IUNI and Meizu drop phone prices but the IUNI U3 is the real deal!

Both IUNI and Meizu have cut prices of popular device in China, but the clear winner in the price war is the IUNI U3 at incredible 1399 Yuan!

IUNI, a relatively new brand with 4 phones to their name, have joined a price war against Meizu today, but it is clear who is going to win the battle! Meizu recently dropped the price of their 16GB Meizu MX4 in China to 1499 Yuan, a saving of 300 Yuan over the launch price.

But it is IUNI that have really been generous. In an announcement today IUNI have dropped the price of their IUNI U3 to just 1399 Yuan! This is an incredible price.

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When originally launched the IUNI U3 was, and still is, the most affordable phone on the market with a 2K display, 3GB RAM and Snapdragon processor. The phone also sports an ultra-pixel front camrea and 13 mega-pixel rear with OIS. A killer specification, and now even better value.

In comparison the Meizu MX4 now costs 100 Yuan more, has a 1080 display, Mediatek processor, 2GB RAM, no OIS and only a single SIM slot. I know where my money would go.

IUNI phones have shown up on reseller sites recently at low prices. The all metal U2 was made available for $160 on some sites not long ago, and we can imagine the U3 will soon show up at a similar low price soon too.

So who is up for bagging a bargain IUNI? And does this mean a new flagship IUNI U4 is on the horizon?

[ Cngdgt, Source 2 ]

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About the author

Andi

- Gordon
  May 29, 2015
Max
May 29, 2015
I’ve had a U3 since November and I love it, screen is beautiful, camera is great, OS is really clean and easy to use and it hasn’t broken yet! Its a really nice phone all in all and was great at 2000rmb 🙂
- Rob
  May 29, 2015
  Does it have Google play on it now and has the software had any updates since you bought it?
  - Max
    May 29, 2015
    I’m based in China so never installed Google Play, not much need for it here. The OS has been updated 3 times since Novembert. Ive really like their OS, its very clean and functional and has never crashed on me which is a big contrast with other Android phones I’ve had. I think the only software to date that I couldn’t install was Swype. I should mention that the front camera isn’t especially good but its not a dealbreaker 🙂
    - Dr Solom
      May 29, 2015
      What about battery life and where to buy if you are in China with this price
      - Louis Mario
        June 4, 2015
        Battery is decent for a 2k display, with intense high quallity gaming (like MC5, GTA SA, Riptide, etc) it lasts about 3-4 hours, with normal use (ocasional web browsing, whatsapp, music, watching some youtube videos, etc) a day, maybe more.
  - Louis Mario
    June 4, 2015
    I have Google Play installed, and has no problems, never crashes. I have installed 2 updates via OTA since i bought it, and there’s a newer beta version which you can download from the official site, i just downloaded it but not installed yet.
- Kamui
  May 29, 2015
  I have one changing hands in my job. The OS is really beautiful but UNSTABLE like hell. Most wifi DCs, whats app not working, Facebook problems in general the OS is optimized only for China. On the other hand the phone is one of the best design phones out there

Stef
May 29, 2015
Well to be fair a 1440p display is more of a disadvantage given that it eventuates the phone to perform worse, the apps to use more ram without much of an improvement in image quality. 1080p is enough as long as the colours are accurate and there is a great visibility outside and across all angles.
For example I’m pretty sure the Elife E7 (quite cheaper than this phone) has -most probably- way better performance without much loss in screen clarity. Then again each to his own I guess…
- Rob
  May 29, 2015
  I wouldn’t bet on it, their software is rubbish. The hardware of the E7 is great especially at the insanely low price you can now buy it for but the ROM doesn’t do it justice. I would buy the IUNI (in fact I did) but cancelled my order as Google services wasn’t available back then, I would go for it at this price if it had a 6″ screen.
  - Stef
    May 29, 2015
    I thought that they use the same software given that IUNI is Gionee’s company… Anyway my comment meant to be more general given that there are other phones with similar specs without the bad software. So a 1080p phone should (at least in theory) be faster at all times.
    BTW there are at least some roms (for gionee phones) that ameliorate the situation (of the bad software) but I guess not everyone is into rom flashing.
    - balcobomber25
      May 29, 2015
      IUNI is a sub brand of Gionee, like One Plus for OPPO. They have different names for their software, Gionee runs Amigo and IUNI runs IUNI OS. I have never used a IUNI so I have no clue if there is an actual difference or if it’s just a fresh coat of paint and a new name.
      - Stef
        May 29, 2015
        Well thank for the info. I only ever used Gionees (and promptly changed the software to better ones found on the ‘net, seriously the Amigo guys should get their act together).
        balcobomber25
        May 29, 2015
        Yea I’m a big fan of Gionee, everyone I had was excellent build quality and lasted a long time. But I always switch Amigo as well.
Jason45
May 29, 2015
Xiaomi has also lowered the price of the Mi4 2GB version to 1499 yuan.

poison
May 29, 2015
yeah don t forget the crapy chinese ROM
Base
May 29, 2015
But Meizu has FDD-LTE, is 31gr. leighter and has soon Flyme based on Lollipop…
I wait for the next generation because I hope that than they will be “more perfect”. 😉

Ruby
May 29, 2015
Bring it on! Let the price wars begin!
Rumor has it that OnePlus will drop the prices of the One on June 1st.
64GB = $298
16GB = $248
Clearing inventory for the upcoming ‘Two’? Maybe, but who cares.
The bean counters at LG, Samsung and Apple must be shitting bricks.
Gilles
May 29, 2015
- amirexpressir
  May 29, 2015
1400 yuan = 225 USD + reseller mark up = too much for me.
lordsbm
May 29, 2015
Had the U2 ever since their 1st offer at 999RMB. A really well built phone, love everything except the unresponsive touch buttons below (use back button app to help) and the IUNI firmware buggy when google apps are added. Luckily walton primo z is a rebrand of U2 and there’s a Vanilla KitKat ROM available. After using this rom I really enjoyed the U2. If U3 is 999RMB and has other ROM available then it’s a really great buy 🙂
- Ulti
  May 30, 2015
  Exactly my main gripe with the U2. Bought it for my brother for xmas but the capacitive touch navigation buttons were unresponsive as hell so I sold the phone on eBay and bought my brother a Nubia Z5S and haven’t looked back. The screen quality and build quality on the U2 was amazing though but Google Play issues, poor software and unresponsive touch buttons made it almost unusable without spending time fixing it. The Z5S is plasticky as hell but other than that everything works as it should so can’t complain as it was pretty much the same price as the U2 for me.

Guest
May 29, 2015
MaxPower
May 29, 2015
Another great phone at a great price but with a crappy software.
I don’t understand why these companies don’t just release the full code/kernel/drivers and let the community work on it for free instead of paying their own developers to do that crappy work.
They would sell twice as much.
Some person
May 29, 2015
- Gordon
  May 29, 2015

Guest
May 29, 2015
I’ve had a U3 since November and I love it, screen is beautiful, camera is great, OS is really clean and easy to use and it hasn’t broken yet! Its a really nice phone all in all and was great at 2000rmb 🙂
- Rob
  May 29, 2015
  Does it have Google play on it now and has the software had any updates since you bought it?
- Guest
  May 29, 2015
  I’m based in China so never installed Google Play, not much need for it here. The OS has been updated 3 times since Novembert. Ive really like their OS, its very clean and functional and has never crashed on me which is a big contrast with other Android phones I’ve had. I think the only software to date that I couldn’t install was Swype. I should mention that the front camera isn’t especially good but its not a dealbreaker 🙂
- Dr Solom
  May 29, 2015
  What about battery life and where to buy if you are in China with this price
- Kamui
  May 29, 2015
  I have one changing hands in my job. The OS is really beautiful but UNSTABLE like hell. Most wifi DCs, whats app not working, Facebook problems in general the OS is optimized only for China. On the other hand the phone is one of the best design phones out there
- Louis Mario
  June 5, 2015
  I have Google Play installed, and has no problems, never crashes. I have installed 2 updates via OTA since i bought it, and there’s a newer beta version which you can download from the official site, i just downloaded it but not installed yet.
- Louis Mario
  June 5, 2015
  Battery is decent for a 2k display, with intense high quallity gaming (like MC5, GTA SA, Riptide, etc) it lasts about 3-4 hours, with normal use (ocasional web browsing, whatsapp, music, watching some youtube videos, etc) a day, maybe more.

Stef
May 29, 2015
Well to be fair a 1440p display is more of a disadvantage given that it eventuates the phone to perform worse, the apps to use more ram without much of an improvement in image quality. 1080p is enough as long as the colours are accurate and there is a great visibility outside and across all angles.
For example I’m pretty sure the Elife E7 (quite cheaper than this phone) has -most probably- way better performance without much loss in screen clarity. Then again each to his own I guess…
- Rob
  May 29, 2015
  I wouldn’t bet on it, their software is rubbish. The hardware of the E7 is great especially at the insanely low price you can now buy it for but the ROM doesn’t do it justice. I would buy the IUNI (in fact I did) but cancelled my order as Google services wasn’t available back then, I would go for it at this price if it had a 6″ screen.
- Stef
  May 29, 2015
  I thought that they use the same software given that IUNI is Gionee’s company… Anyway my comment meant to be more general given that there are other phones with similar specs without the bad software. So a 1080p phone should (at least in theory) be faster at all times.
  BTW there are at least some roms (for gionee phones) that ameliorate the situation (of the bad software) but I guess not everyone is into rom flashing.
- balcobomber25
  May 29, 2015
  IUNI is a sub brand of Gionee, like One Plus for OPPO. They have different names for their software, Gionee runs Amigo and IUNI runs IUNI OS. I have never used a IUNI so I have no clue if there is an actual difference or if it’s just a fresh coat of paint and a new name.
- Stef
  May 29, 2015
  Well thank for the info. I only ever used Gionees (and promptly changed the software to better ones found on the ‘net, seriously the Amigo guys should get their act together).
- balcobomber25
  May 29, 2015
  Yea I’m a big fan of Gionee, everyone I had was excellent build quality and lasted a long time. But I always switch Amigo as well.

Jason45
May 29, 2015
Xiaomi has also lowered the price of the Mi4 2GB version to 1499 yuan.
Zeeshan Nathani
May 29, 2015
But still, it has its disadvantages
(1) 2K screen= faster draining battery
(2) No NFC
(3) NO infrared
(4) No SD card
(5) Uncertain regarding future upgrades
(6) No slo-mo or 4K recording
(7) And its dayum HEAVY !!!!k
Carlos T
May 29, 2015
Meizu has gorilla glass 3 though, IUNI does not
Guest
May 29, 2015
yeah don t forget the crapy chinese ROM

Guest
May 29, 2015
But Meizu has FDD-LTE, is 31gr. leighter and has soon Flyme based on Lollipop…
I wait for the next generation because I hope that than they will be “more perfect”. 😉
Ruby
May 29, 2015
Bring it on! Let the price wars begin!
Rumor has it that OnePlus will drop the prices of the One on June 1st.
64GB = $298
16GB = $248
Clearing inventory for the upcoming ‘Two’? Maybe, but who cares.
The bean counters at LG, Samsung and Apple must be shitting bricks.
Guest
May 29, 2015
- amirexpressir
  May 30, 2015

balcobomber25
May 29, 2015
I have to agree with Max the U3 has the better specs but the Mx4 has the better software. The Mx4 camera may not have OIS but is still one of my favorite cameras available last year and I prefer the design of it to the U3. If I was going to buy either I would go with MX4.
Muhammad Yasir
May 29, 2015
MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if i can get it in the country tho…
- Angry Mobile Nerd
  May 30, 2015
  Ah!? Is this the unicorn mobile phone that finally fully satisfies all of Muhammad Yasir’s demands?
  - Muhammad Yasir
    May 30, 2015

toioioio
May 29, 2015
thanks a lot,i prefer the price drop of vibe z2pro.
Guest
May 29, 2015
1400 yuan = 225 USD + reseller mark up = too much for me.
Guest
May 29, 2015
Had the U2 ever since their 1st offer at 999RMB. A really well built phone, love everything except the unresponsive touch buttons below (use back button app to help) and the IUNI firmware buggy when google apps are added. Luckily walton primo z is a rebrand of U2 and there’s a Vanilla KitKat ROM available. After using this rom I really enjoyed the U2. If U3 is 999RMB and has other ROM available then it’s a really great buy 🙂
- Ulti
  May 30, 2015
  Exactly my main gripe with the U2. Bought it for my brother for xmas but the capacitive touch navigation buttons were unresponsive as hell so I sold the phone on eBay and bought my brother a Nubia Z5S and haven’t looked back. The screen quality and build quality on the U2 was amazing though but Google Play issues, poor software and unresponsive touch buttons made it almost unusable without spending time fixing it. The Z5S is plasticky as hell but other than that everything works as it should so can’t complain as it was pretty much the same price as the U2 for me.

MaxPower
May 29, 2015
Another great phone at a great price but with a crappy software.
I don’t understand why these companies don’t just release the full code/kernel/drivers and let the community work on it for free instead of paying their own developers to do that crappy work.
They would sell twice as much.
Zeeshan Nathani
May 29, 2015
But still, it has its disadvantages
(1) 2K screen= faster draining battery
(2) No NFC
(3) NO infrared
(4) No SD card
(5) Uncertain regarding future upgrades
(6) No slo-mo or 4K recording
(7) And its dayum HEAVY !!!!k
Carlos T
May 29, 2015
Meizu has gorilla glass 3 though, IUNI does not

balcobomber25
May 29, 2015
I have to agree with Max the U3 has the better specs but the Mx4 has the better software. The Mx4 camera may not have OIS but is still one of my favorite cameras available last year and I prefer the design of it to the U3. If I was going to buy either I would go with MX4.
Guest
May 29, 2015
MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if i can get it in the country tho…
- Angry Mobile Nerd
  May 30, 2015
  Ah!? Is this the unicorn mobile phone that finally fully satisfies all of Muhammad Yasir’s demands?
- Guest
  May 30, 2015
  just about …. it was inches away!

toioioio
May 29, 2015
thanks a lot,i prefer the price drop of vibe z2pro.
Qidamin
May 30, 2015
Got it since last week, bought it at 1599 yuans and did not expect the price to drop down again! Overall a great phone, change the rom into french one, with Google Apps. Some issue with Google keyboard once updated it crashes everytime, but easy to change to another one. Camera is quite good (though video is so so), OS is also quite nice but quite simple (very few camera options for example). Once settle with other apps, it is quite great for the price. Another issue is that it does not accept my Xiaomi piston (I have seen the same issue on their forum for different headsets, some are working, some do not).

Qidamin
May 30, 2015
Got it since last week, bought it at 1599 yuans and did not expect the price to drop down again! Overall a great phone, change the rom into french one, with Google Apps. Some issue with Google keyboard once updated it crashes everytime, but easy to change to another one. Camera is quite good (though video is so so), OS is also quite nice but quite simple (very few camera options for example). Once settle with other apps, it is quite great for the price. Another issue is that it does not accept my Xiaomi piston (I have seen the same issue on their forum for different headsets, some are working, some do not).

Louis Mario
June 4, 2015
I’m a non-chinesse IUNI U3 user, and i’m very satisfied with it, at first i was between these 2 phones, but gave a chance to IUNI, and that was the best choice, i have the Google PlayStore installed and runs without any trouble, no forced closes or so, the ROM is beautifull, smooth and clean, but not perfect, has a few buggs but that’s no a dealbreaker, and there are other roms like MIUI, AMIGO, and the one for xperia phones (don’t remember the name xD) that i’ll install soon.
- Melsyoo
  October 3, 2015
  Hey, sorry for the late reply but I’ve had this phone since November but never managed to get Google Play Services on it:/. Could you please explain to me how you put the Play Services on it!
Louis Mario
June 5, 2015
I’m a non-chinesse IUNI U3 user, and i’m very satisfied with it, at first i was between these 2 phones, but gave a chance to IUNI, and that was the best choice, i have the Google PlayStore installed and runs without any trouble, no forced closes or so, the ROM is beautifull, smooth and clean, but not perfect, has a few buggs but that’s no a dealbreaker, and there are other roms like MIUI, AMIGO, and the one for xperia phones (don’t remember the name xD) that i’ll install soon.
- Melsyoo
  October 3, 2015
  Hey, sorry for the late reply but I’ve had this phone since November but never managed to get Google Play Services on it:/. Could you please explain to me how you put the Play Services on it!

Andi

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