MEIZU M2 (mini) is a budget baby with excellent quality. Meizu M2 Note: characteristics, reviews

Meizu M2 Mini is a compact budget smartphone. The device has acquired many modern functions and youth design. Was introduced in July 2015.

Appearance and ergonomics

The Meizu M2 Mini smartphone has a rectangular polycarbonate body. Sloping corners are complemented by beveled edges. Thanks to special polishing and multi-level processing, the device is really comfortable to hold in your hand. The entire front panel is covered with Dragontrail tempered glass from AGC. Below the display there is an oval-shaped mechanical mTouch button that detects pressing force. There is a brand logo on the back, as well as a camera eye and a flash. At the bottom end there is not only a USB connector, but also a multimedia speaker and microphone. But the top edge has only a 3.5 mm headphone port. The assembly is very high quality, there are no unnecessary creaks. Inside there is a 2500 mAh battery. Available colors: white, pink, gray and blue. Dimensions: height - 140.1 mm, thickness - 8.7 mm, width - 68.9 mm, weight - 131 g.

Display

The M2 Mini features a 5-inch screen with full lamination technology. This IPS matrix has an HD resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels and also has increased contrast. There is no air gap here, which guarantees a lively and rich image. There is an effective anti-glare filter that effectively combats bright sunlight. Although viewing angles are maximum, colors begin to distort.

Hardware and performance

M2 Mini is equipped with a quad-core MTK MT6735 processor with a maximum frequency of 1300 MHz. Graphics chip: Mali T720. Thanks to MediaTek CorePilot technology, the graphics and central processors function in a single connection, which has a positive effect on performance. The Android 5.1 operating system is installed here, and there is also a Flyme OS 4.5 shell. The user can count on 2 GB of RAM. There is also 16 GB of built-in Samsung EMMC 5.0 memory, which is characterized by high operating speed. The device supports MicroSD cards up to 128 GB. In the AnTuTu test, this model scores more than 27,000 points. Yes, you can’t play demanding games on it, but everyday tasks will be solved successfully and quickly.

Communication and sound

In headphones, the sound of the Meizu M2 Mini is absolutely delightful. Here you can only find fault with the volume reserve, but otherwise everything is fine with the sound. The multimedia speaker is also not distinguished by “ringing singing”, but the melodies sound quite clear. The interlocutor can be heard quite normally. The device supports two SIM cards, both of which are capable of operating in 4G networks.

Camera

The main camera in Meizu M2 Mini is 13 megapixel. There is a flash, as well as an aperture ratio of 2.2. The camera has excellent white balance, the photos are full of bright colors and excellent detail. Of course, all this applies to daytime shooting, since in the evening the quality of the frames noticeably deteriorates. Video is recorded in FHD format. There is also a 5-megapixel front camera with a useful FotoNation 2.0 function.

Conclusions

The M2 Mini seems like a very good buy, because this inexpensive device has high-quality cameras, a wonderful screen, high-quality sound and good hardware. Here we should add its compact size and attractive appearance, which young people will surely like.

Pros:

• Two good cameras.
• Very decent autonomy.
• Supports two SIM cards and LTE.
• Miniature dimensions and nice design.
• Really juicy display.

Cons:

• Fingerprints remain on the screen.
• You won't be able to play with maximum graphics.

Technical characteristics of Meizu M2 Mini

Prices

Video reviews

Meizu continues to play with variations on the theme of the M2 smartphone to please the maximum number of users. The company's new product is called the Meizu M2 Mini 16 GB smartphone. What are its main differences from the older model?

This device is smaller, more compact, simpler than its “brother”. This cannot but rejoice, because not everyone is ready to carry a gadget of the now popular “phablet” form factor in their pocket. According to the size, the price of Meizu M2 Mini Gray is lower than the cost of the flagship model. However, it boasts excellent characteristics, which are quite enough for a fairly active user who, however, does not expect any unprecedented miracles from a smartphone in terms of performance and image quality on the screen.

By the way, about the last one. The Meizu M2 Mini M578 mobile phone has an excellent five-inch display with HD resolution. Thanks to the use of patented multi-touch technology, the display is responsive to all touches, obeying user commands without complaint. The glass is quite reliable and, although you shouldn’t test the strength of a new smartphone by carrying it in the same pocket with your keys, you don’t have to be particularly afraid of scratches.

Thanks to a powerful quad-core processor and two gigabytes of RAM, the smartphone works quickly and stably. The built-in memory of a Meizu mobile phone is not too large - 16 gigabytes, but if you want to store more information in your mobile, you can always expand its volume using microSD; for this purpose, there is a special slot in the case. The phone supports basic communication standards and various wireless communications such as Wi-FI and Bluetooth 4.0.

You can buy Meizu M2 Mini in Moscow in several shades. On this page we offer you a gray body - a very stylish, affordable solution that suits absolutely any style of clothing. There is not a single complaint about the case itself - the assembly is excellent, the material is pleasant to the touch and durable. The design of the device is quite classic, although the rounded corners give it a charming and quite original look.

You can order your favorite model right now for yourself or as a gift! Simply add the item to your cart and proceed to checkout.

And after 6 months, the hero of our review - the model Meizu M2. Why did the manufacturer update the line so quickly, while visually it is quite difficult to distinguish these two brothers? The thing is that these “brothers” differ not only in cost, but also in the positioning of their company.

Appearance and features

Some controls have undergone slight changes compared to the first version. But in appearance Meizu M2 remained as attractive as its predecessor. The glossy plastic case is pleasant to the touch, although it slips a little, which can result in the gadget falling.

Feature Meizu M2 is the ability to use two SIMs (Micro and Nano). In this case, instead of the latter, you can insert a micro SD memory card. This is quite specific, but is practiced even among famous manufacturers (Samsung and Huawei).

In general, the smartphone leaves a pleasant impression. But what happens if we press the power button?

Display, filling

When you turn on your smartphone, you immediately notice the large 5” display. Its resolution is 1280x720 pixels. This indicator is quite enough to clearly display information on the screen without a hint of pixelation.

The internal filling of the smartphone is as follows:

1. Processor – Mediatek MT6735, 4 cores 1.3 GHz, 64-bit architecture;
2. RAM – 2 GB;
3. Video processor - Mali T720 MP3, frequency 450 MHz.

Drawing a conclusion from these parameters, we can say that this gadget has inside it “organs” that are typical for mid-price class smartphones.

It is worth noting that the gadget is equipped with internal memory of 16 and 32 GB, which is very pleasing given the expandability. In this volume you can save not only movies, games, but also photo and video materials taken with one of the built-in cameras. The main one is equipped with a 13 MP matrix, and the front one is 5 MP.

Performance and battery

The device runs on Android 5.1 OS. with the proprietary Flyme OS shell. The manufacturer says that this solution completely eliminates performance drawdowns, which are surprisingly quite high (benchmarks give indicators close to high).

The gadget’s battery, to be honest, is not designed for long-term autonomy. For a 5” display, the 2500 mAh reserve is frankly small. With average usage, the battery lasts only 15-18 hours.

Competitors and results

Surprisingly, competitors Meizu M2 not so much. If we take smartphones that are within +/- $10, then there are no worthy competitors here at all. The lower price category is not even worth attention, and among the more expensive models, ASUS Zenfone 2 ZE500CL, Lenovo S60, Xiaomi MI3 are notable.

If you look at it in general, the quality of the gadget is very good. Photos, videos, application processing speed and display - everything is on par for the price category of the device. As a result, we can say that Meizu M2 worth the money that the manufacturer asks for it.

Compact LTE smartphone at an affordable price

The Meizu m2 smartphone is currently the most affordable offering from the entire line of Meizu devices, which, it should be noted, has recently become more active in the mobile device market. Just a couple of years ago, the company slowly released one model per season and felt good about it, but new times forced even such leisurely manufacturers to move.

Now the Chinese company’s portfolio includes several current models at the same time, which, according to modern fashion, are clearly differentiated by segments. There is a premium segment (represented by Pro models), flagships (MX), affordable tablet phones with a large screen (Note), and representatives of the m (mini) line now fill the niche of budget devices, although the concept of budget for the Russian market is now quite distorted. The price of the new product will be discussed later, but for now it’s worth noting that the original name does not have any “mini” prefix on the device being reviewed today - in China itself, the hero of the review is called Meizu m2.

Main characteristics of Meizu m2 (mini)

• SoC MediaTek MT6735, 1.3 GHz, 4 cores, ARM Cortex-A53
• GPU Mali-T720 @450 MHz 3 cores
• Operating system Android 5.1, Flyme OS 4.5
• Touch display IPS 5″, 1280×720, 294 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
• Supports microSD cards up to 128 GB
• Communication GSM 900/1800 MHz
• Communication 3G HSDPA 900/2100 MHz
• Data transmission LTE Cat.4 (150/50 Mbit/s) 1800/2100/2600 MHz
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.0 BLE
• GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
• USB 2.0, OTG
• Camera 13 MP, f/2.2, autofocus, 1080p video
• Front camera 5 MP, f/2.0, fixed. focus
• Gyroscope, proximity, lighting, gravity, electronic compass
• Battery 2500 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions 140×69×8.7 mm
• Weight 131 g

Scope of delivery

Meizu m2 goes on sale in an unreasonably large package, although the smartphone itself is small and the contents of its kit are minimal. The box is really too big, for some reason it has a square shape, although everything that is in it could fit in a quarter of that volume. The box is designed in a minimalist style: only a couple of logos are printed on the outside on a snow-white background. The younger model did not receive the usual inner box, made in the form of a book.

The set of accessories is quite limited: the box contains only a standard charger with an output current of 2 A and a Micro-USB connecting cable, nothing more.

Appearance and ease of use

In appearance, Meizu m2 is no different from other modern models in the family of this Chinese company, which now uses the same design for all its products, from top to budget. This is still the same simple shape, streamlined boat lid on all sides, without any additional decorating elements such as a side frame or inserts.

There is no metal in the outer part of the Meizu m2 body, everything here is made of polycarbonate, there is not even a rim around the glass of the rear camera. In part, this makes the case somewhat unattractive, but in any case, the design remains a matter of taste.

As for the assembly, there are no complaints here: the monolithic, non-separable body of the Meizu m2 does not make creaks when squeezed, does not bend in the center of the back cover, the parts fit perfectly. The smartphone (in gray version) has a matte plastic surface, so that the device is held in the hand quite securely, although it cannot be said that fingerprints are completely invisible on it. However, even more of them remain on the front glass - the oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating here is apparently quite weak.

To secure the cards, a single side connector is used, into which two SIM cards are inserted simultaneously, placed on a metal slide one after the other. Nano-SIM format cards are used. You can install a memory card in place of one of the SIM cards, but then you will have to limit yourself to working with only one SIM card, which is not very convenient.

On the opposite side, the right, there are both mechanical control keys (lock and volume). The buttons are made of the same plastic as the entire body. They are large in size, protrude beyond the body to a sufficient height, have an elastic, springy stroke, and are easy to find blindly.

There is another mechanical key on the front panel; it is located centrally under the screen and has an oval shape, like Samsung smartphones. Only, unlike them, there is no built-in fingerprint scanner, but it is possible to go back a step in the interface with one touch without pressing, which is no less useful. By the way, a fingerprint scanner is integrated into such a button in Meizu devices, but only in flagship ones (Meizu MX5). Pressing this key here performs the action of returning to the home screen. Thus, this button replaces the two main navigation buttons of Android smartphones, and there are none nearby. The developers did not take care of the event indicator.

There are no surprises on the back of the case: the large round camera window without any rim is covered with protective Gorilla Glass 3, and the camera module does not protrude beyond the surface of the case. There is a single LED flash nearby that can be used as a flashlight.

The main speaker is located at the bottom end - in the same place where the Micro-USB connector is located, which supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode. The audio output for headphones is located on the opposite, upper end. There are no covers or plugs on the connectors; the smartphone is not equipped with protection against water and dust. There is also no strap mount on the case.

As in the case of Meizu m2 Note, the hero of the review is available for sale in four different versions: three body colors (white, blue and pink) have glossy surfaces, and the gray version, as in our photographs, has a matte, non-stainable finish , but too slippery to hold securely in your hand. So this is an infrequent case when ergonomics greatly depend on the color of the case: glossy options are more easily soiled, but are held in the hand much more reliably, their coating seems to “stick” to the skin. By the way, the pink version of Meizu m2 is not yet available in official deliveries to Russia - perhaps it will appear with us later.

Screen

Meizu m2 is equipped with an IPS touch matrix (using GFF technology with full lamination). Unlike the rear camera, the screen is protected not by Gorilla Glass 3, but by AGC Dragontrail. The physical dimensions of the screen are 62x110 mm, diagonal - 5 inches, resolution - 1280 × 720 pixels, pixel density is 294 ppi.

The frame around the screen can be called thin: its width on the sides is less than 3 mm, and on the top and bottom - 14 mm; The ratio of screen area to body area exceeds 75%.

The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually, and there is also an ambient light sensor, based on which automatic adjustment works. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor. The screen can be unlocked by double tapping the glass or using special gestures.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Meizu m2, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Meizu m2 is still lighter (brightness according to photographs is 126 versus 110 for the Nexus 7), which is at odds with the initial subjective assessment. The ghosting of reflected objects in the Meizu m2 screen is weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. There is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating on the outer surface of the screen, its efficiency is high, even higher than that of the Nexus 7, so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 410 cd/m², the minimum was 5 cd/m². The maximum brightness is not very high, but given the good anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at a more or less acceptable level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If it is 100%, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 160 cd/m² (too much), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 400 lux) it sets it to 230 cd/m² (okay), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more), the brightness increases to 410 cd/m² (to the maximum - this is how it should be); if the adjustment is approximately 50%, then the values ​​are as follows: 48, 130 and 410 cd/m² (suitable combination), the regulator at 0% is 6.5, 36 and 405 cd/m² (the first two values ​​are slightly underestimated, which is logical). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works absolutely adequately and allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. In the micrograph, if desired, you can see the typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen and without pronounced inversion of shades. However, in the case of the darkest shades, there is an inversion of the brightness of the shades along one diagonal. For comparison, here are photographs in which identical images are displayed on the screens of Meizu m2 and Nexus 7, with the screen brightness initially set to approximately 200 cd/m². There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

Color saturation is moderately high, but color balance varies noticeably. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Meizu m2 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the strong brightening of black. And a white field:

The brightness of the screens at an angle has decreased (by at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the Meizu m2 has a slightly brighter screen (average brightness in photographs is 238 versus 234 for the Nexus 7). When deviated diagonally, the black field is brightened greatly, but remains conditionally neutral gray. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is not ideal, since in some places the brightness of the black increases noticeably:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is good - about 880:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 26 ms (13 ms on + 13 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 41 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.16, which is close to the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve almost does not deviate from the power-law dependence:

The color gamut is slightly different from sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components with each other:

However, the deviations of the coordinates of the primary colors from the vertices of the sRGB triangle are not very large, so the colors have almost natural saturation and hue. The balance of shades on the gray scale is average, since the color temperature is higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is more than 10, which is not considered a very good indicator even for a consumer device. However, ΔE and color temperature change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This device has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the color temperature.

However, any change in the position of the slider from the initial one leads to a significant increase in ΔE, so it makes no sense to make such an adjustment, especially since the color temperature is not very much higher than 6500 K.

To summarize: the screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day. For conditions of complete darkness, you can set a comfortable brightness level. There is also a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of air gaps in the layers of the screen and flicker, a color gamut close to sRGB and a color balance acceptable for visual assessment. Among the significant disadvantages we will attribute low black stability to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the quality of the screen can be considered high.

Sound

Meizu m2 sounds pretty good, especially with headphones. When you connect high-quality headphones, you can get good sound, the sound is clear, bright, rich and loud, there is no extraneous noise or distortion. To connect some headphone models, there are prepared profiles, including for Apple EarPods. The sound in the main speaker is also clear, but, as usual, you need to use the engineering menu to increase the maximum volume, otherwise the volume reserve of this speaker may seem insufficient. In conversational dynamics, the intonation and timbre of the voice of a familiar interlocutor remain recognizable, no special distortions are observed, and the system copes with ambient noise quite adequately.

To play music, a proprietary player is used, in the settings of which it is possible to use an equalizer with preset values. When you connect headphones, you have the aforementioned ability to choose from several different Dirac HD Sound system profiles.

The device can record telephone conversations from the line; to do this, just click on the corresponding button in the telephone application interface right during the call. There is no FM radio in the smartphone.

Camera

The smartphone is equipped with two digital camera modules with a resolution of 13 and 5 megapixels. The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel sensor and a wide-angle lens with an f/2.0 aperture; it does not have autofocus or flash. You can take pictures using the hardware volume control key. Among the front camera settings, there is also a manual mode in which you can manually control the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. The developers call the camera installed here “a top solution in this price segment,” and also mention a certain “FotoNation 2.0 intelligent selfie enhancement system, which provides precise white balance adjustment and allows you to create excellent photographs.” However, we did not notice anything special in the resulting selfie pictures; the quality is satisfactory for the selfie level, but nothing more. In case of insufficient external lighting, this system certainly does not help.

The main camera has the same familiar 13-megapixel Samsung sensor and a 5-element lens with f/2.2 aperture. There is a single flash, the lens is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. Autofocus here, according to subjective feelings, is quite slow, but rarely makes mistakes. There is no stabilization system - neither optical nor electronic.

The shooting control menu is exactly the same as that of other modern Meizu models, only there are fewer different shooting modes here. In manual mode, it is also possible to set shutter speed, ISO, etc. Third-party applications cannot control these settings via the Camera2 API.

The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 1080p, which generally does it well, but the system does not cope well with noise when recording audio. Apparently, the sensitivity of the only microphone installed in the device is extremely high, while there is no noise reduction system. As a result, when playing sound, a “mess” of various sounds superimposed on each other appears, each of which the microphone tried to record as clearly as possible, including wind noise.

• Video No. 1 (56 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)
• Video No. 2 (43 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)

	Good sharpness across the field and plans.
	A small area of ​​blur in the upper right corner.
	The camera copes with macro photography.
	The text is well done.
	Sharpness is generally good, but there are some areas of blur.
	The left side of the frame is definitely sharper than the right. The grass merges only into distant plans.
	Sometimes there are practically no areas of blur.
	Despite the blurred area on the right, the license plate of the nearest car is visible.

The camera turned out to be quite good. It is not without minor flaws, but overall it produces good results. In some places the noise reduction is overworked, and in some places blur zones simply appear, which is disappointing. Also, the camera does not always capture details well. Otherwise, the quality of the image can be described as “above average.” The camera is quite capable of handling not only documentary shooting, but also artistic shooting.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth generation networks LTE Cat.4 (FDD-LTE: 1800/2100/2600 MHz), that is, the hero of the review will be able to function in two of the three most common domestic ones operators bands (B3, B7), while B20 (800 MHz) is not supported by this phone. In practice, with SIM cards from Beeline and MTS operators in the Moscow region, the smartphone was confidently registered and worked in 4G networks. The quality of signal reception is not satisfactory; the device confidently maintains communication indoors and does not lose the signal in areas of poor reception.

The rest of the smartphone's network capabilities are also quite satisfactory: there is support for Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, two Wi-Fi bands are supported (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, and you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. There is no NFC, but connecting external devices to the USB port in OTG mode is supported.

The operation of the navigation module does not cause any complaints; the speed of satellite detection during a cold start is less than a minute. The module supports work with GPS/A-GPS and the domestic Glonass system. Among the sensors there is a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the electronic compass of navigation mapping programs operates.

The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. There is no Swype support. In addition to the standard keyboard, there is an alternative TouchPal X with a wider range of settings and capabilities.

The smartphone supports dual SIM cards. Traditionally, for the interface of Meizu smartphones, when making a call, you can select any desired SIM card, but you cannot pre-assign one as the main one for organizing voice calls or sending SMS messages. Unlike the previous model (Meizu m1). here a SIM card in any slot can work with 3G/4G networks, but, as usual, only one of the cards can function in this mode at a time. To change the assignment of slots, cards do not need to be swapped - this can be done directly from the phone menu. Work with two SIM cards is organized according to the usual Dual SIM Dual Standby standard, when both cards can be in active standby mode, but cannot work at the same time - there is only one radio module.

OS and software

The device uses the Google Android software platform version 5.1 as a system with its own Flyme OS version 4.5 shell installed, which supports over-the-air (OTA) updates. The interface is well known from previous models of the family, there are practically no differences, and among the features we can only note the presence of the so-called “Easy mode”. This is a simplified mode, in which the smartphone interface becomes as simple as possible, there is a minimum number of icons on the screen, only the most necessary settings are left, virtual buttons are maximized, that is, in general, everything is done so that the smartphone becomes convenient to use for older people and, possibly, children. It is curious that this mode is implemented only in this model among all Meizu smartphones.

Otherwise everything is as usual. As always, a lot of attention is paid to working with gestures. Although the Meizu m2’s screen is not the largest, it also has a virtual SmartTouch button. It can be installed anywhere on the screen, and can be used to move the image halfway down to make it easier to reach the top elements. Gestures are also used to interact with the menu of recently opened programs, the notification shade, unlock the home screen, etc. For example, you can not only unlock the screen, but also use special characters (letters of the Latin alphabet) to immediately call a certain device to work. application simultaneously with unlocking.

Also, a lot of attention is paid to security: it is very convenient that using standard tools you can set a password to launch any application - for example, you can hide your photo gallery, mail from prying eyes, and even limit access to games for children. The built-in explorer has a special folder (Disk / storage), and if you move any other folder into it (the same photos, movies or music), then it will no longer be possible to enter them without a password. There is also an option for remote control of a smartphone with anti-theft protection, but domestic users are not yet able to use it, because the personal account interface is implemented only in Chinese.

There is no standard set of touch buttons below the screen, so some of their responsibilities are assigned to the only central hardware button. It is very convenient that in the latest Meizu models, simply touching it returns one step back in the interface; this solves many problems with the lack of additional keys. In general, the Flyme OS user interface is currently one of the most attractive, neat-looking, well-thought-out and systematized alternative shells for working with the Android OS.

Performance

The Meizu m2 hardware platform is based on a single-chip system (SoC) MediaTek MT6735, which has four Cortex-A53 processor cores operating at frequencies up to 1300 MHz. This is a 64-bit entry-level solution; the capabilities of this SoC are modest. Graphics processing is handled by a triple-core Mali-T720 GPU with core frequencies up to 450 MHz. The device has 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory, of which 10.5 GB is initially free for the user’s needs. It is also possible to use a memory card, but to do this you will have to remove the second SIM card. In practice, our 128GB Transcend Premium microSDXC UHS-1 test card was reliably recognized by the device. Connecting external devices and flash drives to the Micro-USB port in USB OTG mode is also supported.

According to the testing results, the MediaTek MT6735 platform showed rather modest results, which was to be expected from a budget solution. Although this is a 64-bit SoC, and the Android OS used here is also 64-bit, the difference in AnTuTu tests between versions is minimal (about 27K points in the 64-bit test).

However, even this budget platform turned out to be faster in all tests, both complex and specialized, than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, positioned at the same level. Actually, this is the only thing that can be highlighted here, since in all other respects the entry-level MediaTek MT6735 platform is quite simple, and most other modern platforms are ahead of it, including all representatives of the MediaTek line itself.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark game tests,GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Thermal photographs

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:

It can be seen that the heating is clearly localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. Below you can see the outlines of the battery, which heats up a little when discharged intensively. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was 40 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is the average heating in this test among modern smartphones.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

Once again, the Meizu smartphone pleasantly surprised us with support for all the decoders that are necessary for full playback of most of the most common multimedia files on the Internet. That is, to successfully play them you don’t even have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player, although playback there will also support the AC3 audio format, which is good news.

Tested video output features Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames/ With). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with a more or less uniform alternation of intervals and almost without skipping frames. With the exception of files with 60 fps, in which case many frames are skipped, and at first the playback is slow, then it speeds up, and so on, repeating. We note that the screen refresh rate appears to be lower than the typical 60 Hz and is approximately 53 Hz. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels (720p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights.

Battery life

Meizu m2 is equipped with a non-removable battery of 2500 mAh, standard for modern smartphones. Thanks to this, as well as the not too powerful and fairly economical hardware, the smartphone demonstrated a quite decent level of autonomy in all standard use scenarios.

Testing, as usual, was carried out at the maximum level of power consumption without using proprietary energy-saving functions and modes, although the device has them. With this, Meizu smartphones have been keeping things simple lately: in the battery section, you can choose one of three operating modes (productive, balanced and energy-saving). At first, in the very first models, this function was buried deep in the settings section for developers, where not everyone could find it.

Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme, with auto-scrolling) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted 14.5 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and with continuous viewing of high-quality videos ( 720p) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted 9.5 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone worked for 4 hours. The smartphone battery takes a long time to charge; the time to fully charge the Meizu m2 battery is at least 3 full hours.

Bottom line

Unfortunately for Russian buyers, the official price of certified Meizu m2 was not so low that the smartphone could be confidently classified as a true budget segment. Currently, a smartphone can be purchased at a price of 12-13 thousand rubles, which is not so little. However, it is worth considering that for this money the user gets a model that is quite decent in all respects, with an excellent bright and fairly large IPS screen, an excellent sound system, a good set of communication interfaces and a more than satisfactory level of autonomy. A high-quality polycarbonate case with an aluminum chassis inside promises to “wear for a long time” and look good (if you generally like the appearance of the Meizu m2), in addition, the smartphone is offered in several colors to suit every taste. Among the weak points, we can only note that the camera is not of the highest quality, but this question is relative: the camera is weak compared to flagships, but for its level it is quite satisfactory. Well, of course, you shouldn’t expect anything special from the hardware platform of this model - it’s frankly budget-friendly. In general, as usual, Meizu has released a very good product that you can safely purchase without fear of running into any hidden defects or shortcomings - the company takes its business with full responsibility, we have been able to verify this more than once in recent years. other previously tested products from this manufacturer.

The Chinese concern Meizu, as you know, is actively presenting itself on the market as an “iPhone killer.” At least this can be concluded after viewing the company's advertising. In addition, this can be confirmed by the external design of the smartphone and its high technical capabilities. Taking all this into account, phones of this brand can really be considered by buyers as “cheap iPhone analogues.” It is not surprising that developers actively use this “status” for their own purposes.

In this article we will talk about one of the devices released by the company that is quite in demand on the market. We are talking about the Meizu M2 Note smartphone. The specifications of the phone are truly amazing. At its low cost, the model also has a very attractive design. The build quality of the device and its stability are not far behind. In general, we won’t get ahead of ourselves, but will simply conduct a more detailed review of the device so that you understand what we are talking about.

Positioning

Surprisingly, Meizu does not hide its imitation of the main Apple concern, which sets fashion in the world of smartphones. This is communicated not only by advertising slogans, but also by the features of the model’s body and its external design. Just look at the “Home” button, made in the likeness of the iPhone 5S.

Due to this “image” a double situation arises. On the one hand, the device is only a copy, a similarity to the original Apple, which does not seem at all unusual: recently, many companies have been releasing analogues of “top-end” smartphones. On the other hand, the situation is also observed in a second, positive aspect. It's about attractiveness.

The characteristics attributed to the Meizu M2 Note device are described by customer reviews as only one of the factors that forced them to purchase this model. In addition, this also includes price, as well as appearance. Despite the fact that everyone perfectly understands where it originally came from and what the Chinese are trying to copy, this kind of design is always a success, which the Meizu company did not fail to take advantage of in its activities.

Design

The body of the Meizu M2 Note (we will present the characteristics of the device a little later) is made of polycarbonate, which lies pleasantly in the hand. The texture (depending on the model) can be matte or glossy - this is the user’s choice. The general features, as already noted, are strongly reminiscent of the iPhone - these are rounded corners on the back of the case and a direct transition between the glass and the cover at the front. To give the model rigidity, a metal base, so to speak, a frame, is installed inside.

The back cover of the model should not be removed at all; all functional holes are provided in the side of the case. Therefore, it’s easy to guess that the SIM card and memory card get into the phone using special “sliders”, and the slots here are opened, just like in the “Apple friend” - with the help of a needle.

The general appearance of the device (the way it lies in the hand and behaves when squeezed) allows us to draw a positive conclusion about the smartphone (and its assembly) as a whole. We were unable to make the Meizu M2 Note (we'll give the specifications a little further) creak, and we were unable to cause any play or movement of individual elements of the body. Therefore, we confidently praise the Chinese who assembled the phone so well.

CPU

Now let's move on directly to the filling of the model. And first of all, let's start with the “heart” of any gadget. The characteristics of the Meizu M2 Note smartphone show us that the model is equipped with a processor that includes 8 cores. The clock frequency of each (in normal operation) is 1.3 GHz - this is a good indicator. Thanks to its high performance, the gadget behaves well when interacting with graphically “heavy” games, playing them without hitches or any unpleasant “freezes”.

2 GB RAM also has a similar effect - it significantly increases the reaction speed and “liveness” of the device, its capabilities. What do users say about Meizu M2 Note? Are they satisfied with the characteristics? The phone is really quite fast, and all this is thanks to the “heart”.

Screen

The smartphone has a recently classic display with a diagonal size of 5.5 inches. With this indicator, the screen resolution of 1920x1080 pixels seems simply fantastic, which is why the actual image density on the Meizu M2 Note 16Gb (the specifications won’t let you lie) reaches 401 pixels per square inch.

The picture quality can be called very high. You can verify this both in your own practice, simply by picking up the phone, and through an analysis of the technical indicators that are mentioned in the specifications. Thus, such a high density can produce a very accurate, clear and sharp image, and IPS technology allows the smartphone to be provided with the proper brightness and color saturation, which is also important.

On another positive side I would like to mention the screen design. In this case, the developer used the method of painting the panel (top and bottom edges). Due to this, visually the frames may seem much smaller than they actually are. True, the practical effect of this approach is minimal - it is done purely “for beauty”.

operating system

If we talk about the software that controls the smartphone, we should note the Google Android shell, which is unchanged on this type of device. True, the peculiarity of the Meizu M2 Note 16Gb (the characteristics will also confirm this information) is that the Flyme graphic add-on is installed on top of the “native” Android interface. It gives the smartphone an interface design (the icons you will see here may be unusual for you if you have not previously worked with Meizu); some options (for example, the SmartTouch function); and even methods of entering information (perception of user gestures).

Thanks to this, we can say that the basis of the device’s operation is the familiar Google platform, while the manufacturer has also developed its own set of programs that make interaction with the smartphone more convenient and comfortable. It’s also worth saying that Meizu continues to support its “shell” by releasing new updates. You can download them directly via a Wi-Fi connection (without installing additional programs).

Camera

Of course, when describing the characteristics of a device, it is also necessary to indicate the capabilities of its camera. After all, photography and video functions are key for any smartphone.

As stated in the documentation, the device has a camera whose matrix has a resolution of 13 megapixels. This is enough to create colorful, clear and color-rich photos. This is how they appear, at least when the picture is taken in good lighting. In other conditions, minor changes in the picture may occur. User reviews note that it is best to use the Meizu M2 Note camera (the technical characteristics of which you already know) for private photography - create an avatar on a social network, photograph text, and so on.

Battery

Another important point is the autonomy of the device. It directly depends on how big the battery is. In the case of the M2 Note, the developers used a battery with a capacity of 3100 mAh. Considering, however, the bright screen and powerful processor, the charge is only enough for 10-12 hours of active use or 1-1.5 days of moderate load.

Conclusions

It’s not for nothing that the mobile phone we described above is so popular. As the characteristics describing the Meizu M2 Note Mini show, the device is really good in all respects. It looks great, has an adequate price, has a wide range of functionality and, in addition, boasts stable operation.

Buyers clearly praise the device, positively note its qualities and write reviews in which they clearly recommend purchasing such a model. All this, as you understand, is reflected favorably on the image of the entire company. In recent years, smartphones of this brand have become quite expected in world markets.

The question is, what else do you need from a smartphone of this class? Apparently, the developers at Meizu asked themselves this question when designing this model. And, it should be noted, they managed to find a solution that could satisfy user requests.