Review of the Meizu MX5 smartphone: center from the Middle Kingdom. Hardware platform and performance

Firstly, it is very high saturation: for some, such violent colors look “expensive and rich”, others consider such color reproduction unbalanced, but the MX5 display displays the picture in the same obsessive colors as hefty advertising screens. For all those dissatisfied with Samsung, by the way, with the installation of several color profiles in the system settings, but Meizu decided to do without a clutter of settings and did not provide the display with additional display options.

The second historical feature of Samsung matrices is the use of Pentile. As a result, Full HD resolution on such a matrix is ​​achieved in a not entirely correct way: as if, instead of electrical wiring in your home, there was a pack of extension cords from one wall outlet. It seems that the result has been achieved, but there are nuances.

Another thing is that in our case these are such invisible “extensions” that few people will complain about them: 1920x1080 pixels on 5.5 inches provide excellent clarity, in which errors in the picture are almost invisible. In addition, Super AMOLED displays display black color flawlessly (it is really black, but darkened gray, like IPS), such screens consume much less energy, and their viewing angles and color gamut are close to ideal. The maximum brightness of the Meizu MX5 display was 345 cd/m2 - for “yourself, your beloved,” Samsung also uses cooler displays, but the existing indicators are quite flagship ones.

Sound

What cannot be taken away from the Meizu flagships is the development of the musical component in their smartphones. Historically, the MX series has always boasted a separate audio chip and cool sound in headphones. MX5 is no exception in this regard either - a duo of audio chips NXP TFA9890 (external speaker) and Wolfson, presumably a modification of WM1840 (sound in headphones), is working inside it, and their operation is controlled by Dirac HD Sound technology (with its help it is possible at the hardware level, bypassing equalizer and its distortion to adjust the sound to numerous headphone models).

However, if headphones are not on the list, you can adjust the sound to your taste using an equalizer, but we still would not recommend doing so.

Today we are reviewing the flagship from the famous Chinese brand Meizu, namely Meizu MX5.

Powerful, stylish, expensive. How good is the Meizu MX5 and is it worth taking? Great review Meizu MX5 will show.

Mine Meizu MX5 review I want to start with the appearance of the smartphone.

She continues the new design line with the button from Meizu.

The new product incorporates both features of an iPhone and something from another famous Korean brand, Samsung. Visually, the smartphone corresponds to A brands. Personally, I didn’t expect anything else - Meizu is at the top of the food chain in China.

For the first time, aluminum appeared in a smartphone from Meizu, namely the back cover. It is made of metal that is pleasant to the touch. It is worth mentioning that there is plastic on the top and bottom. We have seen this move more than once - this was done for better antenna reception.

The build quality of the smartphone is simply perfect. There are no gaps, no uniform filling of glue and similar troubles that the Meizu MX4 had.

Drawing parallels, Meizu MX5 can be called a restyled version of Meizu MX4. Yabloko practices something similar with the “S” series of smartphones.

Externally, the smartphone has remained virtually unchanged, but the Meizu MX5 has become more premium. When you pick up a smartphone, you realize that this is an expensive and high-quality gadget. In short, I was delighted! And I’ve seen a lot of gadgets and have something to compare with.

Let's continue Meizu MX5 review.

Well, when you turn on your smartphone and see the gorgeous Super Amoled display, then all remaining doubts are completely dispelled.

Yes baby, it's Meizu MX5! This is exactly the “Chinese” who easily and naturally sells most of the so-called “flagships”, which are 2-3 times more expensive than him.

As I mentioned earlier, the back of the smartphone is made of metal, plastic inserts stylishly separate the thin transitions, ala iPhone 6.

The camera is from Sony IMX220, f/2.2, the same six-lens optics as the predecessor Meizu MX4. But now laser focusing has been added, as the LG G3 once had.

Under the camera there is a two-tone flash, warm and cold.

At the bottom there is the Meizu logo, and a mention that this design was developed in China, by the Meizu brand. That's all.

By the way, aren’t you annoyed that the manufacturer puts its brand on the entire smartphone, especially on the front? Why do I need to watch and read this title every day?

On the right side there are two buttons, turning the display on and off, and a volume rocker; the buttons are made of aluminum.

On the right side there is a tray that can hold two nano sim Unfortunately, there is no memory expansion.

At the top end there is an input for a headset, and next to it there is a small hole with a microphone. Since I mentioned headphones, I will say that I also purchased headphones separately. At retail they cost about 10 bucks, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised.

The sound quality is higher than what the manufacturer asks for for these seemingly low-water headphones.

In short, the headphones are balanced. In general, both highs and lows are audible, and the whole bouquet of sounds accompanying smartphones from Meizu can be heard.

But still, the headphones do not reach the level of other budget ears from Xiaomi Piston.

At the bottom center is the charging input, the speaker, again, is made in iPhone style 6. There is also a speaking microphone, and two pentagonal mini bolts are carefully screwed in.

Now I want to talk about the face of Meizu MX5, and in this case there is something to share.

Samsung's Super Amoled display has FullHD resolution. It is covered with third-generation toughened Gorilla Glass, and there is also an oleophobic coating.

The display thickness is only 1.3 mm, making it the thinnest of all Meizu smartphones. The minimum thickness has a beneficial effect on touch sensitivity. Sensitivity has increased almost 1000 times compared to its predecessors.

On top, in addition to the standard proximity and light sensor, there are also front-camera 5Mp OV5670, f/2.0 with the ability to record video up to FullHD.

Since the new Meizu MX5 lacks the “magic” circle of the Home button with event indication, the light indication has now moved to the upper area of ​​the smartphone.

I like this solution even better.

At the bottom of the smartphone, instead of the usual circle, there is now a mechanical button in the form of an oval. This decision I find it more convenient.

And that's why:

Firstly, this is not only a return to desktop button, but also an mTouch 2.0 fingerprint scanner. The sensor responds simply with lightning speed, in just 0.48 seconds.

Attention was also paid to safety. mTouch 2.0 technology is based on the TEE security environment from TrusTonic. Even if the device has root administrator rights, no one will be able to access the TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) secure area. Any third party program To activate the API, you must obtain a review and signature from Meizu. The secure area only provides scan results to a third-party application, without the ability third party application directly receive data with fingerprints, that’s how it’s all grown up.

Secondly, the sensor’s operation is correct and correct. If you put your finger in working condition, the reverse command is triggered. If you press and hold this button, the display turns off. Unfortunately, you won't be able to unlock a switched-off display with your fingerprint. To do this, you first need to press the button, and then just touch it with your finger. But I complete this procedure in one or two seconds, so it’s not critical.

Unlike the button on the budget version Meizu smartphone M2 Note ( Meizu M2 Note review), our button is not so loud and is not marked with paint around the perimeter.

All this beauty is framed by a metal border, with a newfangled chamfer around the perimeter. Cool, what else can I add.

For lovers of numbers

• Operating system: Android 5.1, Flyme 4.5
• Network: GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA, LTE (TD/FDD-LTE) (two nano SIM)
• Platform: HelioX10 Turbo (MTK 6795T)
• Processor: eight-core, 64-bit, Cortex A53 at 2.2 GHz
• Graphics: PowerVR G6200 MP4, 700 MHz
• RAM: 3 GB
• Storage memory: 16/32/64 GB
• Memory card slot: no
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (ac/a/b/g/n) Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.1 (LE), microUSB connector (USB 2.0, MHL, USB-OTG) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset
• Screen: SUPER AMOLED (Samsung), 5.5” diagonal, resolution 1920x1080, ppi 406, automatic backlight level adjustment, protective glass Gorilla Glass 3
• Main camera: 20.7 megapixels, Sony IMX220 sensor, f/2.2, auto focus, dual LED flash (two-tone), video recorded in 4k
• Front camera: 5 MP without autofocus, OV5670 sensor, f/2.0, video recorded in 1080p
• Navigation: GPS (A-GPS support), Glonass
• Additionally: mTouch 2.0 fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor
• Battery: 3150 mAh
• Dimensions: 149.9 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm
• Weight: 149 grams

The iron remained virtually unchanged, but became more balanced and less hot. The new turbocharged HelioX10 processor can handle any task. True, for some reason the Antutu test had at least 10 thousand fewer points than it should have, but in fact the hardware is simply reactive, and the numbers remain just numbers.

The new MediaTek CorePilot 2 technology has also been introduced, which has a beneficial effect on battery life and heating, a kind of smart balance between performance and autonomy. Thanks to this newfangled and timely technology, the heating of the smartphone has decreased, and playing heavy games has become more comfortable.

The memory has also increased by one gig, now it is 3GB; those who like to open 100 windows in the browser will appreciate it.

Personally, in my case, when reviewing the Meizu MX5, there was never a situation where there was not enough memory.

I was pleased with the camera. By and large, this is the same camera as the Meizu MX4, only it has slightly different photo processing algorithms.

Smartphone manufacturers pay a lot of attention to devices that, although they don’t break the bank, are of very high quality. An example is the fantastic products of Asus, Alcatel and many phones from Chinese manufacturers. The fact that high-end doesn't necessarily mean expensive was further proven with the ZTE Axon Phone, OnePlus 2, Moto X Style and Moto X Play bursting onto the market in 2015. They were joined by the Meizu MX5, whose characteristics allow it to be classified as a flagship model. Has this smartphone managed to stand out from the ever-growing and impressive crowd? This review attempts to find out.

Case design

The Meizu MX5 phone largely retains the design of its predecessor and still has a familiar look, the origin of which is obvious. Unlike previous iterations of this flagship line, which used a metal frame and plastic back panel, the manufacturer decided to go with an all-metal design, rounded at the edges, framing the large display and providing a first-class tactile sensation, as befits a smartphone of this class.

An easily noticeable difference in the design of the generations is the presence of a physical home screen button with an integrated fingerprint scanner, which replaced the capacitive sensor of its predecessor, which also served as a notification indicator. This was the reason for placing the LED in a more traditional location above the display. The Home button sometimes seems too cheap, which is not very good considering its versatility - in addition to the indicated actions, it also serves as a return key.

Having examined the device, on its right side you can find the power switch, and below - the volume rocker, located within easy reach. On the opposite side there is a dual SIM card slot. The buttons may not be of the highest quality, but offer decent tactility and good responsiveness. The headphone jack is located at the top, while at the bottom there is a microUSB port, a microphone and a single speaker.

The design of the MX5 follows the evolutionary path of its predecessors. From a distance, the smartphone looks like a combination Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but up close it becomes clear that the styling is typical Meizu, with the exception of the new Home button with a fingerprint sensor.

The glass on the front is mounted in an all-metal frame that is shiny enough to be visible from the front of the phone. The screen frame goes into a metal body. The edges are rounded towards the back to fit comfortably in your hand and have a smooth matte finish. The coating was specifically mentioned by the manufacturer during the launch of the smartphone as a complex 68-step, 30-day processing process for the 21-gram case. And the effort really pays off with a beautiful appearance - the surface speaks volumes high quality products worthy of the flagship title. However, the metal body interferes with the passage of signals, so as a compromise there are two strips of high-quality PPS plastic at the top and bottom of the phone. At first they are difficult to distinguish from metal, but after a month of use they become shiny from the many prints left on them. There is also a small strip of metal that separates the metal from the plastic, which feels like a rough surface. It's small, but if you run your hand over it, it immediately announces its presence, probably because the plastic is a little thicker than the body.

The smooth metal surface and smoothed edges make the smartphone often slip out of your hands and fall. This is also the case with the MX5. Several factors are responsible for this: thickness, weight and size of the phone. 7.6mm isn't enough to feel securely in your hands, and the design doesn't help that. 149g is too much to stop it from slipping out. As a result, you will need to purchase a case for the Meizu MX5, or the owner will have to put up with scratches along the edges and several dents on the plastic part of the phone. But even after a couple of heavy accidental drops, not a single scratch appeared on the mirror-polished metal, which once again confirms the effort that the manufacturer put into it. The third factor, size, is dictated by the display.

Meizu MX5: review of screen characteristics

The thin bezel display dominates the front of the phone, leaving little space for the LEDs, front camera and sensors at the top of the phone and the Home button at the bottom. The screen is a 5.5-inch full HD panel that not only achieves a thickness of 7.6mm but is also remarkable in many aspects. Featuring infinite contrast, the AMOLED display shines in almost all ambient lighting conditions. Thanks to this technology, not only excellent colors are reproduced, and the phone can be used in bright sunlight - the Meizu MX5 maintains a wide-angle view of the screen. The smartphone is capable of ultra-high brightness or dims it when necessary, covering the entire gamut of the NTSC color space. Moreover, it uses the Miravision image processing algorithm from MediaTek. It is reminiscent of the CABC technology found in other flagship phones. Laminated displays have been a mainstay of Meizu's products, but the MX5's properly tuned, not-too-saturated AMOLED screen has taken the company to the next level. However, according to user reviews, the tiled subpixel layout used in it becomes noticeable in virtual reality experiments.

In the Meizu MX5 Pro version, the screen size has increased to 5.7 inches while maintaining the number of pixels at 1080 x 1920.

Photo quality

The Sony IMX220 camera with a 20.7-megapixel sensor, f2.2 aperture and six-element lens was already used before the Meizu MX5. An overview of its characteristics is almost the same as the MX4 Pro camera, but the manufacturer claims that it has become better thanks to improved algorithms. As a result, when daylight It produces nice photos with accurate white and color balance, but the sensor's 1.2µm pixels and aperture aren't conducive to low-light photography as photos tend to come out blurry.

The clarity of the images is probably too much, but this is very subjective. However, those who want to change some image properties will be disappointed - in the basic Meizu MX5 camera application, sharpness settings and even saturation cannot be changed. The interface is very simple, with quick access to modes and filters. HDR photos are good, but work best in sufficient light and in steady hands. The same goes for macro, but in all cases, even in low light conditions, focusing is accurate and fast thanks to the laser AF module located just below the camera's round lens. It sits next to a dual-color flash that produces neutral, hot or cool pulses of light, depending on the scene. The way the laser autofocus and flash have been integrated into a single unit is worth special praise. Like most modern flagships, another positive quality of the Meizu MX5 is the ability to manually change the exposure standard application cameras.

The camera app is very simple and easy to use, with quick access to many different modes such as Manual, which allows you to control shutter speed, ISO, exposure and focus. Light Field, for example, takes many shots with different focus points, allowing you to adjust the focus after the fact. Shooting in automatic mode allows you to achieve good photos, and it's amazing how good they can look. Dynamic range is excellent, but a lot depends on the user - Auto mode should automatically adjust to the best image, but this does not always happen.

Tapping the viewfinder helps you focus and adjust light, but is finicky at times. The user must ensure that he has touched the right place to have the camera focus and adjust the light in that area. A slight offset can result in an image that is too dark or too bright and will take a few tries to get right, which is somewhat annoying. The HDR mode helps with this, but it takes a second or two to take a photo.

The smartphone is also equipped with a 5-megapixel front camera, which allows you to take good self-portraits. The photos are well detailed, but keep in mind that the camera favors the main subject, leaving the background a little blurry. In Beauty mode, you can change the size of your eyes, make your face thinner, etc.

Video shooting

In the Meizu MX5 smartphone, the camera can record 4K video using the new HEVC H.265 codec, and also produce slow motion at 100 fps in 720p format, along with other standard resolutions and frame rates. Video quality is very good in 4K and surprising in slow motion because decent high frame rate video compression is pretty rare on phones other than the iPhone. The MX5 is a rare exception in this regard.

4K mode with HEVC support and slow motion are made possible thanks to the Mediatek Helio X10 chip with 8 A53 cores operating at 2.2 GHz and GPU PowerVR G6200. 3 GB random access memory Handle multitasking with ease and full HD resolution without straining your processor.

Performance

The results of testing the operation of Meizu MX5 allow you to understand the performance of Mediatek. The Helio X10's specifications match the Snapdragon 805 processor, with the exception of some graphics tests. During normal use, the difference will not be noticeable because most phones are optimized, and the MX5 is no exception. During daily use of the smartphone, its performance does not deteriorate, and the system continues to function normally with many applications in the background. The phone behaves as expected when gaming and overheating is not an issue to worry about. Of course, the MX5 gets hot like any other smartphone, but it doesn't turn into a furnace despite its metal construction and is kept under control even under stressful conditions, which is quite satisfactory.

Helio X10 is also responsible for dual nano SIM card slots. The chip supports LTE at 1800 and 2300 MHz (channels 3 and 40), and of course both SIM card slots are 4G capable, providing all the usual control options.

ROM capacity

The storage capacity of a smartphone is its critical characteristic, since the Meizu MX5’s memory cannot be expanded using memory cards. It does not have a corresponding slot, so the user is forced to be content with what the manufacturer has allocated to him. Meizu MX5 16GB allocates about 4.56 GB to the system and leaves 11 GB to the user. If this is not enough, then you should choose devices with a large amount of ROM (32 and 64 GB), which are significantly more expensive than the base model.

Meizu MX5 Pro smartphone with card slot microSD memory already has a capacity of up to 256 GB. This was made possible due to the second SIM card slot.

mTouch technology

Even though the Meizu MX5 is priced low, the phone has many flagship features such as a fingerprint sensor. The MX4 Pro was the manufacturer's first device to feature mTouch technology, but it looks like it has been improved and is called mTouch 2.0. This is a physical button with an input sensor and biometric fingerprint recognition hidden under the glass. Meizu devices have always had one Home key, so replacing it with a sensor must have come in handy, but it resulted in the appearance of a special indicator above the display instead of the previous circular backlight on the capacitive home screen key. This new hardware piece is protected on the inside to prevent water or sweat from getting on the sensor. Users may regret losing the ability to double-press or long-press the phone's glow-in-the-dark button to lock and unlock it, but it's a change you can quickly get used to.

mTouch 2.0 technology exceeds all expectations when it comes to its performance. It is extremely fast and works well even on dirty glass, but of course sometimes you have to give it a second chance. The level of accuracy is high and the system allows up to five fingers to be registered to unlock the device immediately, except in a few rare cases. From a security point of view Meizu phone The MX5 is reliable. It uses an encrypted TEE chip that locally stores all otherwise inaccessible fingerprint data.

The capacitive mTouch technology also acts as a back button with one soft touch, while a firm press brings up the home screen. This dual functionality is one of the many tricks of Flyme OS, a fully customizable user interface on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the Meizu MX5. The phone's firmware has added many new features and settings since the MX2, and it's nice to see that the interface is more consistent than before.

User Interface

The Meizu MX5 launcher is also of interest. The phone's firmware contains a user interface that consists of screens filled with delightfully minimalistic applications. By default, the icons have a fresh look and most of them are customizable thanks to the app being a pre-installed icon pack. There are also plenty of customization options and luckily there is necessary programs Google, unlike Meizu hardware sold in China. The user interface is fast and smooth, mostly maintaining high frame rates, but some of the pre-installed apps crash from time to time, especially the browser. But this is Android, so there's too much choice to complain about such things.

The single speaker at the bottom of the smartphone doesn't sound the best, but it's not the worst either. It feels a little tinny at times, but overall it makes for an enjoyable music experience, and the MX5 is certainly capable of playing it very loud. As with any bottom-firing speaker, it's fairly easy to cover when holding the phone in landscape mode, but the curve along that side goes some way to eliminating this issue, albeit only slightly.

Battery life

Playing a video, or even just using the phone, uses up battery power. The 3150 mAh capacity lasts for one day, with very little charge left at the end. This happens when using the smartphone with average intensity. Screen operating time ranges from about 3 to 3.5 hours before the battery is completely discharged with additional loads in the form of continuous use mobile internet, modem and Twitter. This gives approximately 18 hours of standby time. And like a true flagship, the phone has technology fast charging called mCharge, which, subject to the availability of a special charger, restores the MX5 battery from 0 to 25% in 10 minutes, and up to 60% in 40 minutes.

Meizu MX5: review of advantages and disadvantages

One of the key aspects of these types of devices is their cost. Meizu MX5, whose price is 339 US dollars for the 16 GB version and 459 for the model with 64 GB ROM, is at its best in this regard. The smartphone is available in black, gold and silver. Performance is smooth, the display is high quality, battery life is impressive, the camera is reliable, the build is very good and the phone fits comfortably in the hand. Despite the low cost of the Meizu MX5, reviews from owners call it a real flagship device. The smartphone is different good design, looks good, takes decent photos with fast autofocus, supports advanced technologies like fingerprint authentication, and makes you feel like you're owning a high-end phone for relatively little money. At the same time, however, you will have to purchase a case to protect the metal and glass, so as not to prematurely send in the Meizu MX5 for repairs. You will also need to come to terms with limited data storage capabilities if the buyer is on a budget. However, with the low price of the Meizu MX5 16GB, the phone should be high on your list of potential purchases.

Characteristics

• Case materials: metal, Gorilla Glass 3 (front panel)
• Operating system: Android 5.x, Flyme 4.5
• Network: GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA, LTE (TD/FDD-LTE) (two nanoSIM)
• Platform: Helio X10 Turbo (MediaTek MT6795T)
• Processor: eight-core, 64-bit, Cortex A53 at 2.2 GHz
• Graphics: PowerVR G6200 MP4, 700 MHz
• RAM: 3 GB
• Storage memory: 16/32/64 GB
• Memory card slot: no
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (ac/a/b/g/n) Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.1 (LE), microUSB connector (USB 2.0, MHL, USB-OTG) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset
• Screen: SuperAMOLED (Samsung), 5.5” diagonal, resolution 1920x1080, ppi 406, automatic backlight level adjustment, Gorilla Glass 3 protective glass
• Main camera: 20.7 megapixels, Sony IMX230 sensor, f/2.2, autofocus, dual LED flash, video recorded in 4k
• Front camera: 5 MP without autofocus, OV5670 sensor, f/2.0, video recorded in 1080p
• Navigation: GPS (A-GPS support), Glonass
• Additionally: mTouch fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor
• Battery: 3150 mAh
• Dimensions: 149.9 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm
• Weight: 149 grams

Contents of delivery

The device is packaged in a new box: if previously almost all devices were in flat square boxes, then the new MX5 is in a rectangular one. The dimensions are not the most optimal by modern standards.

Traditionally for the MX series, the phone is contained in an improvised brochure with the main features of the gadget. Just below you will find a bag with a paper clip for removing the SIM tray and documentation. In addition, there is network adapter with an output current of 2 A, a regular white USB cable. The most interesting thing is that for the first time, at least in my memory, Meizu included headphones in the kit, in this case they are EP-21HD. They come in a nice Apple style plastic case.

Introduction

Just last month, another presentation of the Chinese company Meizu took place. It showed a device called MX5. Let me remind you that MX4 was released in September 2014, a little later MX4 Pro. In addition, there were also M1 Note and M2 Note - inexpensive phablets. An interesting trend, I hope that there will be more devices without compromising the quality of workmanship. After all, according to rumors, Meizu is going to update the entire the lineup, including the yet-to-be-shown MX5 Pro.

In the recent past, Samsung had a similar experience: every year they presented almost identical devices with not entirely clear content. As a result, as I understand it, they abandoned this practice, and now we see only adequate products. I hope that a similar story will not repeat with Meizu; if I were them, I would still “hold my horses.” People have just started buying MX4, and they are already being offered MX4 Pro; They just released the M1 Note, and they immediately showed off the M2 Note.

Who was the MX5 made for? It seems to me that for someone who skipped MX4, M1 and M2 were considered too budgetary from a technical point of view, and there was not enough money for MX4 Pro. We tried to implement as many interesting features as possible in the new product. different devices: metal body, camera module with a large number of megapixels, laser focusing, fingerprint sensor, SuperAMOLED matrix, double-tap wake-up and much more. And this is good, as long as all these bells and whistles work and do not exist “on paper”. Therefore, I suggest reading this review, which details each feature of the flagship Meizu devices MX5.

The gadget should appear in Russia in August at a price of about 25,000 rubles.

Design, dimensions, control elements

At the presentation, a lot of time was spent on the design of the smartphone. Officials say it takes up to 30 days to make a 250-gram block of T6063 aluminum into a 21-gram device frame. The entire process takes about 70 steps: rough machining, nano-casting, precision machining, polishing, anodizing and diamond cutting. Execution accuracy – up to 0.01mm.

Another interesting fact. The case is anodized and polished, a process that is repeated 5 times and takes more than 40 hours. During the painting process, special clamps are used; they are used only twice, after which they are disposed of. This is done in order to apply a coating with a thickness of 0.02 mm.

The developers labored over the implementation of an all-metal case for two years, and eventually solved the problem of material compatibility. For example, in the antenna area, Polyphenylene Sulfide was used - a special plastic, it is very durable and can withstand high temperatures well. This material does not affect the quality of signal transmission.

The board substrate is made of magnesium alloy with a thickness of only 0.45 mm. On various resources you can read even more and in more detail about the production of Meizu MX5, and we move on.

The appearance of the device resembles a symbiosis of Samsung Galaxy S6 and Apple iPhone 6. The corners of the case are rounded, the sides are sloping, the only thing missing is 2.5D glass. It looks good, but we've seen it all before.

The back area of ​​the device is made of metal. The top and bottom edges are plastic. There are grooves between the edges and the metal part. Despite the fascinating description of the creation of the case and words about the precision and completeness of the product, these grooves are made somewhat clumsily: firstly, they are deep, and secondly, they are quite sharp, that is, you can quite feel these grooves with your fingers. A very strange decision, as if you were holding not the final product, but a sample. In addition, dust and small pieces of clothing get clogged there over time. I think this will be fixed in the next gadget.

The side edges smoothly transition to the front panel. The thin edge is polished and reflects the color nicely. The screen is protected by third generation Corning glass. Naturally, nothing happened to the material in a couple of weeks. There is an oleophobic coating, but it is not of the highest quality (in any case, better than on the M1/M2): fingerprints remain, they are noticeable, and are not erased too easily. The finger glides relatively smoothly.

Strength. The metal parts are really durable and are not subject to rapid abrasion or scratches. I specifically tried to conduct crash tests. Nothing bad happened: the marks remain, but are easily removed if you run your hand over the problem area.

The buttons and bezel of the camera are also made of iron.

The case is assembled perfectly. No squeaks, pressing into the battery, or crunching.

A small minus: the smartphone is quite slippery, especially if you have very dry hands.

At the top center is the speech speaker. It's the same quality as the speakers in the MX4, MX4 Pro, M1 and M2 Note. The volume is high and the clarity and intelligibility are excellent.

To the left of the speaker is an event indicator. Flashes white. On the right are light and proximity sensors. If there are no questions about the first, then there are questions about the second. On this moment it is buggy: either the backlight does not turn off during a call, or does not turn on after you remove the phone from your ear. The problem is not critical and clearly lies in the firmware. Fortunately, here the interface is located at the bottom, and not at the top, as on “pure” Android 5.0, that is, pressing any button with your cheek is quite difficult.

Naturally, there is a front camera. She's on the right.

Below the display there is a mechanical button combined with a fingerprint sensor. They called the button mTouch 2.0. It is flat, slightly recessed into the body. Acts as an exit to the home screen when pressed, when touched - “Back”, and when held for a long time, it locks the screen. Quote from an official source:

“The entire module has been redesigned, resulting in faster recognition speeds, improved user comfort and a more user-friendly design. A completely new capsule button, containing various functionality, is in perfect harmony with the single design of the phone body. Only through continuous improvement can we create phones that are worthy of your attention.

We've added a new mTouch 2.0 ID chip to the MX5. It fires very quickly, in just 0.48s. And with an 81% increase in scanner resolution, mTouch 2.0 can collect more information about the user’s fingerprints, which significantly improves recognition accuracy.”

I won’t copy-paste everything. The manufacturer also says that the button can withstand 300,000 clicks without any problems, and also added a fixed layer of waterproof silicone gel under the module, which prevents water from entering and erosion.

Attention was also paid to safety. mTouch 2.0 technology is based on the TEE security environment from TrusTonic. “Even if the device has administrator rights (root), no one will be able to access the TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) secure area. Any third-party program must obtain a review and signature from Meizu to activate the API. The secure area only provides verification results to the third-party application, without the ability of the third-party application to directly retrieve the fingerprint data."

I don’t think that Meizu users will particularly think about such things; after all, Meizu is not Apple yet.

On the bottom edge on the left is a microphone, in the center is a micro-USB connector, on the right is a speaker. By the way, Meizu even got confused about the screws near the connectors:

“Our passion for sophistication and attention to detail has not bypassed even such a small detail as the mounting screws on the bottom of the case. Take a look at these 5-pointed hats that refract light so beautifully and you'll appreciate our passion for unparalleled design."

I took a look. I noticed that the left screw was not fully tightened. Didn't appreciate love :)

At the top end there is a second microphone and a 3.5 mm audio output.

This model equipped with two slots for nanoSIM standard SIM cards. Tray on the left.

On the right is the power button (turn on the device, activate the backlight) and the volume rocker key. Very comfortable. The power button has a pleasant click and click sound. Very similar to the one in the iPhone 6.

On the reverse side there is a large (15 mm in diameter) camera lens eye, below – a two-color flash (cold and warm glow), laser autofocus.

Total. The company has done great job worked on creating the case, it turned out to be really high quality and durable. The design ergonomics are excellent. However, there are several complaints:

• Body is slippery
• The grooves between the metal and plastic parts are sharp

Otherwise, it's a cool device.

MX5 and Nokia Lumia 1020

MX5 and Apple iPhone 5

Display

Meizu MX5 uses a screen with a diagonal of 5.5 inches. Let me remind you that the M1/M2 Note has the same display, the MX4 has 5.36, and the MX4 Pro has 5.5. The physical size of the MX5 display is 68x121 mm, the frame on top is 18.5 mm, on the bottom – 19.5, on the right and left – approximately 3 mm. There is an anti-reflective coating.

The MX5 display resolution is FullHD, that is, 1080x1920 pixels, density is 400 pixels per inch. The matrix is ​​manufactured by Samsung - SuperAMOLED.

“This is the thinnest display in the entire history of MEIZU. Just 1.3mm thick, 32% thinner than the previous generation. The sensor is 1000 times more sensitive than the previous generation.”

PenTile mesh

The maximum brightness of white color is 377 cd/m2 (official data is 350). Contrast – 10,000:1.

The white line is the goal we are trying to achieve. The yellow line is the actual screen data. You can see that we are directly above the target curve at values ​​from 0 to 90%, which means that at each value the image is overexposed, and from 90 to 100% the result is excellent. The yellow line is actually the average amount of red, green and blue.

The average gamma value is 2.24.

Judging by the levels graph, it is almost an ideal case when all colors are within 100%. There is a small error, but overall everything is fine.

The temperature remains almost unchanged and remains around 7300 K.

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

Almost all gray points are located within a radius of DeltaE=10, which indicates that gray colors will not contain other shades of colors. Serious indicator!

The viewing angles are maximum; at certain tilts of the screen, the picture turns slightly green.

Screen comparison (Meizu MX5 – left, LG G4 – right)

Behavior in the sun

Behavior in the shadows

Viewing Angles

In the settings, unfortunately, there were no screen operating modes - profiles, as in Samsung smartphones.

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

Overall, a nice screen with not the most eye-catching colors.

Battery

This model uses a non-removable battery with a capacity of 3150 mAh.

When working with the device, the battery lasted for about 24 hours: about 20-30 minutes of calls per day, about 10 hours of 3G use (constant synchronization of mail, Twitter, WhatsApp, Skype, etc.), about 5 hours Wi -Fi, several dozen photos, an hour of listening to music.

In a more gentle mode, the gadget works for up to two days. If you leave only data synchronization (Wi-Fi), you can count on 3-4 days. Up to 13 hours of continuous talk time.

When the screen backlight brightness is automatically adjusted, the display operates for 3 to 4 hours.

The data is about the same as on the M1/M2 Note. I didn't notice much difference.

Communication capabilities

The device is equipped with two nanoSIM slots. Both connectors support 3G/4G networks

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1800 MHz)
• WCDMA/HSPA+ (900/2100 Mhz)
• LTE (1800/2100 MHZ)

Reservation. LTE network not all operators support. For example, MTS has 4G, but MegaFon only works in certain places. The Meizu M2 Note turned out to be the most successful in this regard.

There is no NFC chip.

The rest is standard: Wi-Fi (ac and b/g/n) dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1 LE, microUSB connector (USB 2.0, OTG, MHL) for charging/synchronization. GPS navigation works without problems.

Memory and memory card

Inside the device there is 3 GB of dual-channel RAM (933 MHz LPDDR3). Built-in memory can be 16, 32 and 64 GB. The 16 GB version has approximately 11 GB available.

Cameras

Two cameras: main 20.7 MP (6 lenses, F2.2 aperture, Sony Exmor RS IMX220 with an area of ​​1/2.3” with a pixel size of 1.2 microns, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3), front 5 MP (F2.0). The flash has two colors of light: cold and warm. There is laser focusing.

A similar camera module is found in Meizu MX4 and MX4 Pro. The quality is comparable. Another issue is software. At the moment, it seems to me that it is not completely ready yet, since there are small problems:

1. HDR images are usually too dry and look harsh. Very often the picture doubles, it seems that a lot of time passes between the first and second frames - up to a second. It is useless to “take pictures” of moving objects.
2. Panoramas tend to be slightly blurry, as if out of focus.
3. The most important thing is focusing problems when shooting macro. Almost always, the camera cannot focus exactly on the object you are pointing at - the sharpness “shifts” either closer or further.

Laser focus is a little slower than on the LG G3 and LG G4, but is able to focus on a subject that is poorly lit.

Pros: always accurate white balance, relatively wide viewing angle, fully manual settings ISO, shutter speed, exposure and focus.

Below is a comparison of the cameras of the LG G4 (left) and Meizu MX5 (right).

When shooting landscapes, the cameras perform about the same. However, it is noticeable that the quality of the MX5 optics is not the best compared to the G4.

When shooting indoors the difference is noticeably greater. The LG camera makes less noise and the picture is clearer.

Insufficient lighting. The clear leader is LG G4. The image is brighter, virtually noise-free, and the detail is high.

Overall, the Meizu MX5 camera is very good, but it needs a software update.

In order to be able to select the focus point and exposure point separately, you must enable the “Metering Section” mode. There is no shooting in RAW.

Everything else is typical for Meizu smartphones.

The device can shoot video in 4K resolution at 30 fps. The quality is superb. It will not be possible to “upload” the video to YouTube, since it is recorded using the H265 codec.

Photo examples

Performance and Software Platform

Meizu's new product received a chipset called Helio X10 Turbo. It was made by the same Taiwanese corporation MediaTek. Another name for the chip, more familiar, is MT6795T. The index “T” just means “Turbo”. We can say that MX5 is the first smartphone on this platform - the most productive among MTK.

Frankly speaking, it is not entirely clear for what purpose such a powerful chipset is used here, because the screen resolution is not QuadHD. Probably only from a marketing point of view. Because for FullHD the MT6752 is enough.

So, SoC Helio X10 is a 64-bit platform, 8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a clock frequency of up to 2.2 GHz, a 28 nm process technology, and PowerVR G6200 for graphics. There is MediaTek CorePilot 2.0 technology. Unlike the first version, there is an advanced performance monitoring system while reducing power consumption.

Various resources provide benchmark data for several devices. For some time now I have considered all these numbers useless. The fact is that “parrots” do not play any role, since 90% of success depends on optimizing software and hardware: you can get an infinite number of points, but the games and interface will lag. In addition, there are no games for Android that would only run on top smartphones. The same Meizu M1 “pulls” whatever you want.

The MX5 device works quickly, the interface is smooth, there are no glitches or lags. Metal body It doesn’t heat up at all, even under light CPU load.

Total. Powerful processor without overheating, runs all toys at maximum settings. The user interface is smooth, there are no slowdowns or glitches.

Screenshots from games

Performance tests for parrot lovers

Software platform

The smartphone runs under the operating system Google systems Android versions 5.1. But, unfortunately, there is nothing left of the “five” here after the Chinese “rolled” the Flyme shell version 4.5 onto it. In fact, nothing new or interesting has appeared: the animation, icons, and general design are the same. It's sad, of course, because Android 5.0 is good without any decorations.

Multimedia

Music player standard for Meizu. It has changed a little - the icons just became round.

The speaker has a very high volume, I think higher than the MX4, MX4 Pro and the rest. The sound is clear, without wheezing. The speaker here seems to be the highest quality I've heard in the last couple of years. If only they could add some bass notes, it would be great.

The sound in the headphones is loud. The quality is excellent. The manufacturer does not indicate a separate music chip, but I’m sure everyone will like the sound! There is an equalizer in the settings. Total bands 5: 100 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 4 kHz, 16 kHz. There are several presets. Dirac HD Sound has not gone away - this is special software that analyzes and corrects the “color” of sound. The operating algorithm is described in more detail.

Still no radio. The video player has not changed, but a special button has appeared to display other videos in memory.

Conclusion

I have no questions about the quality of communication. The vibration alert is stronger than on M1/M2.

I had great pleasure testing this device. It feels like Meizu tried to make a really high-quality device from all points of view.

However, those who argue that there is little difference between the MX4 and MX5 would be right. The new product has a metal body, a gigabyte more RAM, a slightly better front camera, a slightly faster processor, the screen is larger and the LCD has been replaced with SuperAMOLED. That is, in fact, this is MX4s. However, the MX5 will not remain the flagship for long; soon they will show us the MX5 Pro, and then everything will fall into place.

What would need to be worked on, in my opinion:

• The metal groove should stand out less; now it is sharp and deep.

Certain nuances

• The SuperAMOLED matrix should have saturation settings, like in Samsung smartphones. Without it, the screen will seem too colorful to some users, and too faded to others.
• LTE. In fact, it only works with one operator.
• There is nothing left of Android 5.0, which is not very good.

Detected bugs are most likely in the firmware

• Incorrect operation of the proximity sensor. Sometimes it doesn't work.
• Camera. Described in detail in the appropriate section.

pros

• Metal body
• SuperAMOLED screen matrix
• Laser autofocus
• good time battery life
• Very loud speaker
• Quality speech speaker
• Great sound in headphones
• Event indicator
• Good camera
• Excellent 4K video quality
• Fingerprint's scanner

Minuses

• LTE. Doesn’t work for all operators and not everywhere

If you want to save money on a flagship, then I advise you to take a closer look at the Meizu MX4. If you have enough money for the MX4 Pro, then you can take it and not wait for the MX5 Pro; it will probably differ little from the MX4 Pro. You need a practical device for 15,000 rubles - definitely an M1 Note, but for 14,000 you can easily get an LTE smartphone with an M2 Note memory card.

The most interesting:

Label each polygon and measure the lengths of the sides of each

Connecting YouTube to TV

Names of large numbers Solving a compound problem