Meizu’s upcoming mid-ranger the Meizu E3 has showed up on TENAA. The full listing is not yet available but the photos leave nothing to the imagination.

Just like the Meizu M6s, the Meizu E3 packs an 18:9 display. The bezels are more or less the same thickness and the bottom one is also missing the mBack button. To not make it identical to the M6s, Meizu has swapped the position of the front camera and sensor. The former is now on the left and the latter on the right.

The rear of the Meizu M3 is much more different though Meizu seems to not have been able to resist joining the iPhone X bandwagon.  This is evident from the design of the dual rear cameras.

Beneath the camera housing is a LED flash. There are also antenna lines at the top and bottom and at the bottom right corner is a “mblu by Meizu” text.

The Meizu M3 has its fingerprint scanner on the right and above it is the power button. For those who are used to the scanner being on the front or back of the device, this will take some time getting used to. Volume rocker now keeps the SIM tray company on the left side of the device.

READ MORE: Meizu To Launch Meizu 15, Meizu 15 Lite, and Meizu 15 Plus Trio

The Meizu M3 has appeared on TENAA in two variants –  M851Q and M851M which are actually just network variants. The phone is scheduled to arrive March 6 and should have impressive cameras and gaming performance.

(Sources: 1, 2 | Via)

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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.

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UPDATE: More Images Have Come Up Online, They Have Been Added In the article!

After releasing three new devices in April, Meizu is all set to announce a brand new device on June 13. Well, this smartphone isn’t going to be from a new series, instead, it is going to be yet another update in the company’s budget Blue Charm range. Out of the three phones announced in April, two were from the Blue Charm range, which would make this one, the third model in the series in a matter of a couple of months. From what we have heard, the phone is going to be called as the Meizu M3S and will come with a metal body, unlike the other two models which feature polycarbonate back.

Now, new images of the Meizu M3S have been leaked online, confirming its name as well as the basic design. A couple of images of the retail box of the phone confirms that it will be called as the M3S. Further, we have some real life images as well, which shows a compact body as well as a design similar to the Meizu M3 Note that was released before. The oval physical home button is also present on this device.

As for the specs, the Meizu M3S is going to come with an octa-core chipset clocked at 1.5GHz, which should most likely be MT6750. The screen should be compact, measuring 5-inches with 720p resolution. For memory, you can expect 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and 3GB RAM + 32GB storage variants. At the back, expect the same 13MP sensor as the M3 Note, while up front, you will find a 5MP shooter. Finally, for battery, the phone features 3000mAh capacity.

More Images Were Leaked, Check them out from above

Now, you must be wondering, the specs are quite the same as the M3, then why is the company specially releasing the Meizu M3S. Well, like we saw in the image yesterday, the phone will most likely upgrade the body from polycarbonate to metal. We still have no idea if Meizu has upgraded other things on the new handset, but considering the phone is getting a separate conference, we hope that there are a few more upgrades as well.

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Meizu unveiled three new phones just last month. While the company is said to be working on a couple of high-end devices, a new report from China states that Meizu will release the metal version of its Meizu M3 budget smartphone on June 13. While the report didn’t reveal the exact name of the handset, it’s probably going to be called as the Meizu m3 Note, succeeding the Meizu M1 Metal that was announced back in October 2015.

It is said that there won’t be many differences between the regular Meizu M3 and the M3 Metal. But the new model is said to ditch the polycarbonate back in favor of metal. Another important change as revealed by the report is that the Meizu M3 Metal will come with Android on board, instead of YunOS running on the regular version. So, for those fans who were disappointed to hear the presence of YunOS on the budget model, this news should come as a relief.

RELATED: Three New Meizu Models Spotted on TENAA, Should Be MX6 and Meizu Metal 2

Thanks to an earlier TENAA certification, we know that the specs are going to be similar to the earlier released model. So, you can expect the phone to feature the octa-core MT6750 chip clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB + 16GB and 3G  + 32GB options, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, 5-inch 720p display and a 3000mAh battery on board. Like mentioned above, the phone will be running on Android 5.1 instead of YunOS.

READ MORE: Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3

Coincidentally, Meizu is also rumored to release the Meizu MX6 flagship on June 20. That would be just a week away from this launch. Usually, we would have dismissed this info saying that the two launches are very close together, but after seeing what Meizu did in April, we won’t be surprised if we see two launches in consecutive weeks.

Source

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Gone are the days where you would have to spend upwards of $300 to get a decent powerful smartphone. Thanks to the efforts of the Chinese smartphone companies, powerful smartphones have become cheaper and cheaper, and now we get more bang for the buck than ever before. It is at these times buying a smartphone becomes difficult. You get multiple options, which look equally good that you eventually end up getting confused.

Both Xiaomi and Meizu are two value for money handset makers, and both Meizu M3 and Xiaomi Redmi 3 phones are the best budget devices that you can currently get in the market. Given that Meizu announced the new M3 earlier today, it becomes necessary to see whether it has an edge over the existing champion, the Redmi 3. Today’s comparison will be solely on the basis of their specs, mainly because we haven’t got the M3 for review yet. So, let’s take a look at the Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 comparison.

By the way, in case you are wondering why I didn’t compare it with the Redmi 3 Pro version, it’s because it would be unfair. The Pro version comes with a fingerprint sensor and is priced higher than the top-end version of the M3. So, the regular version seems to be the apt competitor for the device.

DESIGN:

Different people have different preferences when it comes to the design, so we can’t really make conclusions in this department. Both are good looking handsets, with the Meizu M3 coming with a custom polycarbonate body while the Redmi 3 sporting a gorgeous metal body, much like the Redmi Note 3. Plus, if you are a big fan of the plaid design, you’ve got that at the back of the Redmi device.

So, let’s take a look at the dimensions. Both are 5-inch smartphones, so technically, they should have very similar sizes.

Meizu M3: 141.5 x 69.5 x 8.3mm

Redmi 3: 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5mm

Personally, I feel Redmi wins here, because its a bit more compact. And another reason is that with just 0.2mm increase in thickness, you get a humungous battery on the Redmi 3. Can’t beat that.

Meizu M3 Weight: 132 grams

Redmi 3 Weight: 144 grams

You already know why Redmi is heavier among the two. Apart from the battery, the metal body should also be responsible for the heavier weight of the phone.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SCREEN:

Both have a 5-inch  720p IPS LCD display on board. Even the screen to body ratio is similar, with the Redmi 3 having an edge with a slightly better 71.1% coverage. Nothing else to talk about in this department.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SPECS:

Meizu has continued its tradition of sticking with Mediatek chipsets. This time it’s the all new MT6750 octa-core SoC clocked at 1.5GHz. You get Mali T860 MP2 GPU inside. Now, the Redmi 3 also comes with a similarly specced Snapdragon 616 with octa-core Cortex A53 based architecture and Adreno 405. In our official review of the Redmi 3, we got over 33,000 points on AnTuTu benchmark. On the other hand, Meizu revealed in its official event today that the MT6750 inside the M3 scores over 39,000 in the same test. Does this mean that the M3 is significantly better than the Redmi 3? Most likely not! Manufacturers are known to reveal the best scores of the device officially, and real life tests scores turn out to be much lower. So, on paper, Meizu could have an edge, but only by a little margin. And this is based on just one AnTuTu test. Real life performance could differ, especially considering we have not yet tested out the Flyme 5.1 UI powered by YunOS on the M3.

Other specs like 2GB RAM, 16GB storage come as standard on both the devices. The M3 has a 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version as well ($123). On the other hand, there’s the Redmi 3 Pro version which comes with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage but it’s slightly costlier ($138). But for that additional price, you get a fingerprint sensor. One thing to note here is that the Meizu’s storage will be much faster since it is of eMMC 5.1 standard! Also, both have expandable storages but they are hybrid slots (uses SIM2).

At the back, the Meizu M3 features a 13MP f/ 2.2 camera with PDAF and dual tone flash. Up front, you get a 5MP f/ 2.0 shooter. As for the Redmi 3, you have a 13MP f/2.0 camera at the back with PDAF and single LED flash and 5MP f/2.2 shooter up front. Can’t comment on the camera quality of the M3 yet, so we will have to wait for a review, which should be real soon.

If you are confused which one to pick till now, you might finally be able to make a decision in the next few seconds. The Meizu M3 comes with a decent battery, bigger than its predecessor, with a capacity of 2870mAh. Now this is pretty good for a 5-incher and will last a day. But after seeing what Redmi 3 is offering, a massive gigantic 4100mAh battery, the M3 looks like its missing something big. And it is! In our review, we saw that even after super heavy usage, the Redmi 3 couldn’t be drained completely within a day. We got a good 7 hours screen on time on the device, which is just plain amazing. The Meizu M3 doesn’t even come close in this department.

I personally feel Meizu should have done a better job. This is kind of a deal breaker when you have the mighty Redmi 3 as an option. The Meizu M3 Note was a much better competitor in its segment.

As for the software, both run on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Meizu M3 comes with Flyme 5.1 powered by YunOS while the Redmi 3 comes with the familiar MIUI 7.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 PRICING:

Well, Meizu has done a good job in this area, with the Meizu M3 starting at just $92 for the 2GB RAM variant. The 3GB + 32GB variant retails for 799 Yuan which comes to $124. Still pretty cheap. On the other hand, Xiaomi Redmi 3’s official pricing starts at 699 Yuan ($106) for the 2GB RAM version. If you want a 3GB RAM model, you can get the Redmi 3 Pro for $138.

So, the M3 is the cheapest, and for that price you get a lower capacity battery. On the other hand, for $15 more, you get a super large battery on the Redmi 3.

What are your thoughts? Which one would you pick?

The post Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3: Budget Phones Never Looked So Good! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu is on a roll. After a few months of silence early 2016, the company has announced three new devices in three separate conferences in April. Today, the company released the third device this year, the Meizu M3 aimed at the budget customers. This will be the successor to the popular Meizu M2 handset that was announced last year.

The Meizu M3 comes with a familiar design, much similar to the previous generation model. However, the company stresses that this is a custom polycarbonate body and comes with CNC finishing to ensure that you get a better feel and comfortable grip on the device. Further, there will be 2.5D curved glass up front. The company has reduced the thickness of the device to just 8.3mm and it weighs only 132 grams. There will be five different color options, white, blue, gray along with gold and pink colors.

Coming to the specs, the Meizu M3 will come with the new MT6750 octa-core chipset clocked at 1.5GHz. This would be a big upgrade from the entry level MT6735 quad-core chip from last year and should definitely boost up the performance. The company claims that on AnTuTu, the phone manages to score above 39,000 points, which would be pretty impressive. But performance isn’t the only highlight of this entry level chip. The support for LTEE FDD / TDD Cat. 6 with 2 x 20 model with Carrier Aggregation will ensure most networks are available and at speeds around 300Mbps. Plus, you get Mali T860MP2 GPU on board. For an entry level device, this is quite impressive.

As for memory, you get two versions, 2GB and 3GB RAM with 16GB and 32GB ROM respectively. This is further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD (hybrid slot). You get dual SIM dual standby support as well. Like the M2, the new device also comes with a 5-inch display with 720p resolution. You don’t get gorilla glass, but it does have the protection from the SCHOTT Xensation Cover Glass which is also pretty good.

At the back, the Meizu M3 comes with a 13MP f/2.2 aperture camera with PDAF (0.2 sec focus) and color temperature flash. Up front, you get a 5MP f/2.0 aperture shooter with FotoNation 2.0 Beauty software ideal for selfies. Connectivity features include 802.11 a/b /g/ n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and GLONASS. Finally, you have a 2870mAh battery on board which should be good enough for a day. As for the software, the phone will run on the new Flyme 5.1 OS powered by YunOS.

The base model with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage retails for 599 Yuan ($93) while the high-end model with 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM will go on sale for 799 Yuan ($123). These are pretty aggressive pricing for an entry-level device with these specs.

So, what do you think about Meizu M3?

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Meizu will be officially releasing the Meizu M3 soon. However, apart from its official price, everything has been leaked right from configuration to HD images of the device.

From the real images once can make out Meizu M3’s basic design easily. Its design has been derived from Meizu M2, It has the same 2.5D glass screen, a fingerprint sensor housed in the rectangular home button as spotted on TENAA website.

The back panel of the device is made of polycarbonate material. On the bottom of the device, one can see the speaker grill on either side of USB type-C charging interface, which ideally should also allow fast charge technology.

Meizu M3 measures 141.5 × 69.5 × 8.3 (mm) and weighs around 130.69 g. It will come in white, blue, grey, pink, gold colour options. The battery capacity of Meizu M3 has been upgraded to 2800mAh compared to 2500 mAh on Meizu M2.

Antutu benchmark leak shows a benchmark score of 39,000 and it also states that Meizu M3 has a Mediatek 6755 processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. It will have a screen resolution of 720P, a 13 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. The phone is running on Flyme 5.1.3.0 on top of Android 5.1

Apart from the upgrade in battery department and processor, the biggest upgrade from Meizu M2 is on the network side. Meizu M3 will support full 4G Netcom and LTE Cat. 6 and supports dual sim standby. Also, it is rumoured that this device will be sold at 599 Yuan, then it is definitely a steal deal.

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April has surprisingly turned out to be an important month for Meizu, with the company all set to release its third smartphone within a month. Earlier, we had seen the Meizu M3 Note mid-ranger, followed by the Meizu Pro 6 flagship model. Now, the company is all set to announce the Meizu M3 budget handset, taking the total to three smartphone launches in a month.

If you are an avid fan of the company, you would know that Meizu likes to keep things interesting, sending out unique products in the invites for its events. Remember the time where Meizu had sent in a Nokia smartphone inside its invite for a Blue Charm phone event? Well, now, the latest teasers for the Meizu M3 launch feature two interesting products — a gameboy and a Braun Alarm Clock.

Nothing special about these two products, except that they are made out of plastic. So, it’s possible that the new Meizu M3 also comes with a plastic body. During the early launch days of Meizu Blue Charm series, the company had sent out the polycarbonate back covers of the iPhone 5C to hint the upcoming phone’s material. So, we can expect the same thing from this new invite. Also, both Gameboy and Braun Alarm clock are considered to be simple yet practical products, so the M3 could also come with a simple plastic design.

As for the specs, the Meizu M3 is expected to come with Snapdragon 616 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The screen is of 5-inches with 720p resolution. At the back, there is a 13MP camera while up front, you will find a 5MP front shooter. Finally, the phone is said to run on Android 5.1 based on Flyme 5.1.3.0. Other rumored features include an 8.3mm body, 130 grams weight, 2800mAh battery and five different color options — white, blue, gray, pink and gold.

Expect more features of the device via teasers in the coming days.

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Meizu seems to be on a roll this year. The company unveiled two new handsets in two different events held within 15 days, a rarity among top manufacturers. Usually, companies wait for at least a few weeks before unveiling two different devices, but for some reason, Meizu thought this would be a good idea. Now, it looks like there would be a third smartphone that would meet us soon, as the budget oriented Meizu M3 smartphone seems to have just passed through the Chinese network certification website, TENAA.

Looks wise, there seems to be hardly any change. In fact, everything is like last year’s M2 Note, except for the placement of the new logo, which is now placed at the center of the back cover. Rest of the design, including the polycarbonate body seems to be carried forward.

Moving on to the specs, there seem to be some important changes. First of all, the Meizu M3 will come with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and it is most likely going to be Snapdragon 616. Compared to the MT6735 inside last year’s device, this is a pretty good upgrade. The battery also gets a slight upgrade, from 2500mAh to 2800mAh. Rest of the specs are the same, including 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, 5-inch 720p display, 13MP rear camera and 5MP front shooter. It is a bit thinner, with an 8.3mm body rather than an 8.7mm body found on the previous version.

Considering Meizu has used the same design and has only upgraded the CPU on board, this could be a variant of the M2. For example, it could be called as the Meizu M2S. But this is just a guess. On the other hand, what Meizu could do with the new M3 is that sell it for cheap. So, discontinue the existing M2 smartphone and instead, start selling the Meizu M3 with upgraded specs for the same price as before, i.e. 599 Yuan which as of today comes to just $92. That would turn out to be a pretty good deal.

No word on a release day yet.

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