Meizu pro 6 32gb white review.

Introduction

I used the Meizu Pro 5 smartphone, presented last year, for quite a long time, I managed to understand all its positive and negative sides. As a result, I internally determined for myself that Pro 5 is mine: excellent materials, good assembly, high performance not only in applications, but also with the operation of the interface, a good camera, a large amount of RAM, which made it possible not to unload the necessary applications from it. The only gripe is the size. Yes, it is thin, but relatively heavy and, most importantly (from a negative point of view), large. It's one thing to sit still in the office and periodically pick up the Pro 5 from the table to write another tweet, another thing is to try to use the gadget on the go, on the subway or on a bus full of passengers. I think many will understand what is at stake.

Frankly, in the next generation of firmware, I expected the same 5.7-inch diagonal, only with a more sophisticated chip and other parameters. However, Meizu surprised us by presenting the Pro 6 in a much more compact form. Which makes me personally happy.

But it’s worth starting with the fact that Meizu did a good job of leading us by the nose: remember how photos of a certain device “leaked” into the network, and everyone thought it was a new iPhone. And when the novelty from Apple came out, many were at a loss: is it possible that a similar design will be used in another device of the “apple” company. After the announcement of Meizu Pro 6, everything fell into place. And I'm glad that the Pro 6 turned out to be exactly that mysterious device from the network.

Smartphone Pro 6 is currently the flagship of Meizu. There is confidence that this will not last long: probably in the near future we will see a phablet (such as MX6) with the technical characteristics of the "firmware", only with a large screen size and resolution (5.7 "QHD SuperAMOLED) - a kind of Xiaomi Mi Max answer.

The new Meizu Pro 6 is based on the MediaTek Helio X25 chipset (Pro 5 had a processor from Samsung), equipped with 4 GB of RAM, a small 5.2-inch screen and FullHD resolution. Interestingly, this time Meizu used a SuperAMOLED screen matrix with all the resulting settings. The camera module remains the same, but the lens has changed a little (the angle is slightly wider). From the original: Pro 6 has an analogue of Apple 3D Touch - Meizu 3D Press.

Pre-order is currently open. The cost of Pro 6 for 32 GB is 33,000 rubles, for 64 GB - 36,000 rubles. And for those who pay for the pre-order in full, there are HD50 “ears” (they cost about 5,000 rubles separately).

Specifications of Meizu Pro 6

• Body materials: metal, glass, plastic inserts
• Operating system: Android 6.0, Flyme 6.1
• Network: GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA, LTE (TD/FDD-LTE), DualSIM (nanoSIM)
• Screen: Super AMOLED, diagonal 5.2", resolution 1920x1080, ppi 423, automatic backlight level adjustment, protective glass 2.5D, screen pressure detection (3D Press)
• Platform: MediaTek Helio X25
• Processor: 10-core, 64-bit, four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.4 GHz + four Cortex-A53 cores at 2 GHz + two Cortex-A72 cores at 2.5 GHz
• Graphics: Mali T880 (four cores)
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage Memory: 32/64 GB
• Memory card slot: no
• Main camera: 21 MP, 6 lenses, f / 2.2, laser and phase detection autofocus, circular LED flash (10 LEDs), video is recorded in 4k
• Front camera: 5 MP, f/2.0, video is recorded in 1080p
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac) Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), USB Type C connector (USB 3.1, MHL) for charge/sync, 3.5 mm for headset
• Navigation: GPS (support A-GPS), Glonass
• Audio: Cirrus Logic CS43L36 DAC
• Optional: mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor
• Battery: 2560 mAh
• Dimensions: 147.7 x 70.8 x 7.2 mm
• Weight: 160 grams

Contents of delivery

• Smartphone
• Network adapter
• USB Type-C cable
• Metal clip to remove the SIM tray
• Brief instruction
• Warranty card

Design, dimensions, controls

When you mention the Apple iPhone in the text, in the comments of many, I apologize for the expression, it blows the roof off. However, there is no getting around: one way or another, most Chinese companies copy the appearance of Apple devices and do not even hide the fact that they are extremely positive about products from Cupertino.

From the front side, Meizu Pro 6 is a complete copy of the Apple iPhone 6S, the only difference is that in Pro 6 the mechanical button is not round, but oval. The shape of the case is rectangular, the corners are strongly bevelled, fashionable 2.5D glass is used, the side edges are sloping. In general, the device looks nice, neat and quite nice. Dimensions - 147.7 x 70.8 x 7.2 mm, weight - 160 grams.

The gadget lies perfectly in the hand, the weight could be less, but in this case the device would “dissolve” in the palm of your hand, which is not very pleasant when using the phone, you need to feel it.

The back cover is metal, they say that the "hardware" in it is about 98%. Let's take our word for it. Antennas are located under the plastic inserts at the top and bottom. Moreover, they are distributed not in a straight line, but along the perimeter of the faces. A rather simple, but original solution, which Meizu was the first to think of.

The device will go on sale in three colors: silver and gold with a white front panel and dark gray with a black front panel. We had a model in white on the review. In my opinion, it looks less interesting than black (it reminds many of the Apple iPhone in Space Grey). There are handprints on the back of the Pro 6, the front panel is covered with an oleophobic layer, the quality is excellent, the finger glides easily. The display is protected by 3rd generation Corning Gorilla Glass.

On top of the front panel, the front camera, light and proximity sensor, and voice speaker are symmetrically located. The speaker has a high volume (there is a margin), excellent intelligibility, a pleasant low-frequency timbre.

Below the screen is a branded button. It performs the same functions as the button in the Pro 5: mechanical pressing (Home exit), touching (Back) and as an mTouch 2.1 fingerprint sensor: response speed 0.2 seconds, recognition angle - 360 degrees, up to 5 fingerprints .

At the bottom there is a 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones, a main microphone, USB Type-C (USB 3.1) and four holes where the speakerphone is hidden. Above is an additional microphone.

On the right is the phone's power button (activation of the backlight, lock) and the volume rocker. Made of metal, it is relatively convenient to use, I would like them to be more convex.

On the left side are metal sleds. They have two nano sim cards installed. There is no slot for a memory card in this model.

On the reverse side is the camera eye, which rises slightly above the body. Bezel silver, polished metal. A flash is unusually designed a little lower: 10 small LEDs are placed in a circle (5 warm glow and the same amount of cold). In the center of the flash is a black area. There is a laser focusing system.

Meizu and Apple iPhone 5

Display

The Meizu Pro 6 uses a 5.2-inch screen. Let me remind you that in M1 / ​​M2 Note the diagonal is 5.5", in MX4 - 5.36", and in MX4 Pro - 5.5", in Pro 5 - 5.7". The physical size of the Pro 6 display is 64x114 mm, the frame on top is 15.5 mm, on the bottom is 16, on the right and on the left - a little less than 3 mm, one of the best indicators. There is an anti-reflective coating.

Meizu Pro 6 display resolution - FullHD, that is, 1080x1920 pixels, density - 423 pixels per inch. The matrix is ​​manufactured by Samsung - SuperAMOLED. The so-called "Pentile" effect is present here, but it is completely invisible to the eye.

The maximum brightness of white color is 352 cd / m2 (official data is 350). Contrast - 10,000:1.

The white line is the goal we are trying to achieve. The yellow line is the actual screen data. You can see that we are almost directly on the target curve at values ​​from 0 to 100%, which means that at each value the image is sufficiently highlighted. The yellow line is actually the average of red, green and blue.

The average gamma value is 2.3.

Judging by the level chart, blue is in excess, and red is in short supply.

At minimum brightness, the temperature is closer to 8300 K, with an increase it reaches 9000 K.

Judging by the diagram, the received data is much larger than the sRGB triangle, especially in the green zone.

Almost all gray points are located outside the DeltaE=10 radius, which indicates that other shades of colors will be present in gray colors.

Viewing angles are maximum, under certain tilts of the screen the picture is slightly green.

behavior in the world

Behavior in the shadow

Viewing angles

White color

This model has proprietary color saturation settings from Samsung. In addition, you can select the color temperature and turn on Blue Light Eye Protection.

The device supports quick wake-up functions: double tap, other gestures. There is SmartTouch. When turned on, a small dot appears on the screen, with which you can perform various actions: pressing the dot - “Back”, moving from the bottom up - launching the notification panel, and so on.

Meizu Pro 6 has a 3D Press function, which is similar to Apple's 3D Touch. When you press your finger on certain interface elements, the device recognizes the force of pressure. Depending on this, it displays different information. For example, if you forcefully press the "Phone" icon, an additional menu will appear with a choice between adding a new contact or searching for subscribers.

The chip is cool, but nothing more. It is unlikely that there will be a large number of programmers for developing applications specifically for Meizu Pro 6. Except perhaps for the Chinese software market. In the settings, you can choose the force of pressing or disable 3D Press altogether.

Battery

This model uses a non-removable 2560 mAh battery.

When working with the device, the battery lasted for about 15-17 hours: about 20-30 minutes of calls per day, about 6 hours of using 3G / 4G (constant mail synchronization, Twitter, WhatsApp, Skype, and so on), about 5 hours of Wi-Fi, several dozen photos, an hour of listening to music.

In a more gentle mode, the gadget works up to 24 hours. If you leave only data synchronization (Wi-Fi), then you can count on two days. Up to 13 hours of continuous talk.

In movie mode (FullHD / 4K), the battery runs out after about 9 hours, in game mode, the battery lasts for about 3.5 hours, in sound playback mode at maximum volume - up to 50 hours.

“Compared to the conventional 5V=2A solution, the charging speed of Meizu PRO 6 is improved by 140%. The battery charges up to 26% in just 10 minutes of charging, and up to 100% in just 60 minutes. The result of collaboration with MediaTek and Texas Instruments is mCharge 3.0 with precise power distribution. This technology allows the three IC chips to constantly communicate, quickly switching high and low voltage depending on temperature and current battery consumption. Compared to other fast charging devices, mCharge 3.0 is 20% more efficient and the battery temperature is 5 degrees Celsius lower.

The company also introduced Meizu PRO 6 with a new data cable. Interface reliability increased by 15%. With mCharge 3.0, charging with the new cable is now even faster and safer.”

Power Controller MT6351V

Unfortunately, we did not have a branded cable and network adapter in our review. As soon as we get it, we add the true values.

Communication options

The device is equipped with two nanoSIM slots. Both connectors support 3G/4G network (LTE CAT 6) in Russian frequencies: FDD-LTE / TD-LTE / TD-SCDMA / WCDMA / GSM.

Network types:

• 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz)
• 3G WCDMA/HSPA+ (900/2100 MHz)
• 4G FDD-LTE (1800/2100/2600 MHz)

Unlike the Pro 5, the Pro 6 does not have an NFC chip.

The rest is standard: Wi-Fi (ac and b/g/n) dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, USB Type-C connector (USB 3.1, MHL, USB-OTG, USB-Host) for charge/sync. GPS navigation works without problems. In addition, PRO 6 also uses VoLTE technology.

Memory and memory card

The smartphone will be available in two versions:

• 4 GB RAM (LPDDR3) and 32 GB internal
• 4 GB RAM (LPDDR3) and 64 GB internal

In both cases, the built-in memory eMMC version 5.1.

cameras

Two cameras: main 21.16 MP (6 lenses, aperture F2.2, Sony IMX230 with an area of ​​1/2.4” with a pixel size of 1.12 nm), front 5 MP (F2.0). The flash has two colors of glow: cold and warm. There is a laser (the company claims that its range has increased as much as 4 times) and phase focusing. Optical stabilization, unfortunately, is missing.

The Sony IMX230 module was the first multi-layer CMOS sensor with phase detection autofocus.

If we compare the camera Pro 5 and Pro 6, then the last pictures come out a little more wide-angle. As for the detail, it is about the same. In general, I agree with the words of Artem Lutfullin:

“The camera in Meizu Pro 6 has become better than it was in Pro 5, in my opinion: focusing works a little faster, a little less noise, the picture itself has become more voluminous and deep, but compare it with cameras in LG G4, SGS6, Note 5 and especially with SGS7 / 7 Edge, I still won’t take it. ”

If you do not compare the Meizu camera with other devices of about the same price category, then you have an excellent module. Always fast and accurate focusing, accurate white balance, wide dynamic range and viewing angle, minimal noise even in low light conditions.

The device records video at a maximum resolution of 3840x2160 pixels at 30 fps. The quality is good, but the main drawback is the narrow viewing angle. Although it is still larger than in the Pro 5.

The usual manual settings for ISO, shutter speed, focus, and exposure remain. The rest is nothing new.

Photo examples

Underground

Day

Flash

Manual settings

Night

Selfie

Performance and software platform

The Meizu Pro 6 smartphone uses the Taiwanese MediaTek Helio X25 chipset, the world's first mobile processor with a three-cluster (Tri-Cluster) architecture and ten cores. Its full specifications are listed below.

CPU Helio X25

Most basic: 20 nm process technology, 10 cores, three clusters (2 ARM Cortex-A72 cores + 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores + 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores). Clusters switch automatically depending on the task. The more complex the application, the more clusters are involved:

“Simple tasks are directed by the chipset to one cluster of cores, while more complex (and more energy-intensive) tasks are distributed to two other clusters. If the smartphone only performs simple tasks - like sending an SMS or running a calculator - the chipset leaves only one cluster enabled and thus provides decent performance while conserving battery power.

Judging by the photo, a copper heat sink plate is laid in the upper part of the device. When the processor is under load, the Meizu Pro 6 case heats up slightly.

The Mali-T880MP4 accelerator is responsible for graphics processing.

As for the speed of work, then in front of you is the fastest device in terms of displaying information on the screen, animation speed.

If we are talking about toys, then Pro 6, unfortunately, is not the device on which you should run heavy games. Yes, they run, you can play, but the number of frames is not at all encouraging.

• Real Racing 3. Low FPS
• Asphalt 8. Low FPS
• Walking War Robots. Low FPS
• Modern Combat 5 Low FPS
• Dead Trigger 2 Low FPS
• dead effect. Low FPS
• World of Tanks. More or less, but sometimes FPS drops
• World of Derby. When you turn on the weather, the number of frames decreases
• Seashine. Everything is great
• Darkness Reborn. Everything is great

Performance Tests

The device runs on the operating system Google Android version 6.0. Since Meizu uses the proprietary Flyme shell (in this case, version 5.2), nothing remains of the “six”. The music player is standard for Meizu.

The mSound speaker has a very high volume, I think, at the level of Pro 5. The sound is clear, without wheezing. The third generation NXP TFA9911 amplifier is used to improve the sound quality and volume of the external speaker. The advanced chip can detect the status of the speaker and implement intelligent membrane vibration control (Adaptive Excursion Control). Real-time thermal protection is present: direct measurement ensures that the voice coil temperature never exceeds its nominal limit. You can read more details.

Nuance. It seemed to me that the developers were somewhat carried away by working on the speaker and its frequency response. The fact is that in some melodies or sounds, the speaker cannot transmit even lower frequencies, so it starts to “choke”. Fortunately, this rarely happens.

Also in Meizu Pro 6 there is a digital-to-analog converter (in a simple way - a music chip) from CS43L36 from Cirrus Logic. Alas, I could not find any sensible information on this DAC (for DataSheet lovers there is a page with DAC). Moreover, mentions of CS43L36 are displayed only in conjunction with Meizu Pro 6. Let me remind you that Pro 5 has a fancy ES9018K2M DAC.

I am not a professional in sound evaluation, but it seemed to me that the Pro 6 sounds no worse than the Pro 5. I evaluated the Meizu HD50 in the “ears”. Either way, the Pro 6 sounds better than the Samsung Galaxy S6.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that I have a rather positive attitude towards Meizu and its products, I will evaluate strictly.

There are no complaints about the quality of the cellular signal, the vibration signal is average in strength. Unfortunately, the smartphone does not have a notification indicator for missed calls, SMS and other things.

Appearance. There are no special complaints. However, the silver body is quickly covered with fingerprints, leaving dark marks on the light metal cover. Oleophobic coating of excellent quality, the finger glides like clockwork, fingerprints are invisible. As for the power button: it is desirable that it be more visible.

Screen. Despite the decent readings of the calibrator, at the corners the picture can be a little green. The rest of the matrix is ​​gorgeous: pixelization is invisible, contrast is high, color reproduction is accurate, there is saturation control. Separately, it is worth mentioning the blue filter.

cameras. If the Pro 6 had used optical stabilization, then the camera could be called one of the best among analogues (not flagships like the LG G4 / G5, Samsung S7, Apple iPhone 6S Plus - they still shoot better than the Pro 6). And so - just a good camera: fast, with accurate focusing. However, most users need only the last two parameters.

Performance. This is where Meizu will have to scold. The new chipset from MediaTek does not handle modern games well. Therefore, if you aim to take a smartphone for toys too, then the Pro 6 is clearly not for you. Perhaps time will pass, developers will optimize games for Helio X25, and then everything will be ok. If we are talking about animation speed and working with applications, Meizu Pro 6 is on the “horse” in this regard.

Sound. The speech speaker is of excellent quality, there is a margin for volume. The handsfree speaker is also loud, bassy, ​​ringing and clear. However, it went too far with low frequencies (so it seemed). The headphones sound high quality, loud. It will seem to someone that the CS43L36 DAC is not the level of ES9018K2M, but I liked everything.

General impression

Frankly, I was waiting for the price of Meizu Pro 6 in the region of 30,000 rubles, that is, the younger model is about 27,000 - 29,000 rubles, the older one is 30,000 - 32,000 rubles. However, if you subtract the cost of the HD50 headphones from the official price (33,000 rubles and 36,000 rubles), then it turns out exactly as I expected.

The device has several nuances that confuse me a little:

1. Lack of optical camera stabilization
2. Poor chipset and game optimization

It seems to me that a modern flagship smartphone must meet these two simple requirements.

All in all, the Meizu Pro 6 is a pretty gadget for the less sophisticated user.

Competitors:

• Samsung Galaxy S6. You can find from 27,000 rubles (not the PCT) and from 31,000 rubles (PCT). Pros: better camera, higher screen resolution, NFC, more optimized chipset, it's Samsung. Minus - 3 GB of RAM
• Huawei Honor 7. It costs about 25,000 rubles. In fact, an analogue of Pro 6, only a 3000 mAh battery
• Moto X Play. It costs about 26,000 rubles. Little RAM and a weak chip
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016). The price is about 31,000 rubles. Nice smartphone with great camera and big screen
• Xiaomi Mi5. It costs about 25,000 rubles. Not officially represented in Russia. Capacious battery, NFC, powerful chipset
• Lenovo Vibe Shot. You can find from 22,000 rubles. Unusual appearance, excellent camera, capacious battery
• Sony Xperia Z5. You can find from 37,000 rubles. Classic device from Sony
• Huawei P8. It costs from 25,000 rubles. Thin metal device.

The exterior of this smartphone stands out with a ring tone flash. At the same time, the device in a compact metal case will pleasantly surprise you not only with excellent sound, but also with a powerful processor, as well as new touch input technology. Vesti.Hi-tech dealt with all the "chips" of Meizu Pro 6

The "professional" novelty from Meizu continues the glorious traditions of "musical" flagships, such as and, at the same time delighting mobile music lovers at a completely adequate price. At the same time, according to the manufacturer, special attention in the device was paid not only to sound options, but also to the capabilities of the camera and screen. In addition, one of the "highlights" of the debuted smartphone was, of course, the new MediaTek platform, although, of course, the matter is not limited to it. The compactness of the case is easily explained by the decrease in the diagonal of the screen - it seems that the next round of fashion for frank "shovels" has already passed. Let's now consider in more detail what else has changed in Pro 6 compared to, say, the same .

Specifications

• Model: Pro 6
• OS: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Flyme OS 5.2.0.0G shell
• Processor: 10-core, 64-bit MediaTek Helio X25 (MT6797T): 2x ARM Cortex-A72 2.5GHz + 4x ARM Cortex-A53 2.0GHz + 4x ARM Cortex-A53 1.4GHz
• Graphics coprocessor: ARM Mali-T880 MP4 (850 MHz)
• RAM: 4 GB, 32-bit, dual-channel, LPDDR3, 933 MHz
• Storage Memory: 32GB/64GB (eMMC 5.1)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1 (LE), USB (3.1) Type-C (OTG, Host), 3.5 mm headphone jack
• Screen: capacitive touch, 3D Press technology, full lamination, Samsung production, Super AMOLED matrix, 5.2-inch diagonal, resolution 1920x1080 pixels, pixel density per inch 424 ppi, contrast ratio 10,000:1, brightness 350 cd/sq. m, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Primary camera: 20.7 MP, 1/2.4" optical size, Sony IMX230 Exmor RS, 6-element lens, f/2.2 aperture, phase and laser autofocus, 10-LED ring tone flash, 4K@30fps video, 120 slow motion fps, protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3, blue IR filter
• Front camera: 5 MP, OmniVision OV5670, 5-element lens, f/2.0 aperture, Blue Glass, Full video [email protected] fps
• Audio: Cirrus Logic CS43L36 24-bit 2-channel DAC, NXP Smart PA Gen 3 power amplifier (for speaker)
• Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+, LTE Cat. 6, FDD-LTE (1800/2100/2600MHz)
• SIM card: two nanoSIM (4FF format)
• Navigation: GPS/GLONASS/ BDS, A-GPS
• Sensors: gyroscope, compass, Hall sensor, accelerometer, light and proximity sensors (infrared), biometric sensor (mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner)
• Battery: non-removable, lithium-polymer, 2560 mAh, fast charging mCharge 3.0
• Colors: Dark Grey, Silver, Gold
• Dimensions: 147.7x70.8x7.25 mm
• Weight: 160 grams

Design, ergonomics

The novelty has retained most of the traditional design of its predecessors, although not without interesting nuances. So, Pro 6 received an all-metal unibody-case, as, however, befits the next flagship, even if it is a "musical" one.

However, unlike, for example, from, here they abandoned fairly wide radio-transparent inserts on the rear panel, replacing them with thin, originally curved plastic strips. The Pro 6's aluminum chassis features rounded corners and edges in three color options: dark grey, silver and gold. For the test, we got the last version of the color.

Note that the matte anodized finish is not easily soiled, which allows the device to easily maintain a neat appearance. Thus, the exterior of the new smartphone looks premium and expensive, to match the devices of the most famous brands.

Since the screen size has significantly decreased compared to (from 5.7 to 5.2 inches), the new model has become much more compact (147.7x70.8x7.25 mm versus 156.7x78x7.5 mm), and, of course, more ergonomic. Now let's compare the overall dimensions and weight of Pro 6 with its 5.2-inch "classmates" - and Xiaomi Mi 5 - (147.7x70.8x7.25 mm, 160 g) against (147x72.6x7.9 mm, 136 g) against (144.55x69.2x7.25 mm, 139 g). As you can see, Pro 6 turned out to be the most "weighty" in this team. However, in practice, this difference is nothing more than a game of numbers, which does not always reflect the real usability of a particular device.

The front camera has nothing to brag about. However, the necessary "make-up" for lovers of "selfies" is available here. The f/2.0 wide-angle lens has a 5-megapixel BSI sensor (OmniVision OV5670). Flash and autofocus are absent. The maximum resolution is achieved with the classic aspect ratio (4:3) - 2560x1920 pixels (5 MP).

The main camera can record videos not only in Full HD (1920x1080 pixels, 16:9) at 30 fps, but also in 4K mode (3840x2160 pixels, 16:9), and at the same frame rate. In turn, slow motion slo-mo (120/30 fps) is available only in HD resolution (1280x720 pixels). But for the front camera, the best recording quality is Full HD (1920x1080 pixels, 16:9) at 30 fps. Content is stored in MP4 container files (HEVC/AVC - video, AAC - sound).

The interface and functionality of the "Camera" application practically do not differ from those used, for example, in the . In particular, nine modes are available - "Auto", "Manual", "Video", "Portrait", "Panorama", "Focus change", "Slow motion", "Macro" and "GIF" (up to 6 minutes animations). In the settings, you can also enable HDR mode, as well as determine the size of the photo and video quality. When shooting in manual mode, you are prompted to choose the shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, saturation, white balance, etc. yourself. For "Portrait" the options of a beauty salon are relevant - "Eyes", "Lift", "Smooth Skin" and "Whitening". Recall that the "Focus Change" mode allows you to create seven frames with different depth of field and then select the desired one from them.

Focus and exposure can be measured separately. Almost a dozen filters (Film, Black and White, Oxidized, etc.) will help you create the desired effect on the image. To switch from the main to the front camera and vice versa, it is convenient to use vertical swipes. But to release the shutter, it is also proposed to use the volume rocker (both increase and decrease).

The monophonic sound of the "multimedia" speaker, the decorative grille of which is located on the bottom end of the case, is quite loud and clear. To drive the cone, a separate “third generation” NXP Smart PA Gen power amplifier is provided. 3. A 24-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) CS43L36 from Cirrus Logic is responsible for Hi-Fi sound in the smartphone. Regular smartphone tools allow you to listen to audio files, for example, with FLAC extensions, created by codecs for data compression without quality loss. After connecting the headphones, it is proposed to use a 5-band equalizer with presets and manual settings. The built-in FM-tuner is traditionally not provided in the device. The Recorder application makes fairly high-quality monophonic recordings (44.1 kHz), which it saves as MP3 files.

Filling, performance

MediaTek's new SoC Helio X25 (MT7697T) debuted at the same time as the Pro 6. This 20nm SoC uses a Tri-Cluster architecture with ten cores. The allocation of the third group of cores in MediaTek is compared to adding a transmission to a car transmission. So, simple tasks are sent to one cluster, while more complex and energy-intensive tasks are distributed to two others. Theoretically, such a division should improve the optimization of performance and energy savings.

So, all the cores on the MT7697T chip are grouped into one Cortex-A72 duo with a frequency of up to 2.5 GHz, as well as two Cortex-A53 quartets with a frequency of 1.4 GHz and 2.0 GHz, respectively. An additional companion core Cortex-M4 (364 MHz) serves the sensors. To process graphics on the chip, a special accelerator ARM Mali T880 MP4 (850 MHz) with four execution units is provided. Among other highlights is the WorldMode 4G LTE modem, which provides support for a large number of communication standards. On the eve of the release of Helio X25, the manufacturer announced the addition of support for DTS Headphone: X technology (3D surround sound through headphones) to this chip.

Judging by the published information, in multi-core tests, Helio X25 leaves behind such "heavyweights" as HiSilicon (Huawei) Kirin 955, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and Samsung Exynos 7420. But with tasks designed for a single core (without parallelization of operations), a novelty does a little worse. The same applies to 3D graphics, where the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 also leads.

Note that the base Pro 6 stuffing is complemented by 4 GB of 32-bit RAM (2-channel LPDDR3, 933 MHz). So high results on benchmarks are due not only to a productive processor, but also to a large amount of RAM.

This is clear, for example, from the set of synthetic tests AnTuTu Benchmark, where in terms of the number of "virtual parrots" the novelty has come close to the psychological mark of 100,000.

Equally optimistic is the position of the Pro 6 when evaluating the amount of "horsepower" (single-core test) and the efficiency of the use of processor cores on the Geekbench 3 and Vellamo benchmarks.

On the Epic Citadel visual test settings (High Performance, High Quality and Ultra High Quality), the average frame rate varied as follows - 58.6 fps, 54.9 fps and 45.2 fps, respectively.

On the 3DMark universal gaming benchmark, the novelty was tested on the recommended Sling Shot kit (ES 3.1), where a result of 1,057 points was recorded. No problems with games, including "heavy" ones (Dead Trigger 2, Asphalt 8), of course, were found. However, under heavy load, the smartphone body noticeably heats up.

In turn, the total number of points scored by Pro 6 on the Base Mark OS II cross-platform benchmark was 1,860.

The amount of built-in memory type eMMC 5.1 in Pro 6 is 32 GB or 64 GB. In the model with 32 GB, which we got for testing, about 24 GB are available after switching on. Unlike where a memory card can take the place of the second SIM card in the universal tray, the Pro 6 does not provide such an option. Thanks to the support of USB-OTG technology, you can connect flash drives to the device. However, the lack of an appropriate cable (USB-OTG Type-C) in the kit did not allow us to test this possibility in practice.

Two subscriber identification modules in the nanoSIM (4FF) format are connected to one radio module and operate in Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) mode, that is, they are constantly active, but if one of them is busy, then the other turns out to be unavailable at the same moment. In the settings, you should specify which nanoSIM card will work with LTE, since only GSM networks will remain for the other. Many will probably take note that the Phone application provides for the recording of voice calls. Both slots support LTE Cat networks. 6 (300/50 Mbps) and VoLTE technology, which is gradually being introduced by domestic telecom operators. Of the "Russian troika", only two FDD-LTE frequency bands are available - b3 (1,800 MHz) and b7 (2,600 MHz). At the same time, the lowest frequency is still missing - b20 (800 MHz), which provides better communication, for example, indoors.

In addition, the Pro 6's wireless communications suite includes 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.1 (LE). The price for the new design (without wide plastic inserts on the metal back panel) was the disappearance of the NFC interface, which is still pleasing in. By the way, a solution to a similar problem can be peeped, for example, in where the NFC antenna area has moved behind the glass of the front panel.

GPS, GLONASS and BDS satellite systems can be used for positioning and navigation. A-GPS mode (coordination over Wi-Fi and cellular networks) is also available.

The "professional musician" was equipped with a 2,560 mAh lithium polymer battery, the capacity of which turned out to be 490 mAh less than that of (3,050 mAh). The smartphone comes with the same UP1220E (5V/9V/12V, 2A) power adapter that supports mCharge 3.0 fast charging technology. Thanks to her, in 10 minutes the battery is filled by about 26%, and in an hour - by 100%. Recall that the adapter uses a proprietary high-speed USB 3.1 interface cable, made in the Type-C design. In a sense, fast charging compensates for the not too high autonomy of the device.

So, the AnTuTu Tester program, having worked with the smartphone battery for almost 2.5 hours, estimated the achieved result at 7,599 points. A test set of MP4 and Full HD videos at full brightness spun continuously for about 6 hours.

But the combined battery test, which emulates the performance of real tasks - surfing the web, playing videos, writing text and editing photos, showed a result of 5 hours 3 minutes (100% backlight level).

In the "Power Management" settings section, depending on the expected load, you can forcefully transfer the smartphone from the "Balanced" mode to the "Energy Saving" or "Productive" mode. In addition, in the "Security Center" it is proposed not only to manage the sleep mode of applications, but also to use flexible settings to save battery power in the "Smart", "Super" and "Custom" modes.

Software Features

The Pro 6 smartphone runs on the Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) operating system, the interface of which is hidden under the proprietary Flyme OS 5.2.0.0G shell. Recall that all program shortcuts, folders and widgets in the Flyme launcher are placed directly on desktops. Swipe down to open the quick settings panel with a brightness slider, and swipe up (from the bottom of the screen) to open recently opened apps.

By the way, in this version of the shell, you can split the screen to simultaneously display the work of two applications (here this applies to the "Settings" and "Video" programs).

The use of the mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner is preceded by a simple procedure for registering papillary patterns from one to five fingers, after which, to activate the recognition process, simply place the selected finger on the sensor area. The manufacturer indicates for this device an access speed of 0.2 seconds, and a correct recognition angle of 360 degrees. With the help of stored fingerprints, you can provide not only a screen lock, but also access to files and applications.

The "Special Features" section still contains smartphone control gestures, including those for launching applications, as well as a SmartTouch "ring" (not shown in the screenshot) with adjustable transparency.

One of the "chips" of the Pro 6 was the 3D Press technology, which reacts to the applied effort to the touch screen by displaying the context menu without opening it. In the settings, a convenient value of pressing force is selected - "Strong", "Normal", "Soft". After that, 3D Press can be used in branded pre-installed applications, for example, to create a new note, message or contact, start playback on the player, "plant" an alarm clock, quick access to Wi-Fi in settings, etc. Developers have access to the 3D Press Kit, which allows you to implement 3D Press support in third-party programs.

Purchase, conclusions

The new "musical" flagship with Hi-Fi sound in headphones will appeal not only to music lovers. The fact is that in the compact metal case of this smartphone there was a place for a fairly powerful processor and a large amount of RAM, providing very good performance. Among the undoubted "highlights" of Meizu Pro 6 is a ring tone flash, fast charging and a fingerprint scanner. An innovative feature of the novelty was the 3D Press technology for the Super AMOLED touch screen.

Under "heavy" loads (3D games, shooting 4K video, etc.), the smartphone's processor shows its "hot" character, which manifests itself in a noticeable increase in the temperature of the metal case. Also, I was not pleased with the ignoring of the lowest-frequency LTE bands available in Russia, and, in addition, the low autonomy of the device. But the price for the disappearance of wide radio-transparent inserts on the rear panel was the NFC interface. Another unpleasant surprise is connected with the impossibility of expanding the built-in memory with microSD cards.

The Meizu Pro 6 model with 64 GB was estimated at 35,990 rubles, and with 32 GB - at 32,990 rubles. As for her "classmates", then, at the time of testing, in large retail chains for (32 GB) and Xiaomi Mi 5 (32 GB) they asked for the same 32,990 rubles. Note that the 5.2-inch plastic "standard" with a Korean accent, both in appearance and filling, is perhaps difficult to compete with the Meizu Pro 6, although it, of course, also has its advantages. But Xiaomi Mi 5 is equipped, in particular, with one of the most powerful processors (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) and a slightly more capacious battery (3,000 mAh), in addition, it received an NFC interface and even an infrared port. True, Xiaomi Mi 5 is clearly deprived of a good "voice".

The results of the review of the smartphone Meizu Pro 6

Pros:

• Compact metal body design
• Good performance
• 3D Press Technology
• Ring tone flash
• Hi-Fi sound in headphones
• fast charging
• Nimble fingerprint scanner

Minuses:

• "Hot" nature of the processor
• Low autonomy
• Built-in memory is not expandable with microSD cards
• No NFC interface
• Lack of low band support for LTE

Last year, the Meizu Pro 5 was announced - a flagship smartphone with powerful hardware and beautiful design, with a rather impressive list of positive qualities, but, nevertheless, an overall device that was not so convenient to operate with one hand. I know sometimes such a statement about the inconvenience of using in a small hand sounds ridiculous, but not when you realize with horror that you cannot answer the phone on a crowded bus. Or look at the Twitter feed in bed and are afraid to drop your smartphone on your nose.

I wondered why the “sixth” is needed, if everything is fine now - while maintaining powerful hardware, reducing dimensions and improving small details, Meizu is taking the right steps in improving the flagship, and reducing the inch seems to me very logical and thoughtful.

Specifications

• Operating system: Android 6.0, Flyme
• Screen: Super AMOLED, diagonal 5.2", resolution 1920x1080, ppi 423, 3D Press
• Processor: MediaTek Helio X25 10-core 64-bit, four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.4GHz + four Cortex-A53 cores at 2GHz + two Cortex-A72 cores at 2.5GHz
• Graphics: Mali T880
• Sound: Cirrus Logic CS43L36 DAC
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage Memory: 32/64 GB (on test 32)
• Main camera: 21 MP, f/2.2, laser and phase detection autofocus, all-round LED flash (10 LEDs), 4K video
• Front camera: 5 MP, f/2.0, 1080p video
• Networks: GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA, LTE (TD/FDD-LTE), DualSIM (nanoSIM)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac) Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), USB Type C connector (USB 3.1, MHL), 3.5 mm headset
• Navigation: GPS (A-GPS), GLONASS
• Sensors: mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor
• Battery: 2560 mAh
• Dimensions: 147.7x70.8x7.2 mm
• Body materials: metal, glass, plastic inserts
• Weight: 160 g.

Equipment

The box has also been improved - now it is rather thick plastic. The Meizu Pro 6 package includes the smartphone itself, a power supply, a USB cable, a paper clip to eject the nanoSIM card slot and accompanying documentation.

The headphones come with a 64 GB version.

Appearance

Let's move on to appearance. To be honest, the similarity with Apple products is almost perfect, and there is no way to hide from this fact. The only difference is that the function key is not round, but oval. Some may like it, some may not, but I personally think that the front side of the Meizu Pro 6 looks good.

It’s hard to really get rid of the feeling that “something” is looking at you with surprised eyes above the screen - it remains only to draw the handles.

The 5.2-inch display is framed by thin bezels. Above it there is a 5 megapixel front camera lens, a speaker and a light and proximity sensor, below is the Home key (it is also Back).

The case is made of metal, it has rounded edges and beveled edges. On the left side there is a slot for two nanoSIM cards; and on the right there are flat volume and power keys, made of metal and slightly recessed into the case.

Above is an additional microphone. Bottom - 3.5 mm audio output for a headset, microUSB-jack and external speaker grilles.

On the rear panel, there are thin plastic inserts at the top and bottom, under which the antennas are placed.

At the top center is a 21 MP main camera lens, framed by a thin metal frame, and directly below it is an LED flash, made in an original way: 10 tiny LEDs are located around the laser focusing system: 5 cold glow and 5 warm.
There is a large Meizu logo in the center of the case.

The dimensions of the smartphone are 147.7x70.8x7.2 mm and weigh 160 grams. Personally, the weight seems ideal to me - the smartphone is not weightless.
Our review got the Meizu Pro 6 in gold color, but the smartphone is also available in black and silver solutions. In the first version, the front side is dark gray.

Display

As I mentioned earlier, the flagship uses a 5.2-inch SuperAMOLED display with a FullHD resolution of 1920x1080 and a pixel density of 423 ppi. The screen, like the entire front side of the smartphone, is covered with protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with a rounding effect.

The screen has saturated colors, good contrast, but I would add that the maximum brightness for comfortable reading in the sun is sometimes not enough.

The oleophobic properties of the screen are also on top, there are few prints left, and erasing them is not difficult.

In the settings, you can set the color temperature and enable blue light protection for the eyes.

One of the novelties is the 3D Press function, when the smartphone performs a certain action from the strength of the touch across the screen. For example, a long tap on the Phone icon opens a menu where you can choose between adding a new contact or searching for existing ones.

Camera

As mentioned earlier, the smartphone has two cameras: a 5MP front camera with F2.0 aperture and a 21MP rear camera with F2.2 aperture.

The Meizu Pro 6 is the first to use the Sony IMX230 module with a multi-layer CMOS sensor and phase detection autofocus.

The pictures on the main camera are definitely better than those of the Meizu Pro 5: they are more detailed, less noise, not so obvious pixelation in dark tones on frames taken at night.

The video is shot in the maximum resolution of 4K (3840x2160).
In the manual settings, you can set the shutter speed, focus, exposure, white balance and ISO, there are standard shooting modes.

There are GIF shooting modes, full panoramas and shots with an editable focus point.

Iron

As a processor, the smartphone uses a MediaTek Helio X25 chipset with ten cores and three clusters (Tri-Cluster), which automatically switch depending on the tasks used.

The use of multiple clusters and the distribution of tasks across them is necessary for high performance and conserve battery levels.

The smartphone uses the Mali-T880MP4 GPU (perhaps the only weak link). The amount of RAM is 4 GB, built-in 32 and 64 GB, depending on the configuration, but in both versions there is no support for microSD memory cards.

Such hardware is enough for the operational operation of the interface, fast work with applications and the browser, games also fly, but the smartphone heats up noticeably.

Meizu Pro 6 review would not be complete without information about networks - the smartphone supports Dual SIM (Nano) technology. Both cards can work in 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 3G WCDMA/HSPA+ and 4G FDD-LTE networks.

Supported networks are Wi-Fi (ac and b/g/n), dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS (which did not cause complaints), and VoLTE technology. NFC is not supported.

shell

The operating system uses the brand new Android 6.0, from which there is practically nothing left because of the proprietary Meizu Flyme launcher.

The screen supports SmartTouch functions, when a dot appears on the screen when turned on, and the user can perform various actions with one finger, all of which are described in the settings in the section of the same name.

Otherwise, there are few changes, I like the shell as before, it has a style, it is beautiful and quite comfortable - I have no complaints.

Battery

As you can easily guess from the description of the appearance, the Meizu Pro 6 uses a non-removable battery. Its capacity is 2560 mAh, which seemed to me insufficient for this smartphone.

In general, with moderate use, with Wi-Fi turned on for several hours, the use of social. networks, listening to music and conversations, the smartphone is enough for a whole day of use without recharging.

In our test (Chrome, Wi-Fi, 50% screen brightness, power saving mode performance), the smartphone also lasted well - 11 and a half hours.

But it’s one thing when a smartphone lies in greenhouse conditions on a table with a browser running, and another thing when it tries to find a network in the subway, it turns the brightness to full because of the sun, several applications are running at once - this is where the processor and screen make themselves felt, eating out the charge. It's not all that bad, no, but you still have to think about whether you will have enough charge for the rest of the day and whether there is a Type C in the cafe where you are going to have a bite.

The time to fully charge the battery is approximately an hour and a half.

Summing up

After the review, Meizu Pro 6 makes a positive impression both at a cursory glance at the characteristics and when testing the smartphone. We won’t talk about obvious disadvantages when we frankly like a smartphone - perhaps we can only outline the next stage in improving a smartphone - a less “hot” processor (albeit less productive), a brighter display and a capacious battery.
In fact, in such a cunning way, a few shortcomings of the Meizu Pro 6 device are listed.

Meizu has had patent friction with Qualcomm for a long time, which in the first place interferes with the normal interaction between companies. Lacking the resources to build mobile platforms in the manner of Samsung, Huawei and, more recently, the company has turned to MediaTek and, from time to time, the aforementioned Samsung. The situation may change after the signing of a license agreement between (and also after), but for now we are dealing with unusual variations on the theme of a flagship smartphone - without Snapdragon on board.

The middle of last year, it works on the basis of the MediaTek Helio X25 platform, which is not very successful and prone to overheating. It is logical that the upgrade of this model with a larger diagonal display received a different hardware platform - Samsung Exynos 8990, thus becoming the second smartphone with this system-on-a-chip after (Galaxy Note 7 does not count).

In addition to a larger AMOLED display - with Quad HD resolution, by the way - the Pro 6 Plus received a new camera (now 12 megapixels, not 21, but such a decrease in resolution should no longer surprise anyone), a larger battery, a built-in in the Home key heart rate sensor and other DACs with an amplifier. The design has not changed much, but there are really a lot of internal differences.

⇡ Specifications

	Meizu Pro 6 Plus	Meizu Pro 6	LeEco Le Pro3	OnePlus3	Xiaomi Mi5s Plus
Display	5.7 inches, AMOLED, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 518 ppi, capacitive multi-touch, 3D Touch	5.2 inches, AMOLED, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 424 ppi, capacitive multi-touch, 3D Touch	5.5 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 403 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.5" AMOLED 1920 × 1080 dots, 401 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.7 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 386 ppi, capacitive multi-touch
Protective glass	no information	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	yes, manufacturer unknown
CPU	Samsung Exynos 8890 (four Exynos-M1 cores @ 2GHz + four ARM Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.5GHz)	Mediatek MT6797T Helio X25 (two ARM Cortex-A72 cores @ 2.5GHz + four ARM Cortex-A53 cores @ 2GHz + four ARM Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.4GHz)		Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 (Dual Kryo Cores @ 2.15GHz + Dual Kryo Cores @ 1.36GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 (Dual Kryo Cores @ 2.35GHz + Dual Kryo Cores @ 1.36GHz)
Graphics controller	Mali-T880 MP12, 900 MHz	Mali-T880 MP4, 900 MHz	Adreno 530, 624 MHz	Adreno 530, 624 MHz	Adreno 530, 624 MHz
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	6 GB	4/6 GB
Flash memory	64/128 GB	32/64 GB	32 GB	64 GB	64/128 GB
Memory card support	Not	Not	Not	Not	Not
Connectors	USB Type-C, mini-jack 3.5 mm	USB Type-C, mini-jack 3.5 mm	USB Type-C	USB Type-C, mini-jack 3.5 mm	USB Type-C, mini-jack 3.5 mm
SIM cards	Two nano-SIMs	Two nano-SIMs	Two nano-SIMs	Two nano-SIMs	Two nano-SIMs
Cellular 2G		GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Cellular 3G		HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz	HSDPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100	HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz	HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 CDMA 2000 MHz
Cellular 4G		LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbps): bands 1, 3, 7, 38, 39, 40, 41	LTE Cat. 12 (up to 600 Mbps): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 38, 39, 40, 41	LTE Cat. 6 (300 Mbps, 50 Mbps), bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 38, 39, 40, 41	LTE Cat. 12 (up to 600 Mbps): bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 38, 39, 40, 41
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2
NFC	There is	There is	There is	There is	There is
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
Sensors	illumination, proximity, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, heart rate	illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope/pedometer, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer		Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass)	Light, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), IR sensor
The fingerprint scanner	Yes, capacitive	Yes, capacitive	Yes, ultrasonic	Yes, capacitive	Yes, capacitive
Main camera	12 MP, ƒ/2.0, hybrid (phase + laser) autofocus, optical stabilization, LED flash (10 diodes), 4K video recording	21 MP, ƒ/2.2, hybrid (phase + laser) autofocus, LED flash (10 diodes), 4K video recording	Dual module, 16 MP, ƒ/2, phase detection autofocus, LED flash	16 MP, ƒ/2.0, phase detection autofocus, OIS, LED flash	Dual module, 13 MP, ƒ/2, phase detection autofocus, dual LED flash
Front-camera	5 MP, fixed focus	5 MP, fixed focus	8 MP, fixed focus	8 MP, fixed focus	4 MP, fixed focus
Nutrition	Non-removable battery 12.92 Wh (3400mAh, 3.8V)	Non-removable battery 9.72 Wh (2560mAh, 3.8V)	15.47 Wh (4070 mAh, 3.8 V) non-removable battery	Non-removable battery: 11.3 Wh (3000 mAh, 3.8 V)	14.44 Wh non-removable battery (3800 mAh, 3.8 V)
The size	155.6×77.3×7.3mm	147.7×70.8×7.3mm	151.4×73.9×7.5mm	152.7×74.7×7.4mm	154.6×77.7×7.95mm
Weight	158 grams	160 grams	175 grams	158 grams	168 grams
Hull protection	Not	Not	Not	Not	Not
Operating system		Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Flyme skin	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, native EUI skin	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, OxygenOS skin	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, MIUI skin
Current price	35,000-39,000 rubles	28,000-30,000 rubles	24 990 rubles	32 000 rubles	23,000-27,000 rubles

⇡ Appearance, ergonomics and software

Usually talking about the design of smartphones is like a game of “find 10 differences” – and even this phrase has already become a template for a review. Yes, smartphones are like two drops of water. But today’s case is especially neglected: Pro 6 Plus directly inherits the regular Pro 6. Well, since Meizu smartphones don’t have their own face anyway (well, don’t take the age-old oval button as a corporate identity, which replaces all navigation controls at once), it remains only to recognize the obvious - you will have just-another-smartphone.

You should also pay attention to the mini-jack, which in this case is located below - near the USB Type-C port and the main speaker. Pretend that a stereo system is built into the smartphone, Meizu engineers did not.

Another feature of the Plus is its size. The small bezels around the display don't really help the situation - the 5.7-inch diagonal has only recently been adequately beaten by LG with the G6, where the screen actually occupied almost the entire area of ​​the front panel. Here, the space under the screen and above it takes up a lot of space. It is inconvenient to use the gadget with one hand.

The device is available in gold (like ours), silver and dark gray colors. The fashion for brighter shades in Meizu has not yet succumbed.

The materials are typical for the flagship (and not only) smartphone of our days - glass, which covers the front panel, and metal, from which the body itself is made. Whether tempered glass is used here, and if so, what brand is not known. But it collects scratches and scuffs, unfortunately, very quickly - for this you don’t even need to carry Meizu Pro 6 Plus in one pocket with your keys. Also smartphone can't boast and a high-quality oleophobic coating - prints are collected easily, but are hardly rubbed off.

Meizu Pro 6 Plus weighs relatively little - 158 grams. It's even lighter than the smaller regular Pro 6.

Management is organized in a typical way for Meizu smartphones - before, the way to interact with an Android smartphone using a single key could be called unique, but now, after the release of Huawei P10, it deserves the term "proprietary". A full press sends the user to the main menu (typical "Home" scenario), a light touch returns to the previous screen. The list of open applications is called up with a swipe from the bottom of the screen.

Naturally, a fingerprint scanner is also built into the same key - capacitive, typical for a modern smartphone. The manufacturer claims that the scanner is now faster than on the Pro 6, but in fact it is impossible to notice this difference. Moreover, I did not like how accurately it reacts to touch. When using capacitive sensors, it is generally necessary to update the print regularly - sensors of this type are sensitive to skin microdamages. But in this case, errors (recognition on the second or third attempt) began already on the second day after the fingerprint was recorded. Rewriting also helped for about a day. A strange moment - it seemed that everyone had already learned how to work with scanners, and the same Meizu smartphones already demonstrated a completely normal, average level for the industry. Using a fingerprint, you can only unlock the device, no additional functions are provided. The heart rate sensor built into the same button here serves the sole purpose of making the fingerprint sensor more secure so that it cannot be fooled by a 3D fingerprint or something like that.

Don't you think Meizu's lineup is overblown? It is easy to get confused in such a variety, and therefore some clarity is necessary.

• Meizu M3s mini is a compact budget that does not pretend to high performance, the diagonal is 5 inches.
• Meizu M3 Note is an average phablet with a diagonal of 5.5 inches.
• Meizu MX5 is a flagship phablet with an emphasis on the camera, the diagonal is 5.5 inches.
• Meizu Pro 6 is a 5.2-inch flagship smartphone with an emphasis on sound.

The upcoming flagship phablet Meizu MX6, which is expected to launch in the fall, will also be 5.5-inch with a focus on the camera.

Bottom line: if you want a normal productive smartphone, but not a frank shovel, then there are no alternatives to the Pro 6 in the Meizu lineup now and in the near future. So it goes.

Pros of Meizu Pro 6

Close to perfect workmanship

About an hour of careful examination of the smartphone at the limit of human vision. Every square centimeter of the surface, every element, every joint. And you know what? Nothing. It has no flaws.

It seems that the Meizu Pro 6 was hand-assembled by a Swiss watchmaker from Swiss parts. We took the smartphone in our hands, squeezed it and squeezed it, but this thing does not give the slightest hint of flaws in the design. Thin, only 7.25 mm thick, light, only 160 g, but exceptionally strong.

2.5D Corning Corning Gorilla Glass 3 completes the streamlined frameless profile. It seems that you have a monolithic object in your hands.

Let Meizu Pro 6 look like an iPhone, but Meizu designers are still great. What are these beautiful curved lines of antenna plugs, repeating the rounding of the body. The smartphone is beautiful, and there is no point in arguing with that.

Optimal size

What we started the review with is actually very important. We are concerned about the over-indulgence of Android smartphone manufacturers with large 5.5-inch devices. People's hands don't seem to have increased in size in recent years. Even the average male hand does not always comfortably hold a typical phablet.

It is much more convenient to work with a device whose display size is between 5.0-5.2 inches. Especially with one hand.

Thanks to Meizu for leaving at least one flagship with a diagonal acceptable to most people.

Convenient fingerprint scanner

The fingerprint scanner on the front is awesome. You can quickly access the contents of the device, even if the gadget is on the table.

Even more chic when the scanner is the surface of a mechanical button. When the screen is off, the finger instinctively presses the button, simultaneously turning on the smartphone and unlocking it. When the screen is working, just touch the scanner - and you can use it. All this happens at the level of intuition and is very convenient.

There are no complaints about the speed and accuracy of recognition. The print is accepted at any angle.

Only one system button

In the reference Android and many other assemblies, there are usually three system buttons: "Back", "Home" and one more responsible for the application manager. Meizu not only took advantage of the mechanical button by combining the back and home actions on it through touch and press, but also managed to get rid of the separate application manager button, replacing it with a simple and intuitive swipe gesture from the bottom of the screen. After such an unusual experience, Apple's approach with a single button on the front of the smartphone seems much more obvious and convenient.

Flawless smoothness of work

Meizu Pro 6 is so responsive and smooth that after a while the brain begins to perceive the interface and the system as something alive. Probably, the newest 10-core chip should not work differently, but such a monster is installed inside the smartphone.

Helio X25, 10 cores: four Cortex A53 cores at 1.4GHz, four Cortex A53 cores at 2GHz, and two more Cortex A72 cores at 2.5GHz. Supported by Mali T880 graphics, 4 GB LPDDR3 RAM and fast eMMC 5.1 flash (32 or 64 GB), you get power that is more than enough not only to run the system and applications perfectly smoothly, but also to many top games launched with graphics turned to the maximum.

Rational energy consumption

Helio X25 is not only productive, but also energy efficient due to the so-called three-cluster architecture. When running heavy resource-intensive applications, simple tasks continue to be processed by the first cluster, and the additional load is distributed between the second and third clusters. In the absence of heavy tasks, only the first cluster works, and the rest are turned off. It turns out consistently sufficient performance with a more rational use of the charge.

All these tricky algorithms are difficult to understand in words, but easy to notice in real work. With a battery capacity of only 2,560 mAh, the smartphone lasts 40 hours in the “take it out, do something and put it away” mode.

With a more active scenario (30 minutes of calls, four hours of 4G usage, eight hours of Wi-Fi, an hour of Google Music and YouTube, a few photos), the smartphone lasted 15 hours. In real life, this means being able to go out early in the morning on business with a full battery and return home late in the evening with about 15-20% battery charge.

To put it simply, Meizu Pro 6 is guaranteed to last a day with moderate use (without sticking in Pokémon GO), and no one expects more from a modern productive smartphone. That is, of course, they are waiting, but so far everything depends on the limitations of lithium-polymer batteries.

Very nice flyme

Meizu Pro 6 runs on the latest Android 6 Marshmallow, on top of which the Flyme skin is installed. Unlike more hyped colleagues, Meizu does not load its devices with a bunch of useless software.

In this case, there is a minimum set of pre-installed applications to perform the most urgent tasks (alarm clock, calendar, notepad, video, music, explorer, and so on), as well as a cool integrated tool "Security Center" to keep the software component of the device in good shape.

In addition to the built-in antivirus, managing security settings and application permissions, the tool allows you to clear the smartphone’s RAM from garbage in one tap, check applications for gluttony in terms of traffic and battery consumption, and generally optimize battery usage.

Flyme is also trained in other small but useful tricks. For example, to open the notification curtain, it is not necessary to swipe from the very top of the screen. The system recognizes the gesture anywhere on the display.

Such obvious, but not implemented in the default Android things, of course, add convenience to Flyme.

Happiness music lover

Meizu Pro 6 has a Cirrus Logic CS43L36 Hi-Fi converter installed inside, and it makes the sound magical. Naturally, to fully reveal the potential of this DAC, you will need at least somewhat normal headphones (at least the same HD50, if you are not embarrassed by wearing large headphones on the street). Do not overestimate the capabilities of the converter and hope that the no-name "something" for $ 2 with its help will suddenly sound like Audio-Technica. Even the built-in speaker is supported by a dedicated third-generation NXP Smart PA chip.

It would seem, why a separate iron for this tweeter? But it is, because Meizu Pro 6 is a musical flagship.

Decent cameras and flash

The front camera of Meizu Pro 6 is just wonderful. The five-megapixel sensor, combined with software enhancements, produces great shots even in sub-optimal lighting conditions. Instead of unnecessary words, we offer you to look at these wonderful selfies.

It is important that you do not need to configure anything to take such pictures, that is, the camera shoots right out of the box.

The main camera in Meizu Pro 6 uses a high-quality 21-megapixel Sony IMX230 sensor with improved PDAF autofocus and a powerful two-color ring flash as an assistant in low light. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

When testing the main camera, we encountered some problems in nature. In automatic mode, the smartphone did not want to focus on a person in the shadows. Perhaps this is due to an excess of light in the background? We hope that knowledgeable photographers will explain the reason in the comments.

When photographing indoors, no problems were observed, and you can evaluate the quality of the pictures yourself.

The smartphone shoots video with resolution up to 4K and supports slow motion mode.

Pressure detection and normal screen

Meizu made their 3D Touch and called it 3D Press. The technology works in exactly the same way and allows you to call an alternative action with a reinforced tap on the element. True, this feature so far only works with shortcuts to native Meizu applications and, in fact, does not give anything other than quick access to the main functions of supported applications.

Will this technology develop on Android? It is not known, and without the support of Google, the functionality of 3D Press will remain limited. Will third-party developers tweak their apps just to make Meizu Pro 6 users feel happier? Unknown.

In general, while 3D Press is more of a bonus for "playing around" and catching up with Apple, rather than a serious feature implemented at the system level.

We are tired of writing the same thing about the same displays, but we have to. It seems that Samsung's SuperAMOLED is now being installed in every second smartphone, Meizu Pro 6 is no exception. Here is the same outrageously bright, but not very reliable in terms of color reproduction 5.2-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD resolution (1920 × 1080 pixels, 423 ppi).

Those who are accustomed to this type of displays rejoice, but those who are not yet accustomed to get used to it also begin to rejoice.

Fast charging via USB-C

Meizu Pro 6's increased battery charging speed is provided by mCharge 3.0 technology. In practice, the smartphone gains 100% in 60 minutes, and with a low current charge, replenishment occurs at a rate of 25% in 10 minutes.

Please note that USB-C is still quite rare. Forgetting the wire at home, you most likely will not find a person who will help you out with his charge.

Service and support in Russia

Meizu has an official representative office in Russia, that is, service centers in all major cities and related legal guarantees for users. If something happens to your smartphone, you will not be left alone with your sadness.

Those who want to save more and buy a smartphone directly from China should remember an important point: “MEIZU does not provide an international warranty option, smartphones intended for the Chinese domestic market are not serviced in Russia and do not have service support.”

Cons of Meizu Pro 6

10-core Helio is not really very gaming

If heavy 3D games are the only thing you're buying a smartphone for, then you better look towards models based on other chips.

No memory card slot

Another flagship that shot itself in the foot with the lack of a hybrid slot with the ability to exchange one SIM card for a memory card.

With a version of the smartphone with 64 GB of memory, this is not so scary, but still.

No NFC

Fans of paying for purchases in supermarkets with a smartphone pass by.

No water protection

In the description of the smartphone, there is no mention of dust and moisture resistance. Swimming with Meizu Pro 6 will not work.

Specifications of Meizu Pro 6

Dimensions	147.7×70.8×7.25mm
Weight	160 g
Battery	2 560 mAh
CPU	Helio X25, 10 cores: Cortex A53, 1.4 GHz - 4; Cortex A53, 2.0 GHz - 4; Cortex A72, 2.5 GHz - 2
Graphic arts	Mali-T880
RAM	4 GB LPDDR3
Internal storage	32/64 GB eMMC 5.1
Sound	Cirrus Logic CS43L36, third generation NXP Smart PA
Display	5.2 inches, SuperAMOLED, Full HD (1920 × 1080), Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Front-camera	5 MP, f/2.0
Main camera	21.16 MP, f/2.2, PDAF, laser focus, dual color flash, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
The fingerprint scanner	mTouch 2.1
Connection	2G GSM / GPRS / EDGE (900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz) 3G WCDMA / HSPA+ (900 / 2100 MHz) 4G FDD-LTE (1800 / 2100 / 2600 MHz) 3G TD-SCDMA 4G TD-LTE WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.0 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS

Total

The official price of the Meizu Pro 6 model with 32 GB of memory in Russia is 33 thousand rubles. Option with 64 GB will cost 36 thousand. It seems to us that in this case, Meizu slightly bent the price, crossing the psychological barrier of 30 thousand rubles. If the younger Pro 6 were literally 3 thousand cheaper, the purchase decision would be much easier.

However, even at the current cost, the user receives a top-end stuffing with a huge reserve for the future, powerful, energy-efficient, ideal for those who appreciate the smoothness of the system, chained in an impeccably manufactured and assembled case. Photographers should probably wait for the MX6, but for audiophiles and just lovers of high-quality sound, there is simply no alternative to the Pro 6 with a dedicated Hi-Fi converter. In general, Meizu has not changed itself, having pleased us with another great smartphone at an affordable price.

Lifehacker thanks the official representative of Meizu in Russia for the device provided for testing.