A new software update has just hit four Meizu phones. It is the stable update to Flyme 6.3.0.0G and the firmware is based on Android 7.0 Nougat. The update is actually rolling out via OTA on Meizu M3S, M3 Note, U10, and U20. An official changelog has been released as well, so we know every improvement of this update. First of all, it updates the Android security patch. With the new firmware, the system stability and the translations have been improved, as well as energy consumption, compatibility with third-party apps and the Contacts app.

Besides these improvements, there are several bug fixes in the new firmware for Meizu M3S, M3 Note, U10 and U20. They pertain to the camera app, icons, system sounds, settings, Bluetooth connectivity (while connected to a car) and time in the status bar. You can head to the official forum in order to check the full changelog and get the firmware download links for Meizu M3S, M3 Note, U10, and U20 which you can use to manually flash the update.

RELATED: Meizu 15 Plus AnTuTu Listing Reveals Exynos 8895

Meizu will soon celebrate its 15th anniversary by releasing a new trio of smartphones: Meizu 15, 15 Plus and 15 Lite. The Chinese company has just published an official teaser confirming that the line-up will be officially unveiled on April 22. The launch event will take place at the Wuzhen Internet International Conference Center in China, at 7:30 PM local time. The Lite version will be an affordable mid-ranger, the Plus variant will be the most powerful flagship of the company and the standard version will sit in the middle.

The post Meizu M3S, M3 Note And Others Get A New Flyme Update appeared first on Gizmochina.

August has been a busy month in Chinese smartphone market, talking about new model launches. There have been new models like Redmi Pro (end of July) and Redmi Note 4 from Xiaomi, M3E from Meizu, Cool1 from LeEco and Coolpad marriage, Q5 series from 360. More will come before the end of this year including some flagship models. There is a big war between phone makers to catch a piece of this billion $’s cake.

As the second version of our “Smartphone Buyers Guide” today we will take a look for the models that cost between 100$-200$. There are so many choices when we include old models from last year too, I mean models with old chipsets that has been updated with new series. So they will be eliminated, otherwise this list won’t end As an example, I didn’t include Meizu M2 Note or Meizu Metal in this guide, even though both are still very good phones under 200$, because there is M3 Note out and you can buy it under 200$ too. There will be some exceptions, of course, if it’s a bargain.

Speaking of Meizu, let’s start with this makers phones under 200$.

MEIZU M3 Note

$145.89 for 2GB/16GB, $186.99 for 3GB/32GB version.

Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 ( FHD ) screen 403 PPi
CPU: Helio P10 Octa Core ARM Cortex-A53 1.8GHz x 4 + ARM Cortex-A53 1.0GHz x 4
GPU: ARM Mali T860 image processor
System: Android 5.1 ( Flyme 5.1 )
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM. TF card up to 128GB
Camera: Rear camera 13 megapixel, Corning Gorilla 3 glass, f/2.2 aperture, 5-element lens, Continuous shooting, Panorama, PDAF auto-focus, Two-tone flash
Front camera 5 megapixel, f/2.0 aperture, 4-element lens, FotoNation 2.0, FaceAE
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS
Sensors: Hall magnetic sensor, Gravity sensor, IR proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor, Touch sensor, Digital compass
SIM Card: Dual SIM, Dual standby, Dual Micro SIM cards
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4100mAh
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.36 x 7.55 x 0.82 cm / 6.05 x 2.97 x 0.32 inches, 163gr

6000 Series Aluminum alloy, means you have a very solid phone in your hands. Meizu always been about “quality”and last year even its budget phones carried production quality to next step. M3 Note, powered by the octa-core 1.8GHz MediaTek Helio P10 chipset is capable of every daily needs of yours, plus more. 4100mAh battery power will be enough for heavy use whole day, for regular use 2 days. When it comes to fingerprint I’m a fan of front placement, simple idea, I want to unlock my phone to see my notifications when it’s on the desk with a simple touch, don’t want to bother to grab it and place my finger to the back of the phone. Meizu’s mTouch is one of the best in the market, combining 3 key functions in 1 and adding fingerprint sensor to it. As we know from the reviews, both cameras of M3 Note do the job for this price range, i mean they are good enough for most of users. Maybe not as good as Oppo R9 with the same chipset inside (Helio P10), but you get Meizu M3 Note for the half price.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/04/23/meizu-m3-note-review/

Meizu M3S

119.90 $ / 169.90 $ (2GB/16GB – 3GB/32GB)

Display: 5.0 inch 2.5D Arc 1280 x 720 HD Screen
CPU: MTK6750 1.5GHz 64bit Octa Core
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM. TF card up to 128GB.
Camera: 5.0MP f2.0 front camera + 13.0MP f2.2 back camera
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS
Sensors: Gravity sensor, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor, Electronic compass
SIM Card: Nano SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3020mAh
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 14.20 x 7.00 x 0.80 cm / 5.59 x 2.76 x 0.31 inches , 142gr

5.5″ is too big for you ? Here is the little brother of M3 Note — Meizu M3S comes with 5″ HD screen, 2.5D curved glass on top of it. Again with metal body, same mTouch 2.1. A powerful CPU from the same class as Helio P10. Having said that, let’s explain this.

MTK6750 is the toned down version of the MTK6755. Features a similar setup as the MTK6755, including an 8-core 4×4 big.LITTLE configuration with Cortex-A53 CPUs. The difference is that the higher-clocked CPUs will only be set to a maximum of 1.5GHz as opposed to 2.0GHz with the MT6755 Helio P10. The typical setup of MT6750 will be 4@1.5GHz and 4@1.0GHz. GPU is the same, ARM Mali T860 MP2.

XIAOMI Redmi Note 3 Pro

183.99 $ for 3GB/32GB version

Display: 5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 Pixel Screen with 403 PPI
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 64bit 1.8GHz Hexa-Core ( 2 x A72 + 4 x A53 )
GPU: Adreno 510
System: MIUI 8
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP with f/2.0 aperture front camera + 16.0MP with 78 degree wide-angle, f/2.0 aperture back camera
Sensor: Light sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Hall Sensor, gyroscope, E-compass and fingerprint sensor
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. One is Micro SIM card slot, the other is Nano card slot, which can also be used as a TF card slot.
Note: Nano SIM card and TF card cannot be used together, because they share the same space of card slot.
Feature: GPS/ A-GPS / Glonass / Beidou
Bluetooth: 4.1
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual Micro SIM cards
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4000
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz; CDMA 2000: BC0
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.00 x 7.60 x 0.87 cm / 5.91 x 2.99 x 0.34 inches, 168gr

Yes, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 will be on the market soon, but Redmi Note 3 Pro with Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 Chipset will still be most users first choice in this price range. Especially for gamers, because of the Adreno 510 GPU of course. For 5.5″ inch screen size lovers, Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series has always been very popular because of its price/performance ratio. Note 3’s 4000mAh battery will help at least one day under heavy use, more with regular use. Phone has a metal back, but its not unibody, you can take out the back metal cover, still feels nice in hand with matte finish. Has a decent 16MP camera with PDAF supporting 0.1s ultra-fast focusing + two-tone flash light. Finger print sensor is on the back that unlocks your phone in 0.3s.  Redmi Note 4 will come with Helio X20 CPU as we all know, so Qualcomm fans probably won’t change their Redmi Note’s for a while.

Xiaomi Redmi 3S

127.69 $ 2GB/16GB, 146.89 $ 3GB/32GB

Display: 5.0 inch 1280 x 720 HD screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Octa Core 1.4GHz / Adreno 505 GPU
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Max Storage Expansion: 128GB
Camera: Back camera 13.0MP + front camera 5.0MP
Bluetooth: 4.1
Feature: Fingerprint Scanner, GPS, A-GPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, one is micro SIM card, the other is nano SIM card
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4100
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz CDMA 2000 BC0
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 13.90 x 6.90 x 0.80 cm / 5.47 x 2.72 x 0.31 inches, 144gr

5″ Redmi 3 series was updated with a new chipset recently, powered by a Snapdragon 430 CPU and the model name became Redmi 3s. Snapdragon 430 brings us Adreno 505 GPU with. These specs made Redmi 3s the most powerful 5″ phone in this price range, made it the little brother of Redmi Note 3 Pro. Redmi 3s has an even bigger battery with 4100mAh capacity and having only HD 5″ screen, this little brother will last longer. With that battery, the Redmi 3s weighs only 144 gm, which is good. 13MP/5MP front and rear cameras and fingerprint sensor sounds as the minimum standards in phone industry lately.

Redmi 4 is behind the corner : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/09/03/xiaomi-redmi-4-appears-tenaa-fhd-3gb-ram-699-yuan-105-price/

Xiaomi Mi Max

182.99 $ for 2GB/16GB edition

Display: 6.44 inch, 1920 x 1080 Pixel 2.5D Arc Screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 64bit 1.8GHz Hexa core
GPU: Adreno 510
System: Android 6.0 ( MIUI 7 )
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP with f/2.0 aperture front camera + 16.0MP with f/2.0 aperture back camera
Sensor: Light sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Hall Sensor, gyroscope, E-compass, Infrared, Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, etc.
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. One is Micro SIM card slot, the other is Nano card slot, which can also be used as a TF card slot.
Note: Nano SIM card and TF card cannot be used together because they share the same space of card slot.
Feature: GPS/ A-GPS / Glonass / Beidou
Bluetooth: 4.2
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4850
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 17.30 x 8.80 x 0.60 cm / 6.81 x 3.46 x 0.24 inches, 203gr

A BIG surprise in every aspect ! You want the biggest screen size in a smartphone ? And you also want the biggest battery with it ? 6.44 inch + 4850mAh battery for under 200$. Biggest brother of the family, comes with same CPU of Redmi Note 3 Pro, Snapdragon 650, but with less Ram, 2GB for this edition. 16GB for ROM option is not very important because Mi Max has a SD card slot. If you spend much of your time looking on a mobile phone’s screen during the day, especially for media, biggest screen powered with the biggest battery for just 183$, I think this phone is  a bargain for its specs.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/06/12/xiaomi-mi-max-review-lot-xiaomi/

LeEco Le 2

158.77 $ for 3GB/16GB, 184.89 $ for 3GB/32GB

Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 Screen
CPU: Helio X20 MTK6797 Deca-Core
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB/32GB ROM
Cameras: Front 8.0MP + Rear 16.0MP AF with flash
Bluetooth: BT4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. ( Dual Nano SIM cards )
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.11 x 7.41 x 0.77 cm / 5.95 x 2.92 x 0.3 inches, 152gr

MediaTek Helio X20 (and X25 with more CPU speed) series started to power many phones. It’s a flagship-grade CPU for sure, not the fastest yes, but little under 100K Antutu score is still something. Heli0 x20 is a deca/10-core CPU to remind you. GPU is also powerful enough, a quad-core Mali T880. This combination is better than any on the market, except flagships like Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 from Samsung, but hey, we are talking about under 200$ phones here, remember.

Le 2 comes in a metal unibody, very well crafted. The screen is 5.5″ in-cell full HD IPS panel. The phone has no 3.5mm headphone jack, first in the market, you get audio from Type-C port in Hi-Fi format. Don’t worry, there is adaptor included in the box, if you still want to use your beloved headphones.

Back Camera is 16MP, supporting 4K video shooting mode, front is 8MP, both sensors are from OmniVision. They give you surprisingly good results for this price range. Only downside may be, for some, battery capacity is 3000mAh. So if you want the most powerful phone in this price range and flagship grade build quality, LeEco Le 2 is your choice.

PS: I need to say something about the colors. I’m enough of these gold, rose gold, grey or white, missed all black phones like in the old days. Matte black would be amazing on Le 2 and I think, most of you will agree. Hopefully, new models will have this options : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/08/19/black-leeco-le-2s-back-cover-looped-antenna/

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/05/10/leeco-le-2-review/

LeEco x600

117 $ 3GB/16GB

Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 FHD screen
CPU: Helio X10 Octa core 2.0GHz
System: Android 5.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Cameras: 5.0MP front camera + 13.0MP rear camera with AF face beauty and true flash light
Bluetooth: BT4.0
Sensor: Light sensor , G-sensor , P-sensor, Hall Sensor,Proximity sensor
Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. ( Dual micro SIM cards )
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 14.70 x 7.40 x 0.95 cm / 5.79 x 2.91 x 0.37 inches, 170gr

The whole success story of LeEco (LeTV) began with this model X600. Dont need finger print ? Is 16GB enough for you (for me its still enough) ? Then just grab this hero for about 117-118$ on some online stores, this will be a real bargain for you. Coming with octa-core 2.0 GHz Helio X10 chipset and 3GB of Ram has a very good configuration for this price. Screen is from Sharp, very vivid, design is very attractive even, for my taste its better looking then X500 or X620, has a style for sure. Sound output is one of the best and 3.5mm headphone jack is present. Helio X10 is last years first example of MediaTek’s Helio series and if we should compare it this years P10, X10 is still better when it comes to performance, except energy efficiency of course:

• Helio P10: Single-core – 882, Multi-core – 3371
• Helio X10: Single-core – 905, Multi-core – 5154

ASUS X550

147.69 $ 3GB/16GB

Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 FHD Screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 64bit Octa Core 1.5GHz
GPU: Adreno-405
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: Back camera 13.0MP with flashlight + front camera 8.0MP
Bluetooth: 4.0
Improve Touch:
To protect your privacy, avoid of personal information let out. Promise you an undistracted and safe daily life.
GPS: Yes
Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Light sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Gyroscope, Hall sensor
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. Dual Micro SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3030
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.18 x 7.55 x 0.83 cm / 5.98 x 2.97 x 0.33 inches, 156gr

An interesting model from IT giant Asus. Does not have a finger print sensor but has a whole screen to scan your hand-print ! “Equipped with high-tech touch chip owned high capacity of information operation” says Asus. “A totally new way to protect your information”. X500 has a very attractive design and good screen to body ratio with aerial aluminum alloy. Very good cameras indeed for this price, 13MP rear and 8MP f/2.0 aperture front. Promises good low light performance. CPU is last year’s first edition octa-core from Qualcomm, Snapdragon 615, don’t expect much raw performance but it is energy efficient for sure. 3GB Ram is more than enough, you can put a SD card in it so 16GB of Rom is not a big issue. Phone is not unibody so you can change the 3030mAh battery with your second one, many still prefer this solution. 5.5″ full HD screen with 3rd gen Gorilla protection.

Lenovo Vibe P1

148.89 $ 2GB/16GB

Display: 5.5-inch, FHD(1920×1080 pixels) Screen, the 3rd Gorilla Glass Screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615(MSM8939) 64bit Octa Core (Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 and quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: Adreno 405
System: Android 5.1(Vibe UI 2.68)
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP front camera + 13.0MP PDAF back camera with dual color flashlight and auto focus
Sensor: Accelerometer sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Electronic Compass
Bluetooth: 4.1
GPS: GPS/AGPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Dual Nano SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 5000
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 800/850/1900MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100MHz
Product size: 15.30 x 7.50 x 0.90 cm / 6.02 x 2.95 x 0.35 inches, 189gr

Biggest battery capacity in our list with 5000mAh, yes even bigger than Mi Max. Here is a complete package from Lenovo for daily (long) use. Front placed finger print sensor, 5.5″ full HD good screen with Gorilla Glass 3, 13MP PDAF rear camera with dual color flashlight, 128GB SD card expansion, and metal back build. The black color looks not bad either.

Huawei Honor 5C

189 $ 2GB/16GB

Display: 5.2 inch, FHD(1920×1080 pixels)
CPU: Hisilicon Kirin 650 64-bit octa-core
GPU: Mali T830
System: EMUI 3.1 base on Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB, support external microSD to 128GB
Camera: 13 Megapixel BSI camera, F2.0, support HDR Movie, 8-Megapixel, f/2.0 front camera
Sensor: Accelerometer sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Electronic Compass
Bluetooth: 4.1
GPS: GPS/AGPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Dual Nano SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000
Network: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz , WCDMA: Bands: B1/B8, LTE FDD: Bands: B1/B3
Product size: 147.1mm × 73.8mm × 8.3mm, 156gr

The Kirin 650, 16nm FinFET manufacturing process (less chip size = less heat), new midrange class octa-core CPU from Huawei’s own kitchen. Clocked at 2.0GHz and holding Mali-T830 MP2 GPU in it, promises many things on paper.  The iPhone 5SE killer (who cares?) Honor 5C uses this architecture.

I’m not a fan of Huawei phones, because they always cost more against what they give back to customers in the name of performance.

Honor 5C comes with 5.2″ FHD screen, may be the optimum size for many smartphone users. Does not have any protection glass. Cameras are ok on paper, build quality is: metal back on plastic body. Finger print is on the back. Onscreen keys, reduces screen size to 5″ at home screen. You get a decent performance for this price that’s for sure, the rest is kind of a taste.

Kirin 650 loses to Helio X10

360 N4

189 $ 4GB/32GB

Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 Screen
CPU: Helio X20 MTK6797 Deca-Core
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM, support external micro SD
Cameras: Front 5.0MP + Rear 13-megapixel, f2.0, PDAF
Bluetooth: BT4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. ( Dual Nano SIM cards )
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3080
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 149mm x 75.7mm x 8.3mm, 140gr

Editor’s Choice (if you can find one to buy).  MediaTek X20 is a very good chipset, like I stated before. Supporting it with 4GB of Ram is very future based (talking about Android versions). Plus  IP67 dustproof and waterproof and a very good design (149mm for a 5.5″ is awesome), having hardware keys (big fan of this red round home key and two little tiny dots, ok the idea belongs to Nubia we all know) and not loosing from screen size in that matter is very ergonomic. 32GB Rom supported with an SD card slot. Good cameras both rear and front, 13MP rear Sony IMX258 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, 5MP front, f/2.0 aperture. And all these specs for under 189 $ (official price is even under 150$), believe me most of us don’t need more than this in a smartphone. Downside being, you can’t find 360 N4 easily to buy, and there is upgraded version announced that has 5000mAh battery inside. If 360 manages to produce those phones in enough numbers to feed the smartphone market, can be the next succeess story from China. Their next line is worth to look if you haven’t yet : 360 Q5 & Q5 Plus.

Elephone S3

149.99 $

Display: 5.2 inch Bezel-less 2.5D Arc FHD Incell Screen
CPU: MTK6753 64bit Octa Core 1.3GHz
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM. TF card up to 128GB.
Camera: 5.0MP OV5670 f2.4 front camera + 13.0MP Sony IMX135 f2.2 back camera
Bluetooth: 4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby (Micro SIM + Nano SIM)
Battery Capacity (mAh): 2100
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 14.20 x 7.05 x 0.83 cm / 5.59 x 2.78 x 0.33 inches, 145gr

I decided not to include any MediaTek MTK6753 based phone in this article (MTK6592 was the king of this class), because for a little higher budget you can get a Helio P10 or X10 even. Elephone S3 is an exception because of its bezel-less design. This phone just don’t have any bezels both sides like Nubia Z11 and has a full metal frame. It has 3GB of Ram, 16GB of Rom supported with an SD card slot. A fingerprint sensor on the back and 13MP+5MP camera configuration with not bad sensors at all. 5.2″ screen size is pocket-friendly. I think Elephone S3 is worth 150$, this is a very good looking and solid phone for sure. Not everybody knows about Antutu benchmark, there are still plenty of users who use these machines as mobile phones only, and I am one of them

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/07/01/elephone-s3-review/

For buyers just around the limit of 100$, please check our “phone buying guide under 100$” too. Pepsi P1S still is the best value for money with its 96.99$ price, having MTK6592 64-bit Octa-Core (sorry, it’s a 32-bit CPU)  1.7GHz CPU and a fingerprint scanner in a metal body of 5.5″ size.

The post Smartphone Buyers Guide: Best Value For Money SmartPhones 100$-200$ appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu has produced quite a few smartphones this year and the M3 is one of the most affordable ones. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Gearbest for sending Meizu M3 for a review.

Meizu M3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_IR8Ck6QYY[/embedyt]

Meizu M3 Review: UNBOXING

In the box, you can find a wall charger, USB cable, SIM ejector pin and some paperwork.

Meizu M3 Review: SPECS

Meizu M3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Meizu M3 is a very compact phone due to its 5” display and it looks like a shrunk down Meizu M2 Note.

Speaking of the display, it sports just a 720p resolution but it still quite sharp and good display for a budget phone like this. The only complaint would be that it could be slightly brighter for outdoor use.

We have a 5MP shooter along with a notification LED light on the top.

On the bottom, there is just a physical home button and you can either physically press to take you home or just tap it and it acts as a back button. Unfortunately, the phone lacks a fingerprint scanner.

Although the device uses glossy plastic in its construction, the phone is well-built and it feels solid. In fact, it is really comfortable to hold it in the hand due to rounded corners on the back. We have a 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture on the back coupled with a dual-tone dual LED flash.

The loudspeaker sits on the bottom and the sound quality is actually pretty good for the phone this cheap.

The buttons are on the right, they are clicky and tactile.

We have a hybrid SIM card slot, which can take either 2 SIM cards or a combo of 1 SIM and the microSD card.

Overall, the Meizu M3 is a well-constructed phone and it feels great in the hand.

Meizu M3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Meizu M3 has some pretty decent specs for the price. My review unit sports an octa-core Mediatek 6750 chip with the clock speeds of 1.5GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

The day-to-day performance of the UI is fast but the gaming performance is kind of a letdown. The phone lags quite a bit when playing Asphalt 8 even at the lowest graphics.

Meizu M3 Review: BENCHMARKS

Meizu M3 Review: USER INTERFACE

My Meizu M3 unit has FlyMe OS 5.1, which is built on top of Android 5.1. My review unit has a fully de-bloated ROM with multi-languages and Google Play services pre-installed.

If you are familiar with the FlyMe OS, you will feel right at home. There is no app tray but there are some neat features. For example, you can swipe down anywhere on the screen to open up the notification shade. If you swipe from the bottom, you will open up your recent apps and this is one of my favourite features.

We have a bunch of other features, plenty of customization options, various tweaks and settings to play with. Just to name a few, you can use choose from a variety of themes, use gesture controls, which work fine and so on.

Overall, the FlymeOS runs fast and fluid, I didn’t have a single hiccup on a daily basis.

Meizu M3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

The 13MP camera is far from perfect but it can produce one of the better-looking images in a sub-$120 phone.

Most of the daylight shots will look good but one of the shortcomings is a poor dynamic range adjustment. Luckily, the HDR mode does a pretty good job solving this issue.

The low-light camera performance is okay for the phone this cheap but keep in mind that cheap phones usually don’t take great night shots.

The 1080p video looks pretty good and the footage is one of the best in class. See a video review for a video sample.

A 5MP selfie shooter can take some nice photos that will definitely do the trick for social media.

Meizu M3 Review: CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity, you should not expect any issues with neither of the options that include wifi, Bluetooth, GPS or call quality.

Meizu M3 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone has an embedded 2870mAh battery that performs well. I could constantly get over 5 hours of SOT on a mixed use, which is a good result.

Meizu M3 Review: CONCLUSIONS

Meizu M3 is one of the better phones in this price range.

Sure, some may say that it lacks some common features like a fingerprint scanner and fast charging but the phone has a good display and great build quality.

Also, the device is fast on a daily basis, it has a good battery and one of the better cameras in its price range.

However, you have to keep in mind that the phone will struggle handling the 3D games and it lacks premium materials like metal in its build.

Overall, Meizu M3 is a great phone for the price of just $116 despite a few shortcomings.

The post Meizu M3 Review – A Great Cheap Smartphone! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu has been teasing the launch of the recently announced Meizu M3 Note in India. Now, the company has officially announced the device in India, just a month after the phone was announced back in China. It looks like for now, only the M3 Note will be sold in India, so the two other models released last month, namely the Meizu M3 and the Meizu Pro 6 flagship won’t be sold here yet. The company will be selling the same variant of the M3 Note as sold in China.

Meizu’s Blue Charm series models are usually made out of polycarbonate body. But this year, the company decided to change this tradition by using a unibody metal design on the new M3 Note. As for the specs, the phone comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display with 2.5D curved glass on top. The phone will be powered by the Helio P10 octa-core processor with 2GB and 3GB RAM options. However, in India, the company seems to be selling only the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant. At the back, the phone will come with a 13MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and PDAF while on the front, you get a 5MP shooter. Like the Redmi Note 3 Pro, Meizu has given the M3 Note a large 4100mAh battery which is good enough to last for more than a day. The battery is housed inside a 8.3mm body and the phone weighs 163 grams. As for the software, the phone comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop with Meizu’s own Flyme 5.1 UI on top.

At Rs. 9999 ($150), the Meizu M3 Note turns out to be a great option for Indian consumers. The phone will be available for sale on May 31 via flash sale model at 2PM exclusively on Amazon.

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Meizu is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which produces some great yet affordable smartphones and the M3 Note is one of their latest offerings. It is pretty cheap, it has an all-metal unibody design and some great specs. This is Linus, learn more in the full review.

Thanks to Giztop for sending Meizu M3 Note for a review.

Meizu M3 Note Review: VIDEO REVIEW

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Meizu M3 Note Review: UNBOXING

The phone ships with the some paperwork, a charging brick, USB cable and a SIM ejector pin.

Meizu M3 Note Review: SPECS

Meizu M3 Note Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

I’m really impressed with the design and all-metal build. The phone is very comfortable to hold in the hand but it may be a bit slippery as most aluminium phones.

The M3 Note is quite huge due to its 5.5” 1080p display, which is sharp, vibrant and you can adjust colour temperature to your liking in the settings menu. The only shortcoming is that it could be slightly brighter for outdoor use.

We have a 5MP snapper along with the LED notification light on the top.

On the bottom there is only one button but it has quite a few features. Firstly, it can be physically pressed as it acts as a home button. Also, it has a touchpad and it is a feature that I love and miss on some other phones. E.g. you can simply tap they key and it acts as a back button. Last but definitely not least, we have a fingerprint scanner, which is fast, accurate but it does not work straight from the standby mode. That means that you have to physically press it to wake the screen up and then use your fingerprint to unlock the device. A really cool feature that you can use your fingerprint for other purposes, e.g. you can lock certain apps.

A 13MP camera with dual-tone dual LED flash is on the back and we have plastic top and bottom parts for antennas.

The buttons are nice and tactile, and they do not rattle at all.

However, a hybrid dual-SIM or microSD card tray does rattle quite a bit.

We still have a regular micro USB port, which sits next to the loudspeaker. Speaking of which, it is pretty good but the sound could have more depth. However, the main issue is that sometimes it starts crackling at the highest volume setting.

Overall, I’m really happy with the design and the way the M3 Note is built except for the rattling SIM card tray.

Meizu M3 Note Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Our review unit has a quad-core Mediatek 6755 Helio P10 chip with the max. clock speeds of 1.8GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

To be honest, this is the first Helio P10-powered phone we are reviewing and I have to say that I was not impressed by its performance.

Asphalt 8 is one of the most versatile tests to check phones’ abilities and the M3 Note does not perform well. Firstly, I made sure that the phone is set to performance mode and tried playing the game on the highest graphics setting. The performance was horrible. There was a lot of lag, stutter and it was practically impossible to play the game.

Then I switched the graphics to medium, things have gotten a lot better but still, there were quite a few skipped frames.

Meizu M3 Note Review: BENCHMARKS

Meizu M3 Note Review: USER INTERFACE

Meizu M3 Note ships with the FlyMe OS 5.1, which is built on top of Android 5.1.

If you are familiar with the FlyMe OS, you will feel right at home. There is no app tray but there are some neat features. For example, you can swipe down anywhere on the screen to open up the notification shade. Swiping up brings a search bar. If you swipe from the bottom, you will open up your recent apps and this is one of my favorite features.

We have a bunch of other features, plenty of customization options, various tweaks and settings to play with. Just to name a few, you can use choose from a variety of themes, use gesture controls, which work fine and so on.

However, you have to keep in mind that the Chinese version of the phone ships with some bloatware, you would need to flash Google services manually and there are no multi-languages.

On the other hand, the FlymeOS runs fast and fluid, I didn’t have a single hiccup and it may be may be a personal preference but I really enjoyed using it on a daily basis.

Meizu M3 Note Review: CAMERA

The camera app is simple, easy to use and it is fast to take pictures. You have a few shooting modes, including a manual mode, and some settings to play with.

Meizu M3 Note Review: IMAGE and VIDEO QUALITY

When it comes to the daylight image quality, it is pretty good and you can get some nice looking pictures with a decent amount of detail, natural looking colors and even pretty accurate dynamic range.

However, the quality decreases in lower-lit situations. You may still get some very good looking images but there will be a bit more noise and slightly less detail. Still, the image quality is pretty good for the phone this cheap.

The night camera performance is kind of a letdown. It is not the worst I’ve seen but I expected a bit more from this phone. The images are not bright enough, there is a low amount of detail and a lot of noise.

The selfie camera is pretty good and you will be able to take some decent looking selfies with it.

As for 1080p video, the quality is actually pretty good. Sure, the footage could look a bit sharper but the biggest downside is that the camera does not have continuous auto-focus feature.

Meizu M3 Note Review: CONNECTIVITY

As you may have expected, Meizu M3 Note has no connectivity issues. In fact, I was really curious how the Helio P10 works when using the GPS and I can assure you that it is very accurate.

Meizu M3 Note Review: BATTERY LIFE

We’ve come to the battery life and it is great. A 4100mAh unit allows you to use the phone for at least a few days depending on the usage. I could constantly get over 6 or even 7 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use.

Meizu M3 Note Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the Meizu M3 Note. The device is well built, it has a nice metal design, the display is sharp and vibrant, the UI has tons of features and it works fast.

Also, the camera can take some good looking daylight images, the battery life is great and the fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate.

However, the Helio P10 chip does not handle 3D games at the highest graphics settings the way we expected. Well, at least on the M3 Note.

Also, you have to know that the fingerprint sensor does not work straight from the standby mode, the device ships with some Chinese bloatware, the low-light camera performance does not impress and the SIM card tray rattles quite a bit.

All in all, Meizu M3 Note is still a great offering for the price and it can be highly recommended for those who don’t mind a few shortcomings.

The post Meizu M3 Note Review – One of the Best in Class appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu is one of those Chinese manufacturers which releases one of the hottest budget devices of the year and it seems that the Meizu M3 Note is no exception. It has great looks, decent specs and it does not cost a fortune. Learn more in our unboxing and first impressions article.

Thanks to Giztop for sending Meizu M3 Note for a review!

Meizu M3 Note: UNBOXING

The phone comes with the USB charger, SIM ejector pin and some documentation.

Meizu M3 Note: DESIGN and FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Once I first picked the phone up it was obvious that the device looks the iPhone 6s Plus. It is made of metal (except for the top and bottom parts for antennas) and the build quality is top-notch.

In fact, it is better made than the Meizu MX5 I have reviewed quite a while ago.

We have a 5.5″ 1080p display and the first impressions about it are nothing but positive.  It is sharp and crisp but it is a great panel overall.

We have a 5MP shooter along with a notification LED on the top.

On the bottom there is only a physical home button, which has a lot of features. First, it doubles as a fingerprint scanner and it is easy to setup, fast and accurate. However, it does not work straight from the standby mode, meaning that you have to wake the screen up with a click of a home or power button.

A really cool feature that I love about most of the Meizu phones is that the home button supports a simple tap function, e.g. you can simply tap it and it acts as a back button.

As for optics, we have a 13MP shooter with f/2.2 aperture and PDAF. Just below the camera you can find a dual-tone dual LED flash.

The phone’s thickness measures at 8.2mm but in the hand it actually feels a bit slimmer. We have the buttons on the right, which have a good tactile feedback and neither of them rattle or wobble.

Meizu decided to stick with the regular micro USB port.

Overall, my first impressions are positive. I really like the design and great build quality, the display is nice to look at the UI seems to be performing fast.

Stay tuned to Gizmochina for a full review as we need more time testing out all the features like camera, gaming performance, battery life and so on.

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Meizu recently unveiled the Meizu M3 Note mid-range smartphone which managed to catch our attention mainly because it was cheap and powerful. The phone came with pretty impressive specs for the 799 Yuan price tag that it asks, which translates to roughly $124.

Like most Chinese smartphone makers these days, the company decided to sell the device via the flash sale model and the first sale for the device was today, via the company’s official website. While we knew that the demand for the phone was strong, now, Meizu has given us an official figure for the Meizu M3 Note sales in the first sale.

Meizu revealed today that it sold 100,000 Meizu M3 Note units within 7 minutes in the first ever flash sale for the device. Considering this smartphone brand managed to sell about 20 million phones in the year 2015, this is an impressive figure. The super cheap pricing, premium looks and capable hardware are some of the reasons why this phone is in demand in China.

READ MORE: Meizu M3 Note vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro

The Meizu M3 Note comes in a premium metal body ditching the polycarbonate body used in its predecessors. The phone features the Helio P10 octa-core processor with 2GB / 3GB RAM versions and 16GB / 32GB storage options. There will be a 13MP camera at the back and a 5MP front-facing shooter. The screen is of 5.5-inches with 1080p resolution. As for the battery, it’s large, measuring 4100mAh capacity. Pricing starts at $124 and goes to $154 for the 3GB + 32GB variant. You can read all about the M3 Note from here.

Those who couldn’t get hold of the device in the first flash sale, the next sale is on April 18 on the company

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Meizu announced the brand new Meizu M3 Note mid-range smartphone yesterday. The phone was everything we expected it to be and even more. One of the best features of the device was its pricing, as it starts at an amazing 799 Yuan ($125) in China. While you won’t be able to get hold of the phone at this price internationally, OPPOMART has listed the phone for pre-order at $169. Considering the specs on board, this isn’t too bad.

So, you get the 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM version of the M3 Note for $169, while for the 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version, you will have to shell out $50 more. There are three colors available for both the variants, namely Gray, Gold and Silver. The phone features a metal body, abandoning the polycarbonate material used in earlier generations.

As for the specs, the Meizu M3 Note comes with the Mediatek Helio P10 octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz. Like mentioned above, there will be two variants, 2GB/ 3GB RAM and 16GB / 32GB storage. There will be a 5.5-inch 1080p display on board. At the back, the M3 Note comes with a 13MP camera while up front there will be a 5MP shooter.

The new Meizu devices comes with a physcial home button embedded with a mtouch fingerprint sensor. You also get a large 4100mAh battery which is enough for more than a day’s usage.

Overall, the M3 Note is a well balanced device, featuring a great design, bright display, decent processor and a large battery inside to power it all day long. As you can see, the third party pricing is much higher than the official price tag, but then if you live outside of China, this seems to be the only way that you can get hold of the device.

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Meizu just announced the new Meizu M3 Note mid-ranger a couple of hours back, and it’s easily one of the best value for money handsets out there in the market. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better in this segment, Meizu came up with this new handset. So, we decided to compare the Meizu M3 Note vs Redmi Note 3 Pro, since they basically fall in the same price segment.

So, without wasting any more time, lets head on to the comparison.

Meizu M3 Note vs Redmi Note 3 Pro: DESIGN

Coming to the new Meizu M3 Note, the phone comes with a metal body. It’s thinner than the Redmi model and features a design similar to the Meizu MX5. That’s actually a good thing!

DIMENSIONS: 153.6 x 75.5 x 8.2mm

Now, we take a look at the Redmi Note 3 Pro which comes with a solid metal body with smooth round corners. The phone looks premium and well built for its price. Clearly, there are no complaints here.

DIMENSIONS: 150 x 76 x 8.65mm

As you can see, the Redmi Note 3 Pro is thinner and shorter than the Meizu M3 Note, but then, the latter is thinner. Also, the fingerprint sensor on the former is located at the back, while the M3 Note comes with a home button embedded fingerprint sensor located just below the display up front.

Meizu M3 Note vs Redmi Note 3 Pro: Hardware

The major difference between the two models is the processor underneath. The Meizu M3 Note comes with the MTK Helio P10 processor clocked at 1.8GHz. This is an octa-core chip with eight Cortex A53 cores. On the other hand, the Redmi Note 3 Pro comes with the Snapdragon 650 chipset which features 2x Cortex A72 cores and 4 x Cortex A53 cores. This should give an advantage to the Redmi model, but we will have to wait and see if there are any significant real life performance differences. For most tasks, the Helio P10 should be sufficient.

If you really want to know the benchmark results of these two chipsets, then the Helio P10 (inside the OPPO R9) scores around 51,000 on AnTuTu (since this is underclocked expect lower results), while the Snapdragon 650 gets around 75,000-79,000 on the same AnTuTu app. So, there’s a significant gap in their performances.

So, this was the biggest difference between the two handsets. Rest of the specs are quite similar. So, the Meizu M3 Note comes in two versions 2GB / 3GB RAM and 16GB / 32GB storage, same as the Redmi model. Also, both have dual SIM card slots with a hybrid slot that uses SIM2 for MicroSD if required. There will be a 5.5-inch display on board with 1080p resolution on both models.

Coming to the cameras, the Meizu M3 Note comes with a 13MP f/2.2 aperture sensor with 5P Lens and PDAF. Similarly, the Redmi Note 3 Pro features a 16MP sensor with f/2.2, 5P lens and PDAF. Up front, both the phones have 5MP f/2.0 cameras. Both have dual LED color temperature flash at the back.

Even in the battery department, both have very similar specs. The M3 Note comes with a slightly larger 4100mAh battery while the Redmi model features a 4000mAh capacity battery. As for the weight, the Meizu model weighs 163 grams while the Redmi model weighs 164 grams. Too similar right?

Unfortunately, both the models are stuck with Android 5.1, despite being 2016 models. The M3 Note comes with Flyme on top while the Redmi Note 3 Pro features MIUI 7.

Other features that are similar on both the handsets include 4G LTE with VoLTE, fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Meizu M3 Note vs Redmi Note 3 Pro: Pricing

Pricing is where these both differ again. The base variant of the Meizu M3 Note i.e. with 2GB RAM + 32GB ROM retails at an amazing $125, while in case of the Redmi Note 3 Pro, it starts at $154 for the base variant. The top end variant of the M3 Note (3GB RAM + 32GB ROM) is priced at 999 Yuan ($154) in China, while the high-end Redmi model retails at 1199 Yuan ($185).

Conclusion:

With Snapdragon 650 under the hood, the Redmi Note 3 Pro is definitely more powerful among the two. But if you can live with the mid-range P10, the Meizu M3 Note comes out as a cheaper and attractive option. It’s thinner, features a larger battery as well as comes with a cheaper price tag. But if don’t want to sacrifice on the processor and are ready to shell out a few more bucks, then the Redmi Note 3 Pro is probably the better option.

So, which one will you choose?

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Meizu has officially announced the Meizu M3 Note mid-ranger today at an event in Beijing, China. The phone is everything we expected it to be, and even better, thanks to a larger than expected battery on board. Before we move on to the specs of the device, which are quite impressive, let’s take a look at the pricing. Meizu has surprised us all by pricing the Meizu M3 Note at just 799 Yuan ($123) for the base variant (2GB RAM + 16GB ROM) and 999 Yuan ($154) for the higher-end model (3GB RAM + 32GB).

Now, let’s take a look at the features of the M3 Note.

First of all, Meizu had abandoned the traditional polycarbonate body on the Blue Charm series in favor of metal on the new M3 Note. This makes the phone look much more premium and good looking than its predecessors. Coming to the specs, the Meizu M3 Note features a 5.5-inch 1080p LTPS display up front, same as the previous versions. There will be two variants, one with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and another with 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM. The company reveals that these are eMMC 5.1 storages which is a lot faster than previous versions.

Under the hood, the phone features the Helio P10 octa-core chipset, which is slightly under clocked as compared to the OPPO R9. So, it’s clocked at 1.8GHz instead fo 2GHz. There will be Mali-T760 GPU on board. At the back, the M3 Note comes with a 13MP camera sensor with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and 5 element lens. Up front, there is a 5MP f/2.0 shooter. Like other Meizu phones, this particular device will feature dual SIM cards, but SIM2 slot is hybrid which means you can use it for MicroSD cards as well. As for the software, the phone runs on Android 5.1 out of the box with Flyme UI on top. The company reportedly has worked with Mediatek to make the UI on the phone smoother.

Continuing its tradition of using mBack buttons, Meizu has upgraded the home button up front with mTouch 2.1 fingerprint sensor which can unlock the phone in just 0.48 seconds. During the launch, the company mocked OPPO of using the same oval button design as Meizu. But OPPO’s fingerprint sensor is faster (unlocks in 0.2 seconds). The M3 Note measures 8.2mm in thickness and inside this body, the company has managed to pack in a large 4100mAh battery. The company claims that this battery is good enough for 17 hours of video playback and 32 hours of talktime. Also, the phone weighs 163 grams and supports VoLTE.

The phone will be available in three colors, namely Silver, Gold and Gray. Both the versions will go on sale for $123 and $154 respectively on April 11 via the company’s own website as well as other notable retailers in China.

Meizu is yet to reveal international release plans for the Meizu M3 Note.

Apart from the new smartphone, the company also unveiled a new Bong 2P fitness tracker that retails for 79 Yuan ($13) independently and 60 Yuan ($10) as a bundled option with the M3 Note. The fitness tracker boasts of a 40-day battery life, which is impressive.

Then there’s the EP51 Bluetooth headphones that boast of 6 hours of battery life, omni directional microphone, nano waterproof material and super light weight body. The headphones will retail for 269 Yuan ($41) independently or at 199 Yuan ($31) with the M3 Note.

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Meizu M3 Note will release alongside the Huawei P9 series on April 6. Despite being just an entry level mid-range smartphone from Meizu, the M3 Note is going to sport an upgraded design with powerful specification to take on competitors like the Xiaomi Mi 4C and the Mi 4S. Now, thanks to a leaked poster, we have the pricing of the device.

According to a new poster leaked online yesterday, the upcoming Meizu M3 Note will start at 1099 Yuan ($170) for the 16GB version. So, we can expect progressive pricing for larger storage variants like the 32GB and maybe even a 64GB (although unlikely).

When compared to the previous version, namely the Meizu M2 Note, the phone starts at 100 Yuan higher. The M2 Note’s 32GB version retailed at 999 Yuan ($154), while this poster shows that the 16GB version will start at a higher price. We still have no idea whether the phone will come with a MicroSD slot, but considering the M2 had one, we can expect a hybrid (SIM2 Slot for MicroSD) on the phone.

So what will you get at this price? According to previous information, the Meizu M3 Note will come with an upgraded all metal body (confirmed via official teaser) abandoning its polycarbonate design. As for the specs, the M3 Note will feature the Helio P10 MT6755M processor with Mali-T860 GPU. There will be two versions, one with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and the other with 3GB RAM + 32GB storage.

The screen is expected to be of 5.5-inches with 1080p resolution. At the back, there should be a 13MP camera while up front, a 5MP shooter. The phone will come with a 3500mAh battery and fingerprint sensor embedded into its front placed home button. For software, the M3 Note is reportedly coming with Android 5.1 out of the box. And yes, it will feature dual SIM dual standby as confirmed by a previous screenshot. However, it will most likely be a hybrid one (MicroSD / SIM2).

So, for $170, do you think the Meizu M3 Note is a good buy?

The post Meizu M3 Note’s Price For 16GB Version Leaked via New Poster appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu will be releasing its M3 Note budget smartphone on April 6. There’s another event from the company in April, on 12th, but we are not quite sure what’s its related to.

For the past few days, the internet has been filled with rumors and leaks about the upcoming M3 Note. And today, we have a look at the upcoming mid-ranger for the first time, that too alongside the Pro 6 flagship that could meet us a few weeks later.

First of all, before you get confused, the Meizu Pro 6 handset is on the left which is in black and the Meizu M3 Note lies on the right. You may have got confused because the earlier Pro 6 leaks had shown off the device in silver, but this ones in black.

Moving on, it looks like the Pro 6 will have a smaller display as compared to the M3 Note. The Meizu’s Blue Charm Note series have always come with a 5.5-inch 1080p display. We expect the company to continue this tradition with the new update as well. So, this picture could be a good indication that the Pro 6 will come with a smaller display, somewhere around 5.2-inches, which seem to be the sweet spot among flagships nowadays.

The M3 Note features an all metal body with standard antenna lines on top and bottom. On the other hand, the Pro 6 comes with the unique antenna line, similar to the rumored iPhone 7 design. To be honest, the new M3 Note’s design seems to be in line with Meizu’s premium Pro 5 handset, which is not really a bad thing. However, given its similarity, we will have to wait and see whether the company decides to change the design on the MX6 too to make it more unique and premium. MX6 is also rumored to come sometime in the next few weeks.

Coming to the specs, leaks state that the M3 Note will come with 2GB RAM / 3GB RAM options with 16GB / 32GB storage variants. There will be Helio P10 chip inside with Android 5.1 on top.

The post Meizu M3 Note Pictured Alongside The Pro 6, Two Very Different Designs appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu hasn’t had any particular big releases in this year yet. The only new phone that we saw from the company was the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu edition. However, the company has a number of devices in pipeline for 2016, and Meizu’s executives have been revealing details about its upcoming phones since the past few weeks.

Meizu has confirmed that there will be a new product announcement on April 6 next week and it’s no surprise that we can expect the Meizu M3 Note to be launched at the event. Now, Meizu’s CEO Huang has revealed a new screenshot of the upcoming M3 Note revealing that the phone will come with dual SIM dual standby.

In the past few months, we have seen that company executives play a very important role of revealing features of their upcoming devices. Remember the screenshot of the Mi 5 posted by Xiaomi’s Lei Jun or even the first samples images take from the device? So, this seems to have become a trend among company executives.

Moving on, we already know a lot about the Meizu M3 Note, thanks to the AnTuTu listing of the device. The phone will come with a slightly slower version of the Mediatek Helio P10 chipset (MT6755m) with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There will be a high version as well featuring 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. At the back, the phone will come a 13MP camera, while up front there will be a 5MP Shooter. Unfortunately, the listing shows that the phone will run on the old Android 5.1 lollipop version. But even if the company releases the phone with Lollipop (which would be unlikely), a Marshmallow update should be released soon after release. The screen size is unknown but the resolution will be 1080p.

Meizu executives have dubbed the M3 Note as not only their first device of the year but also the most beautiful one yet. The phone is said to feature a thin body, large battery and a beatiful design.

The official release of the phone is on April 6, the same day as Huawei P9 will meet us. And yes, in case you didn’t know, the Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro edition also goes on sale for the first time in China the same day. So, it’s definitely going to be a busy day for Chinese smartphone lovers.

Stay tuned for more details.

The post Meizu CEO Posts A Screenshot Of The Upcoming Meizu M3 Note appeared first on Gizmochina.

After a few months of silence, Meizu will finally unveil its first device of the year, namely the Meizu M3 Note on April 6. The company has been teasing the device for the past few days, however, we had little knowledge about the final specs of the device. But now, thanks to the AnTuTu listing of the M3 Note, we have a good idea as to what to expect from the upcoming device. Most of the M3 Note specs are in line with what earlier leaks have predicted.

According to AnTuTu, the Meizu M3 Note will come with the Helio P10 MT6755m octa-core processor with 2GB / 3GB RAM options. You can choose between 16GB and 32GB storage versions as well. While the display size is not yet revealed, we can expect it to be the same as the previous models, i.e. 5.5-inches. Resolution will be FHD 1920 x 1080p. At the back, there will be a 13MP camera, while up front a 5MP shooter. As for software, the phone will be running on Android 5.1 Lollipop.

After taking a look at these specs, the biggest update is in the processor department, moving from the MT6753 in the M2 Note to Helio P10 in the new model. Rest of the specs including battery (expected to be 3500mAh) are more or less the same. With these specs on board, the Meizu M3 Note managed to score about 45000 on the AnTuTu benchmark app. This isn’t too impressive, but the scores may improve in the final version. Also, considering that the phone will retail for around 999 Yuan ($154), these specs are good.

According to Meizu CEO, Huang, the M3 Note is not only the first smartphone from the company in 2016, it’s also going to be the most beautiful one. We still don’t have very clear renders of the device, but let’s hope we see the phone in real life pretty soon.

Stay tuned for more details.

The post Meizu M3 Note Specs Leaked In Detail appeared first on Gizmochina.

For the past few days, we have been hearing a lot about the Meizu Pro 6 flagship and the Helio X25 chip that powers it. However, there’s still time for the phone’s launch, as first we will meet with the budget mid-ranger, Meizu M3 Note. Like the company CEO revealed yesterday, Meizu via its official weibo account has released a new teaser for the upcoming Meizu M3 Note smartphone.

The company has confirmed via the teaser that the Meizu M3 Note will be announced at the Beijing National Convention Center on April 6. In case you remember, this is the same date when the Huawei P9 flagship smartphone will be announced. So, it looks like April 6 is going to be an important date for Chinese tech fans, since we could potentially meet two (or even more) great devices.

According to the teaser, the upcoming Meizu M3 Note will be one of the best-looking smartphones from the company. A few hours back, we saw the entire leaked product pipeline of the company and the M3 was in the list. The leak revealed that the phone will use a polycarbonate body, which is something that Meizu’s Blue Charm series has always used. So, unlike other manufacturers who are opting for a metal body to give their phones a premium feel, Meizu could stick with polycarbonate.

Moreover, the leak revealed that the M3 Note will come with a 5.5-inch 1080p display along with the Mediatek Helio P10 octa-core processor under the hood with 2GB of RAM. There will be two storage variants, namely 16GB costing 799 Yuan ($125), and 32GB costing 999 Yuan ($150). The battery is said to be of 3200mAh.

The company’s teasers say that the phone will be fast, long lasting and beautiful. Given that the event is confirmed and the teasers have started to come out, we can expect a lot more details in the coming days.

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For the past few days, we have been hearing about the Meizu Pro 8 flagship. Meizu recently confirmed that the phone will be the first and the exclusive device to feature the newly announced Helio X25 deca-core processor. In fact, in the past couple of days, we have seen the device hit a few benchmarking apps like Geekbench and AnTuTu.

While we are expecting to see the Meizu Pro 6 as well as the MX6 flagship smartphones in the coming months, the company CEO Huang has just revealed that the Meizu will first announce the Meizu M3 Note budget smartphone. While this announcement may seem to have come out of the blue, we had previously seen a leak about the M3 Note smartphone, which kind of confirmed its existence.

The CEO has promised to reveal more details tomorrow, but before that, he hinted that the M3 Note will come with a slim body and a large battery. The phone will be quite beautiful as well. Finally, for processor, you can expect the octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 chipset under the hood.

As mentioned above, we had seen a leaked questionaire related to the Meizu M3 Note, which revealed some of the specs of the device. According to that leak, the Meizu M3 Note will come with a 5-inch or larger display (should be 5.5-inch) with 1080p resolution and a large 3500mAh battery inside. Also, the phone will retain the traditional mBack Physical home button up front, most likely integrated with a fingerprint sensor.

Considering the specs of the device, we can say that the phone will be directly targeted at competitors like Xiaomi Mi 4C and Mi 4S. As for the pricing, Meizu has been agressive in this area, so we can expect it to be below 1000 Yuan (around $154).

The post Meizu M3 Note Coming Soon With Big Battery & Slim Body appeared first on Gizmochina.

Although its been just about a month since Meizu announced its flagship Meizu Pro 5 smartphone, the company is already preparing for another smartphone launch. Meizu has started sending out invites for its October 21 event to the Chinese media, where it will most likely reveal a new model in the Blue Charm family, possibly the Meizu M3 Note. It might be another variant of the M2 Note, since the phone reportedly runs on YunOS 3.1.6, but lets wait for an official confirmation from the company.

We had already seen the model on TENAA yesterday with the model number Meizu M57A revealing some of the key specifications as well as images of the device. Now, Meizu’s invitation reveals a lot more about the upcoming Meizu M3 Note. The invite comes with a metal back cover, confirming that the new Blue Charm model will feature a metal body. This will be the first time a Blue Charm device is featuring metal housing. The phone will reportedly come in different colors like, white, pink, gold, blue and silver.

As for the specs, the Meizu M3 Note is expected to feature an octa-core 2GHz chipset with 2GB RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. Up front, it will have the same 5.5-inch 1080p display as the M2 Note, but with 2.5D glass. There should be a 13MP camera at the back, and a 5MP shooter up front. Finally, the phone will run on YunOS 3.1.6.

Expect more information before the official release on October 21.

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