cameras, photo and video quality
The main camera module in Meizu MX5 is a 20.7 megapixel SONY IMX220 matrix, covered with a lens consisting of 6 lenses with an aperture of F2.2 and EGF = ~ 26 mm. HDR is supported in hardware, the maximum possible ISO is 1600 units. The system camera has several shooting modes, including manual, in which such parameters as shutter speed, ISO, focus, exposure compensation are adjusted.
In conditions of sufficient lighting, the Meizu camera takes excellent photos in terms of sharpness and other parameters. Due to the significantly higher resolution, the pictures taken on the MX5 have more detail than those taken with the iPhone 6 Plus. CLICKABLE! Meizu MX5 on the left, Apple iPhone 6 Plus on the right:
Photos taken in HDR mode tend to have a strong compression of tones, but slightly increase color saturation. CLICKABLE! Meizu MX5 on the left, Apple iPhone 6 Plus on the right:
The camera did not fail even in low light conditions, however, some pictures come out blurry. CLICKABLE! Meizu MX5 on the left, Apple iPhone 6 Plus on the right:
With panoramic shooting, Meizu is doing much better than most manufacturers, the photo panel taken on the MX5 has a resolution of up to 34 megapixels, as opposed to one and a half megapixel shots from other cameras. CLICKABLE! Meizu MX5 on top, Apple iPhone 6 Plus on the bottom:
The front camera is 5 megapixels, covered with a lens with an aperture of F2.0 (exif refers to an aperture of F2.2).
Meizu did not bother about the wide-angle of the front camera, the lens has an EGF even more than that of the main camera ~ 28-30 mm. CLICKABLE!:
The smartphone writes video with a maximum resolution of 3840 * 2176 pixels at 30 fps with a total bit rate of 42 Mb / s. There is a 720p slow-motion mode where video is recorded at 100 fps and encoded at 25 fps, audio is not recorded.
Sound quality
The call speaker in the MX5 is located on the bottom end, it has a decent volume margin and produces a relatively good sound.
The sound in the headphones is also decent, but it does not reach the level of flagships. In addition, for my taste, there is a slight lack of volume margin. The system player has an equalizer and an application for fine-tuning the sound for certain models of Dirac HD Sound headphones, there is no FM radio.
Operating system features
Out of the box, the smartphone runs on the Flyme OS version 4.5 operating system based on . The seller prudently installed the firmware with the “A” index - Flyme OS 4.5.2.1A. The Flyme OS 4.5 operating system on our website is dedicated to, in this review I will limit myself to describing a couple of points.
I will say right away that I have always liked Flyme OS, because this shell gave the user convenience and additional tools for interacting with a smartphone, which were so lacking in pure Android. Today, Android has matured and become much more convenient; against this background, Flyme OS has faded due to some changes and simplifications. The shell has significant advantages, such as, for example, the Security application, which allows you to manage application rights, monitor malware and control Internet traffic.
But there are also terrible non-intuitive things, such as, for example, the multitasking panel, which at first is not clear how to use it and which, with its denseness, gives back to iOS of the times of skeuomorphism. I was hoping that a major update to the shell would fix the non-removable panel on the left in Settings, but this did not happen.
Still, the overall impression of Flyme OS 4.5 is positive, the system works very quickly and smoothly, and the GUI design is neat and clean.
Overall, the Meizu MX5 looks more like a fix than a brand new flagship smartphone. Compared to the MX4, autonomy, performance and camera performance have been improved here. But the most important thing in all this is the dollar price, which has remained at the same level. True, rumors about the official price in Russia are a little alarming, because a buyer who has 26,000 rubles to buy a smartphone has a large selection of other devices.
Firstly, it is very high saturation: for some, such violent colors look “expensive and rich”, others consider such color reproduction to be unbalanced, but the MX5 display displays the picture in the same intrusive tones as hefty advertising screens. For all those dissatisfied with Samsung, by the way, by installing several color profiles in the system settings, but Meizu decided to do without piling up settings and did not provide the display with additional display options.
The second historical feature of Samsung matrices is the use of Pentile. As a result, Full HD resolution on such a matrix is not achieved in a completely correct way: as if instead of electrical wiring in your house, a pack of extension cords was pulled from one wall outlet. It seems that the result is achieved, but there are nuances.
Another thing is that in our case these are so imperceptible "extenders" that few people will complain about them: 1920x1080 pixels at 5.5 inches provide excellent clarity, on which errors in the picture are almost invisible. In addition, Super AMOLED displays display blacks flawlessly (it's really black, but dark gray, like IPS), such screens consume much less energy, and viewing angles and color gamut are close to ideal. The maximum brightness of the Meizu MX5 display was 345 cd / m2 - for "myself, my beloved" Samsung uses cooler displays, but the available indicators are quite flagship.
Sound
That's what Meizu's flagships cannot be taken away from is the study of the musical component in their smartphones. Historically, the MX-series has always boasted a separate audio chip and cool sound in headphones. The MX5 is no exception in this regard either - inside it works a duo of NXP TFA9890 audio chips (external speaker) and Wolfson, presumably modifications of the WM1840 (headphone sound), and Dirac HD Sound technology controls their work (it can be used at the hardware level, bypassing equalizer and its distortion to adjust the sound for numerous headphone models).
However, if there are no headphones on the list, you can adjust the sound to your taste with the help of an equalizer, but we still would not recommend doing this.
