Review: The Meizu MX4 is a dream come true

Now that Meizu has released the Mx4, how does their flagship phone fare?

Design and Texture:

 

Again, Meizu has not made any compromises on their new phone’s design and texture. It continues to use the first-gen MX phone’s design but has a bigger screen and has a detachable plastic rear case. The mid-frame is made of magnalium to make it harder.

 

The MX4’s magnalium mid-frame was cut using a CNC process.

 

The MX4’s metal mid-frame and sandblast architecture, gives the phone a more comfortable feeling when handling it and stronger friction force. It does go as far as making the phone slippery because of how slim it is. It basically removes the scratchy metallic feeling from the MX3 Silver Edition.

The MX4’s large area using a metallic mid-frame can keep the phone more intact. That way, when it falls, it will not add a lot of pressure on the screen.

 

The MX4 sports a 5.36-inch 1920 x 1152 display screen. It still has a 15:9 screen aspect ratio and 79% screen ratio. It is surrounded by a 2.6mm frame. This, along with the phone’s rear case, makes it easier for users to use the MX4 single-handedly. These upgrades not only put an end to the complaints regarding the MX4’s resolution but also solve the power-consumption problems faced by 2K screens.

 

The MX4’s slimmer curved plastic rear case goes well with the metal mid-frame. Furthermore, users can just insert a card in the slot underneath the phone.

 

The MX4 sports a 20.7mp Sony IMX220 camera with 5P lens. The lens provides the camera with a blue coating. The camera is surrounded by a more tightly held Fresnel lens which smoothens the phone’s rear surface.

 

Overall, Meizu has pulled all the stops to ensure that the MX4’s design is more compact. The metal mid-frame and screen rubber-suspension technology decreases any accidental damage done to the screen.

Benchmark test

 

The MX4 uses MTK’s new octa-core 4G chip, the MT6595. Its biggest feature is that it uses ARM technology (Big.Little), and is composed by four Cortex-A17 cores and four Cortex-A7 cores. The Cortex-A17 cores have a frequency of 2.2GHz. All eight cores are turned on at the same time.

 

The MT6595 uses Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR Series6 GPU which provides the phone with excellent graphics and many multimedia functions. This chip also has a LTE modem that supports 5 modes and over 30 frequencies. It is compatible with FDD/TD-LTE networks in China.

The MX4 is the first phone to use this chip and has scored 49943 in the Antutu benchmark test.

 

Operating System

 

       The MX4’s operating system is the Flyme 4.0 which was also introduced at the launch. This OS follows a flattened design but some improvements were made with the tabs which are more connected to each other than in the Flyme 3.0. The Flyme 4.0 comes with many tabs as well as App notification tabs, and tabs for third-party apps.

 

Top: MX3’s UI; Bottom: MX4’s UI

 

Regarding the camera app, there is a “smart bar” at the bottom. As the photo shows, the tabs for the video camera and photo camera are bigger and the positions for the photo app and the camera app were changed. Many other changes were made in the menu.

Top: MX3’s camera interface; Bottom: MX4’s camera interface

 

The tabs at the scroll-down menu are rounder and bigger including the tab that shows the time.

 

Top: MX3’s scroll-down menu; Bottom: MX4’s scroll down menu

 

The Flyme 4.0 is based on the Android 4.4. From the screenshots above, we can see that the colors of the smart bar at the bottom and the task bar at the top were changed to clean up the entire user interface and more integrated. The size of the navigation bar on the left is also bigger now making easier for users to select it.

Overall, the Flyme 4.0 follows a similar design to the Flyme 3.0. Some basic improvements were made and its UI is more flexible now.

 

Camera

 

The MX4 is said to sport the best camera out of the entire MX series to date. What’s so great about it? The camera has 20.7mp and has a 1/2.3-inch image sensor. As a result, the area covered by the sensor has increased to 90% and a single pixel covers 1.2um x 1.2um leading to great photo quality. The MX4 also uses a .3sc TDK Closeloop focus motor which can greatly increase the speed of the camera’s focus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MX4 uses a stand-alone ISP that supports 4×1.5Gbps and can handle 10mp. As a result, the camera can take up to 25 photos per second as well as take 4K videos at 30 frames per second. This phone also comes with a dual-LED flash which can add brightness when taking photos at darker places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photos which were taken using the MX4 and were posted on Meizu’s official website show that the quality of photos taken with the MX4’s camera has greatly improved. Each photo has up to 8Mb, and when enlarged, still look just as good. In addition, as you can see from the photos taken at night, they are very clear. The colors are brighter and more transparent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In conclusion, the Meizu MX4 is a great device that is smoother and easier to use. This phone will be Meizu’s main artillery when facing the 4G wave and the harsh competition. With its 1799 RMB price (292.62 USD), great design, and the Flyme 4.0 OS, the MX4 will be a force to be reckoned with. Companies can take it as an example of how dreams can come true.