We review the Meizu MX4 Pro, a flagship phone with all the bells and whistles at an unbelievable price.
Meizu are quite a traditional Chinese brand, usually only launching just one phone a year, and usually not trying to antagonise the competition. Well that was the case last year and the year before and again before that, but 2014 has seen a change, one for the better.
Meizu’s change began around 2 months ago with the Meizu MX4. A phone that grabbed the attention of Meizu fans and those who had never really taken notice of the brand before. The MX4 boasted amazing features, (read the MX4 review here) and costs only 1799 Yuan in China. Meizu had never launch a phone so affordable!
Fast forward a few months and we find ourselves again in Beijing at the launch of another Meizu phone. Meizu had never launched 2 completely different models before in the same year, and again the retail price was killer.
Let’s find out just how good Meizu’s change is in the following Meizu MX4 Pro review.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Specifications
[table id=177 /]Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Unboxing Video
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Design and build
If you look at the Meizu MX4 Pro by itself then you would be forgiven for thinking that the new phone is nothing but a slightly larger MX4, but get the two phones together and you will see that there are quite a few differences.
The MX4 Pro is made from the same style all alloy chassis. Machined from a solid lump of aircraft grade alloy, to create a strong and lightweight frame, but the chassis of the Pro is longer, wider and thicker so can house new components and features.
Dimensions of the Meizu MX4 Pro are 77 x 150.1 x 9mm at a weight of 158g. So a slight larger and heavier phone than the MX4. Still the device manages to cram a large display, 5.5-inch in this case, in to the narrow width, and is easily controlled with one hand (thanks to some clever Flyme 4.1 features).
We were given the grey version of the MX4 Pro for review, which like its smaller brother has a removable plastic rear cover, and polished silver edges which really set off the all glass, black front. Two other colour options will also be made available including a gold model and white and silver version.
As already mentioned the rear of the phone has a removable panel which gives you access to the single SIM tray and a glimpse of the built-in (non removable) 3350mAh battery. In all honesty the removable rear is overkill just to access a single sim tray, but we imagine there was significant savings on production over building a unibody phone. It also gives you the option of using clip on flip covers to protect your phone too.
The rear is also where we find the familiar large lens of the Sony 20.7 mega-pixel main camera, dual tone, dual LED flash and Meizu logo. All pretty much identical to those on the MX4.
Flip the phone over and we have the usual Meizu silhouette which MX, MX2 and MX3 users will be familiar with, but with a rectangle home button on the chin beneath the display.
Many people have pointed out that the rectangle design of the home button is very similar to Samsung’s and yes it is really, but there are only so many shapes a button could come in, and besides it harks back to the days of the Meizu M9, Meizu’s first ever Android phone.
If you have been following the MX4 Pro launch you will know that the home button offers more than meets the eye. This is because the sapphire glass, stainless steel surrounded button also houses a finger print recognition system called mTouch. More on that later.
Above the 2K+ display there is a receiver grill, a white LED notification light (sorry no RGB) and to the right of that an all new 5 mega-pixel front facing camera with improved low-light performance.
The rest os the design has a micro USB and 4 holes drilled in the bottom for the single speaker. Volume rocker on the left hand side and 3.5mm headphone jack and power button in the very top.
As the MX4 Pro has a slightly larger display (5.5-inch vs 5.35-inch on the MX4) and has slightly wider bezels, and has a less tapered rear the flagship MX4 Pro does feel larger in your hand, more so than the dimensions suggest. Still I’m able to handle the phone with ease, but then again I’m quite use to the larger OnePlus One and Vivo Xplay 3S too, so it is all down to personal opinion.
Build quality is superb, and as good as the MX4 in every way. The chassis is finished to a high quality and the polished edges really standout against the black of the display. I was concerned about how the mTouch button might feel, but I needn’t as it feels first class.
If there was one area I would have to grumble is again the rear panel of the phone. Although it fits better than the MX4 we reviewed, it still isn’t a fully flush fit all the way around. Also on my phone I have managed to slightly damage the polished frame somehow. It hasn’t been dropped so I can only imagine it has happened while in my back pack or pocket.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Display
The display on the Meizu MX4 is a 2K+ panel. The 2K stands for the QHD high-resolution and the + because it is actually the highest resolution display of any smartphone to date with the largest pixel density. For those of you who need the numbers the 5.5-inch display has a resolution of 2560 x 1536 with a pixel density of 546ppi!
Those numbers are seriously impressive, but the features don’t stop there.
Although the JDI sourced panel has a higher resolution it also used a new Nega negative LCD display technology which uses around the same amount of power as the 1080p display on the MX4. So double the resolution, a larger panel and the no additional battery drain.
Features continue with a max brightness of 450cd/m2, 2049 levels of brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection!
In use the display is super crisp with sharp images, bright, natural colours and great viewing angles. Is the super high resolution of the Pro good? Yes it is! Is it notably better than a 5.5-inch 1080 display? No, not really.
Even next to each other it is impossible to tell the difference between 2K+ and a good 1080, but its a great display, hasn’t upset battery consumption and judging by the price hasn’t effected the cost of the phone, so I’m more than happy.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Performance, and benchmarks
Meizu might be working with Mediatek on their mid-range MX4 and rumoured entry-level phones, but it is Samsung who provide the processor the the MX4 Pro. Samsung and Meizu have worked with one another for years firstly on MP3 players and then when they entered the phone market.
The processor in the MX4 Pro is a Samsung Exynos 5430 chipset, a 20nm octacore processor running 4 x 2.0ghz A15 cores and 4x 1.5ghz Cortex A7 cores. The chip can either switch between cores depending on what you throw at the phone, or even turn all cores on at the same time for really tasking apps.
The Samsung chip has a Mali T628 600Mz GPU, not the fastest but more than enough for the 2K+ display and the games we have thrown at the phone. There is also 3GB RAM on board too to completely eliminate any possible bottle necks.
When Meizu announced the Pro many were worried that the 5430 wouldn’t be up to the task, but like many modern phones the MX4 Pro handles everything you throw at it with ease. Gaming, video and general daily use don’t worry the hardware on the Pro at all.
Benchmarks below actually show the Meizu MX4 Pro is lagging a little behind other flagship phones on the market, but as we have long realised benchmarks don’t really mean anything and real performance can only be determined from actual usage.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Benchmarks
- Antutu: 46,553
- Andutu X: 38,225
- Quadrant: 10,310
- Vellamo Metal: 1623
- Vellamo Multicore: 1345
- Vellamo Chrome browser 3818
- Ice Storm Unlimited: 18285
- Ice Storm Extreme: Maxed out
So as far as processor and RAM performance go the MX4 Pro is as good as any flagship phone we would care to mention, but that isn’t to say it isn’t without its issues.
One issue we have found is with the write speed for the memory in the phone. Chances are that the issue is due to the first version of the international Flyme 4.1 ROM we are running (a newer version should be available at launch). Now and again saving, or reading files from the 32GB of internal memory is very slow. This is especially notable when saving photos, more so after editing.
The issue is intermittent (at least on our review phone) and a reboot clears things up but there is something there. There is also a similar issue with 4K and slow motion video which causes slower than expected or jerky playback, but again these issues will hopefully be solved when finally launched.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Camera
The camera on the Meizu MX4 Pro is the same set up as the sensor on the MX4. That’s good news as we know that we are getting a rather good camera with a nice camera app with tons of nice features.
Gizchina News of the week
The main sensor on the MX4 Pro is a Sony IMX220 Exmor RS sensor with Blue glass filter, sapphire glass protection, 5 element lens and F2.2 aperture. This is a great set up and capable of capturing some really nice photos even in low light conditions thanks to the fantastic night mode.
Overall images are fantastic, but there are some odd times that the image is much darker than expected, this doesn’t affect the photo quality too much as it can be quickly fixed with the built-in photo editor. During the review time with the MX4 Pro I also had a Sony Xperia Z1 with the same rear sensor set up as the MX4 Pro and found the Sony to have the same dark photo characteristics.
On the whole I would still rate the Vivo Xshot as my phone pick for camera quality, but the MX4 Pro comes in a close joint second with the MX4.
Meizu MX4 Pro photo samples
Up front the 5 mega-pixel front camera is a huge upgrade over the 2 mega-pixel of the MX4. Image are much clearer and thanks to FotoNation enhancement algorithm and Face AE light boost technology you can get some great photos even in low light.
Like the MX4 the Meizu MX4 Pro is capable of capturing slow motion video and up to 4K video. Below is a short sample of slow motion video from the MX4 Pro.
Meizu MX4 Pro slow motion video sample
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Battery
Having a wider and slightly fatter body compared to the MX4, Meizu have been able to give the MX4 Pro a generous battery size of 3350mAh. Couple the larger battery with the low drain 2K+ display and power conscious Samsung Exynos 5430 chipset and Meizu claim a battery life of around a day and a half.
In my time with the phone, I have been able to get a around a day and half from a single charge during my normal daily use. I.E taking lots of photo, checking and updating social networks, data and WIFI on all the time, email on push and Mi Band connected etc.
On a recent trip out of town which required GPS, Google Maps and the phone to start hunting around for a data connection more often than usual (poor data connection in the city) I was forced to charge the MX4 Pro by the evening.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Connectivity
This being a flagship phone, it offers most connectivity options you would want. GPS, WIFI, GSM, WCDMA, 4G LTE, NFC, and Bluetooth.
GPS is fast, WIFI is strong and 3G and LTE were spot and were only affected due to poor service coverage. If you read my recent Mi Band review then you will know I’ve fallen for the Xiaomi wearable and have it on my wrist all the time. Connection is never lost and overall is better than Bluetooh on the MX4 which sometimes missed a beat and disconnected.
NFC is the real let down feature here. Although the phone has NFC I, and others, have found it to be a little temperamental when trying to send files from the Pro to another device. It is almost as if the NFC in the Pro cuts in and out until it finally locks on and works. Again this could be a software bug, but personally I’m not a big user of NFC and the issue doesn’t bother me.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Audio
Audio is really what Meizu were boasting about during the launch of the Meizu MX4 Pro. They went to great lengths to remind us that they use to be leading MP3 manufacturers, and created a launch event with music vibe and even a live band.
As for the phone, well the Meizu MX4 Pro has audio technology stuffed inside that wouldn’t look out of place in a top of the range stand alone audio player. The audio experts out there will recognise the ESS ES9018K2M decoder and OPA1612 operation amp from Texas instruments. These are components usually found in $1000 audio equipment not $406 smartphones.
The MX4 Pro also features technology which should automatically detect the best setting for your earphones/headphones and set the audio up to suit without risking damage to your ear drums. Passive filter technology, ceramic film capacitors and low temperature drift resistors also do their part in creating HIFI audio without a hint of background noise.
So how does it sound in real life? Well the single external speaker is loud and offers great range and bass when watching movies or playing games, but it is just a single speaker not exactly what you would expect from a HIFI phone. With earphones plugged in the audio quality is really very good, but in all honesty I would say that Vivo have an edge over Meizu. From hardware alone the MX4 Pro should be a clear winner, but something isn’t quite tuned properly to take full advantage of the hardware on offer.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – mTouch
mTouch is Meizu’s own home button/fingerprint scanner which is located on the front of the phone below the display. As a user all we see is the rectangle sapphire glass button, but underneath there is a capacitive touch sensor that is activated once the button is pressed.
Setting up mTouch is a simple job of simply placing your chosen fingerprint over the surface of the button in various positions so that the phone can store a useable print that you can use to unlock your phone. If you take the time to set mTouch up properly you will be able to unlock your phone regardless of the position of your finger. Simply press and the mTouch will attempt to read your fingerprint and decide to unlock the phone or not in just 500 milliseconds.
The key to getting mTouch to work properly is in taking the time to set it up. Rushing through the set up will result in a poor fingerprint record and a frustrating user experience. Take a few minutes to set it up however and it is a fast and accurate method of keeping your phone secure.
Next year Meizu, Alibaba and Wechat will allow MX4 Pro users to pay for apps, goods and services using just mTouch. Users outside of China won’t see much benefit from that yet, but it shows that big businesses are confident that the Meizu’s encryption and security measures are up to the job.
Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Flyme 4.1
As a long time Meizu user, I totally understand what it is like to boot up your new Meizu device and walk right in to a wall of bugs or software issues. Recently this has been less of an issue, and so far I have to say that Flyme 4.1 on the MX4 Pro is by far the best launch version of Flyme to date.
Not only is the latest version of Flyme more polished and bug free (not completely but better) but it also adds some nice features which will help you use the phone one-handed.
Smart Touch, found in the notifications drop down, is one such great feature. When activated it adds a white dot to your home screen that can be moved to the location of your choice. With Smart Touch on, you can swipe from left to right to access apps running in the background or double tap to bring the screen down and in reach of your thumb for easy one handed use.
The smartbar on screen navigation control is still here, and you also have the swipe up from the home button gesture to get you back to a previous screen. Whatsapp and Hangouts users will want to keep that in mind as sometimes the smartbar does not appear, but a simple swipe up from the home button will take you back rather than having to exit the app completely.
Overall Flyme 4.1 is more stable than ever and in fact the only apps that we have heard users of Flyme complain about are those which are actually blocked in China. For example there was an issue with Gmail and attachments, which simply cannot be tested from China even with VPN (believe me I have tried), but thankfully that problem does now seem to be fixed.
Meizu MX4 Pro review – Conclusion
The Meizu MX4 Pro is an amazing phone no matter how you look at it. Priced at 2499 Yuan (International pricing is not confirmed) the MX4 Pro offers so much extra for so little extra when compared to rivals that it makes it the better phone to buy. Compare the 2499 Yuan MX4 Pro to the 1999 Yuan Xiaomi Mi4 or OnePlus One for example and the MX4 Pro is a no brainer (unless custom ROM support is a must have).
Performance isn’t as fast as some of the other flagships we have reviewed over the past year, but in actual use it is well on par with even the best. Camera quality is second only to the Vivo Xshot, and overall build is great.
But there is a problem with the MX4 Pro, well it’s not a problem with the phone but more a problem with it’s more affordable brother the MX4. You see the standard Meizu MX4 might not have the 2K+ display, mTouch fingerprint scanner or additional audio hardware, but it is such an amazing phone, it might actually be too good.
With the MX4 offering the same level of performance, similar battery life and the same rear camera, plus in a slightly more comfortable to hold body, it makes the decision between the Pro and standard MX4 a very difficult one!
The Meizu MX4 Pro is a killer flagship phone, and if the latest screen specs, 3GB RAM and security are paramount to you then I simply cannot fault it. If however you can live a with a pin code on your screen, a 1080 display and 2GB RAM, I see no reason not to buy the standard Meizu MX4.
Great review,
Can you compare its benchs with the MX4, according to GizmoChina, the MT6595 is faster in almost every tests, thanks 😀 !
great review andi, its way too harsh to compare mx4 pro with mi4 and oneplus one cause its different price range,300e vs 400e,i am talking resserlers price
the mx4 pro has the same price with the lg g3 in europe,both have their pros and cons, but its out of my price range, i prefer 300e with top specs, mx4 vs mi4 is where its at and when mi4 gets fdd lte version out i will be sold,i trust xiaomi way more than meizu.also the 2gb ram is an arrow in the knee for me who keep a phone at least 2-3 years.
mx4 pro 5,5 inches hurt the phone,cpu could be better, the fingerprint scanner is great, the hifi chip is great, the price is good on china,but i think it should be around 350e ,heck the iuni is 310e…
Ebuyer.com are selling the lg g3 for £299 just thought i would let you know. They are safe as i have bought a few things from them. I for i would have to go with the Pro i like the idea of the extra safety of a figureprint scanner.
thanks m8 but thats the 2gb model it goes lower in greece, i am talking about the 3gb version going for around 390e here
Sorry for that. I am interested to know why you need 3gb as there is nothing on the play store that will put it to the test and mulit tasking won’t require that much power if the phone is optimised.
i keep the phone 2-3 years(i am still on galaxy s1 i9000 figures),dont have money to change a mobile every year, so i need it to be kinda future proof,
2gb are bad for the lg g3, cause with all the bloatware on the firmware it has almost 1.5gb filled with basic apps like fb/whats up/viber etc, so yeah only 500mb ram free isnt future proof enough
finally i am a huge gamer, and a huge fan of jrpgs who moved to mobile gaming, and i need a device that will run future games for 2 years at least.
2gb is out of the question for me…(mx4,lg g3 2gb version)
Then in my opinion wait a bit longer if you are not in a hurry. I’m pretty sure that soon enough we will see much more RAM on phones since 64bit architecture is going good at the moment and it opens the door for more RAM in phones.
i am actually in a hurry (galaxy s i9000),i cant wait any longer, and the market as long as you wait the next big thing is near the door, check snapdragon 810,then something else etc,i will make my move this december, i will either go for power(mx4 pro-mi4-lg g3) or for style(oppo r5-vivo max 5x), i am waiting for the 3 phones to be released oppo r5-vivo max- mx4 pro ,see the prices and offcourse get my paycheck for december 😛
Hey, I upgraded from my old Galaxy S Plus this year, I know how you feel. It sure feels good to have a phone that launches apps fast etc., but I really miss the contrast and deep black of the AMOLED. Just some food for thought.
I agree in a way! (Also from Greece, living currently in Russia).
But since I recently joined the world of chinese mobile companies I decided to trust my 1st try in Meizu since I read many good comments on the MX4 standard and there are official re-sellers here in Russia. TBH, I think both phones (MX4/Mi4) are equal or almost equal and it’s a no-loss situation whatever you decide and it all comes down to personal preferences! 🙂
You would seriously loose in camera performance if you went for the Xiaomi Mi4, the MX4 is way better.
That’s why (and for some other things too) I went for the standard MX4, Andi!! 😀
But our friend here is a gamer as he said so I guess the extra 1 GB RAM + better GPU (at least on paper/benchmarks) might be good for him 🙂
andi i saw a comparison of mi4 vs mx4 by jared 2 days ago and he said that mx4 camera suffers from exposure and you need to take some photos to capture a good one, if you do you take a better picture but said mi4 deals with this better.is it true? i really dont care about camera though, my current phone(galaxy s1 i9000 yup stone age) doesnt even have flash..
as i said mx4 isnt even an option cause of 2gb ram, but mx4 pro is if its price is lower than lg g3.
I found the MI4 constantly took dark images. The MX4 does suffer from that from time to time but overall the Meizu is the better camera phone. Just my opinion though, the Mi4 is still a great phone.
@Andi Sykes: Can you pls explain the reason that why you still can’t review the highly anticipated model Nubia Z7 Max & as a long follower of Gizchina I haven’t seen you review any ZTE Devices,so far.I always wonder why???
Regards,
A highly disappointed Gizchina Fan!
Simple, we missed the launch of the Nubia and now there are newer phones which need to be reviewed. I do reach out for a review phone everytime I get a chance but still nothing, in the meantime reviews of other phones are still pending.
Okay,Andi I understood.Then pls atleast consider attending the upcoming ZTE’s Nubia Z9 Launch event which is rumoured to happen by Dec/Jan & also try to review Nubia Z9 asap after it’s official launch.Thanks in Advance!
You don’t just show up for a launch, you must be invited. If I get an invite and it doesn’t clash with Christmas and New Year I’ll go.
Yes,Andi I too knew that you have to be invited for an launch event.If not attending ZTE’s Nubia launch event,pls atleast try to review upcoming ZTE’s Nubia Flagship series from now on.
He’s explained this so many times already.
Yeah,I too knew that he has explained it many times,but every time all he said was that he couldn’t get hold of it because Nubia Z7 Series seems to have got very high demand in china.
So far I’ve only tried the Mini (owned by a friend) and the Max (in a store). To my limited time with both phones, they are low-cost because they are made to a lower quality. Great specs but build is way off what Xiaomi, OPO, and Meizu are offering.
Thanks a ton,Andi.Even though it’s a very short review it helped me a lot.I too had doubt that how ZTE were able to create a Nubia Z7 flagship series with such great specs for a low prize.So now,I am thinking of buying Redmi Note 4G Version which is scheduled to go on sale this Dec 15 via Flipkart Flashsales system in my India & it also seems like ZTE India is never interested in launching Nubia Z7 Series in my India.
http://wp.me/p45Feq-2m That’s my Nubia Z7 Max Review
Wow,thanks a lot bro.It was really a great review!
Thanks for reading. Comparison with iPhone 5c camera if you wish. http://mf1gt3r.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/iphone-5c-vs-nubia-z7-max-vs-tecno-phantom-z/
Thanks a lot bro,I have read it.Comparison of photos is very good!
Gizchina’s Andi Skyes is saying that Nubia Z7 Max is made of low quality & it’s not even close to what Xiaomi,OPO & Huawei are offering.Are you sure that Nubia Z7 Max has got good build quality?I am highly considering to buy Nubia Z7 Max because it has Dual 4G Support+Cdma/Evdo Network Supports too which is used in my India & hence it will act as a future proof phone too.But,what makes me worried is that Nubia Z7 Max is having 2.5 GB Apps Partition System,no NTFS File System support,no kernel source code & no Roms support.What is the video play back time after continous usage with wifi on & both sims are set to 2G Networks?
Great review,
Can you compare its benchs with the MX4, according to GizmoChina, the MT6595 is faster in almost every tests, thanks 😀 !
great review andi, its way too harsh to compare mx4 pro with mi4 and oneplus one cause its different price range,300e vs 400e,i am talking resserlers price
the mx4 pro has the same price with the lg g3 in europe,both have their pros and cons, but its out of my price range, i prefer 300e with top specs, mx4 vs mi4 is where its at and when mi4 gets fdd lte version out i will be sold,i trust xiaomi way more than meizu.also the 2gb ram is an arrow in the knee for me who keep a phone at least 2-3 years.
mx4 pro 5,5 inches hurt the phone,cpu could be better, the fingerprint scanner is great, the hifi chip is great, the price is good on china,but i think it should be around 350e ,heck the iuni is 310e…
Ebuyer.com are selling the lg g3 for £299 just thought i would let you know. They are safe as i have bought a few things from them. I for i would have to go with the Pro i like the idea of the extra safety of a figureprint scanner.
thanks m8 but thats the 2gb model it goes lower in greece, i am talking about the 3gb version going for around 390e here
Sorry for that. I am interested to know why you need 3gb as there is nothing on the play store that will put it to the test and mulit tasking won’t require that much power if the phone is optimised.
I agree in a way! (Also from Greece, living currently in Russia).
But since I recently joined the world of chinese mobile companies I decided to trust my 1st try in Meizu since I read many good comments on the MX4 standard and there are official re-sellers here in Russia. TBH, I think both phones (MX4/Mi4) are equal or almost equal and it’s a no-loss situation whatever you decide and it all comes down to personal preferences! 🙂
i keep the phone 2-3 years(i am still on galaxy s1 i9000 figures),dont have money to change a mobile every year, so i need it to be kinda future proof,
2gb are bad for the lg g3, cause with all the bloatware on the firmware it has almost 1.5gb filled with basic apps like fb/whats up/viber etc, so yeah only 500mb ram free isnt future proof enough
finally i am a huge gamer, and a huge fan of jrpgs who moved to mobile gaming, and i need a device that will run future games for 2 years at least.
2gb is out of the question for me…(mx4,lg g3 2gb version)
Then in my opinion wait a bit longer if you are not in a hurry. I’m pretty sure that soon enough we will see much more RAM on phones since 64bit architecture is going good at the moment and it opens the door for more RAM in phones.
You would seriously loose in camera performance if you went for the Xiaomi Mi4, the MX4 is way better.
That’s why (and for some other things too) I went for the standard MX4, Andi!! 😀
But our friend here is a gamer as he said so I guess the extra 1 GB RAM + better GPU (at least on paper/benchmarks) might be good for him 🙂
andi i saw a comparison of mi4 vs mx4 by jared 2 days ago and he said that mx4 camera suffers from exposure and you need to take some photos to capture a good one, if you do you take a better picture but said mi4 deals with this better.is it true? i really dont care about camera though, my current phone(galaxy s1 i9000 yup stone age) doesnt even have flash..
as i said mx4 isnt even an option cause of 2gb ram, but mx4 pro is if its price is lower than lg g3.
i am actually in a hurry (galaxy s i9000),i cant wait any longer, and the market as long as you wait the next big thing is near the door, check snapdragon 810,then something else etc,i will make my move this december, i will either go for power(mx4 pro-mi4-lg g3) or for style(oppo r5-vivo max 5x), i am waiting for the 3 phones to be released oppo r5-vivo max- mx4 pro ,see the prices and offcourse get my paycheck for december 😛
I found the MI4 constantly took dark images. The MX4 does suffer from that from time to time but overall the Meizu is the better camera phone. Just my opinion though, the Mi4 is still a great phone.
Hey, I upgraded from my old Galaxy S Plus this year, I know how you feel. It sure feels good to have a phone that launches apps fast etc., but I really miss the contrast and deep black of the AMOLED. Just some food for thought.
@Andi Sykes: Can you pls explain the reason that why you still can’t review the highly anticipated model Nubia Z7 Max & as a long follower of Gizchina I haven’t seen you review any ZTE Devices,so far.I always wonder why???
Regards,
A highly disappointed Gizchina Fan!
Simple, we missed the launch of the Nubia and now there are newer phones which need to be reviewed. I do reach out for a review phone everytime I get a chance but still nothing, in the meantime reviews of other phones are still pending.
He’s explained this so many times already.
Okay,Andi I understood.Then pls atleast consider attending the upcoming ZTE’s Nubia Z9 Launch event which is rumoured to happen by Dec/Jan & also try to review Nubia Z9 asap after it’s official launch.Thanks in Advance!
Yeah,I too knew that he has explained it many times,but every time all he said was that he couldn’t get hold of it because Nubia Z7 Series seems to have got very high demand in china.
You don’t just show up for a launch, you must be invited. If I get an invite and it doesn’t clash with Christmas and New Year I’ll go.
So far I’ve only tried the Mini (owned by a friend) and the Max (in a store). To my limited time with both phones, they are low-cost because they are made to a lower quality. Great specs but build is way off what Xiaomi, OPO, and Meizu are offering.
Yes,Andi I too knew that you have to be invited for an launch event.If not attending ZTE’s Nubia launch event,pls atleast try to review upcoming ZTE’s Nubia Flagship series from now on.
Thanks a ton,Andi.Even though it’s a very short review it helped me a lot.I too had doubt that how ZTE were able to create a Nubia Z7 flagship series with such great specs for a low prize.So now,I am thinking of buying Redmi Note 4G Version which is scheduled to go on sale this Dec 15 via Flipkart Flashsales system in my India & it also seems like ZTE India is never interested in launching Nubia Z7 Series in my India.
http://wp.me/p45Feq-2m That’s my Nubia Z7 Max Review
Wow,thanks a lot bro.It was really a great review!
Thanks for reading. Comparison with iPhone 5c camera if you wish. http://mf1gt3r.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/iphone-5c-vs-nubia-z7-max-vs-tecno-phantom-z/
Thanks a lot bro,I have read it.Comparison of photos is very good!
Gizchina’s Andi Skyes is saying that Nubia Z7 Max is made of low quality & it’s not even close to what Xiaomi,OPO & Huawei are offering.Are you sure that Nubia Z7 Max has got good build quality?I am highly considering to buy Nubia Z7 Max because it has Dual 4G Support+Cdma/Evdo Network Supports too which is used in my India & hence it will act as a future proof phone too.But,what makes me worried is that Nubia Z7 Max is having 2.5 GB Apps Partition System,no NTFS File System support,no kernel source code & no Roms support.What is the video play back time after continous usage with wifi on & both sims are set to 2G Networks?
As always, great review Andi. Cant wait for the K52 to come out ann it will be MEIZU’s first take on entry level, low-mid range priced smartphone. Might visit Zhuhai Meizu HQ Jan 2015 for training, will definitely stay in Shen Zhen. See you around Hua Qiang Bei.=)
Can Some One Tell Me About the Actual Release Date of Meizu MX4 Pro?
December 6 in China. JD.com has taken close to 900,000 preorders, and that’s just one of Meizu’s official partners. Like the MX4, there’s going to be quite a backlog to work through.
Nice review, but mention of battery life?
Nice review, but no mention of battery life?
Check again, it’s under “Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Battery”
Thanks. How did I miss that?
As always, great review Andi. Cant wait for the K52 to come out ann it will be MEIZU’s first take on entry level, low-mid range priced smartphone. Might visit Zhuhai Meizu HQ Jan 2015 for training, will definitely stay in Shen Zhen. See you around Hua Qiang Bei.=)
Hi Andi, Thanks for the great review. Could you elaborate on how the Vivo Xshot’s audio is better? I was surprised as the MX 4 PRO is supposed to have a better amp
It just doesn’t sound as deep and rich as the Vivo. I also compared with a Note 4 and that too has nicer audio than the MX4 Pro.
Thanks for a highly anticipated review Andi! Once again Meizu is heading to a nice direction and offering high-class devices. In my opinion, MX4 pro has nothing to be jealous off from other flagship devices and a huge plus is the audio components it has. I know they are not used are they supposed at the moment but I’m sure they will fix this with a future update of the software.
And the last comments about MX4 and MX4 pro make even more relieved that I decided to go for MX4… exactly for the reasons you said… smaller size, same performance in camera/everyday use and same battery life. And ofc as I always say, more than FHD on phones is nonsense!
The only thing I’d like on MX4 is the 1 extra GB of RAM but I don’t think I will notice the difference since I’m not a heavy gamer in mobile devices
Perhaps you should read your reviews before posting. I found quite a lot of spelling mistakes in them.
Can Some One Tell Me About the Actual Release Date of Meizu MX4 Pro?
December 6 in China. JD.com has taken close to 900,000 preorders, and that’s just one of Meizu’s official partners. Like the MX4, there’s going to be quite a backlog to work through.
Nice review, but mention of battery life?
Nice review, but no mention of battery life?
Check again, it’s under “Meizu MX4 Pro Review – Battery”
Thanks. How did I miss that?
Hi Andi, Thanks for the great review. Could you elaborate on how the Vivo Xshot’s audio is better? I was surprised as the MX 4 PRO is supposed to have a better amp
It just doesn’t sound as deep and rich as the Vivo. I also compared with a Note 4 and that too has nicer audio than the MX4 Pro.
Thanks for a highly anticipated review Andi! Once again Meizu is heading to a nice direction and offering high-class devices. In my opinion, MX4 pro has nothing to be jealous off from other flagship devices and a huge plus is the audio components it has. I know they are not used are they supposed at the moment but I’m sure they will fix this with a future update of the software.
And the last comments about MX4 and MX4 pro make even more relieved that I decided to go for MX4… exactly for the reasons you said… smaller size, same performance in camera/everyday use and same battery life. And ofc as I always say, more than FHD on phones is nonsense!
The only thing I’d like on MX4 is the 1 extra GB of RAM but I don’t think I will notice the difference since I’m not a heavy gamer in mobile devices
Great Review Andi
the issues you mentioned sound strange though. i would say that all the available units of MX4 Pro still a samples,, let’s just wait and see if the final products will be the same
i also agree with you about the HIFI Audio ,, Vivo is no.1 ( in my opinion ) when it comes to audio in a smart phone..still i can’t imagine that a fireware fix can make the HIFI audio better..maybe im wrong,, or at least i hope so,,
one more request Andi,, please review the final device after meizu release it Dec.6 .. we need to know if they can fix these issues you mentioned,,
again,, thank you for your honest review
It is possible that the audio will improve with a firmware fix, or just using a different music app rather than the stock one. The DAC chip in the MX4 PRO is very good and is the same one used in the high end DAP the iBasso DX90
Thank you for the sharing these details,, and im glad to know that It is possible that the audio will improve with a firmware fix..to be honest,, i was shocked when i read Andi’s review on the audio performance knowing that the MX4 Pro have a great hardware to be in top for audio.. let’s just wait for the final review,, hope it will be ASAP
The reviewer said he prefers Vivo. On what basis? Yup, personal preference. Just like yours. It’s obviously much harder when you can’t do a side-by-side demonstration to make your choice, so reviews do help. But this review simply states “in all honesty I would say that Vivo have an edge over Meizu”. That’s it. What type of music? What kind of music file? IEMs? Headphones? Low or high impedance? Flat, preset, or custom equalization? Sound effects on or off? If you look at standardized RMAA results, the MX4 Pro will do 114dB of dynamic range at 24-96 (no sample rate conversion), which is better than the Vivo Xshot or Xplay 3S. At lower sample rates, it’s a wash. The Pro has lower THD and IMD. Stereo separation is better on the two Vivos. Pick your poison now, wait for more reviews, doesn’t really matter since you are the only one whose listening can decide.
Great Review Andi
the issues you mentioned sound strange though. i would say that all the available units of MX4 Pro still a samples,, let’s just wait and see if the final products will be the same
i also agree with you about the HIFI Audio ,, Vivo is no.1 ( in my opinion ) when it comes to audio in a smart phone..still i can’t imagine that a fireware fix can make the HIFI audio better..maybe im wrong,, or at least i hope so,,
one more request Andi,, please review the final device after meizu release it Dec.6 .. we need to know if they can fix these issues you mentioned,,
again,, thank you for your honest review
It is possible that the audio will improve with a firmware fix, or just using a different music app rather than the stock one. The DAC chip in the MX4 PRO is very good and is the same one used in the high end DAP the iBasso DX90
Thank you for the sharing these details,, and im glad to know that It is possible that the audio will improve with a firmware fix..to be honest,, i was shocked when i read Andi’s review on the audio performance knowing that the MX4 Pro have a great hardware to be in top for audio.. let’s just wait for the final review,, hope it will be ASAP
The reviewer said he prefers Vivo. On what basis? Yup, personal preference. Just like yours. It’s obviously much harder when you can’t do a side-by-side demonstration to make your choice, so reviews do help. But this review simply states “in all honesty I would say that Vivo have an edge over Meizu”. That’s it. What type of music? What kind of music file? IEMs? Headphones? Low or high impedance? Flat, preset, or custom equalization? Sound effects on or off? If you look at standardized RMAA results, the MX4 Pro will do 114dB of dynamic range at 24-96 (no sample rate conversion), which is better than the Vivo Xshot or Xplay 3S. At lower sample rates, it’s a wash. The Pro has lower THD and IMD. Stereo separation is better on the two Vivos. Pick your poison now, wait for more reviews, doesn’t really matter since you are the only one whose listening can decide.
Anything about availability? Pre-order is already there, but out of curiosity – do you know Andy when can we expect this phone to go to market?
Anything about availability? Pre-order is already there, but out of curiosity – do you know Andy when can we expect this phone to go to market?
Hei Andy! Wanted to ask have you used xiaomi mi4? If you have which one would you suggest?
Hei Andy! Wanted to ask have you used xiaomi mi4? If you have which one would you suggest?
Andi, did you switch from Vivo to MX4 Pro as a daily driver? What’s your thoughts on using MX4 Pro after a while?
Andi, did you switch from Vivo to MX4 Pro as a daily driver? What’s your thoughts on using MX4 Pro after a while?
360$ in aliexpress :O, can’t think of a better deal right now
360$ in aliexpress :O, can’t think of a better deal right now