Preview of Meizu M1 Metal. Meizu M1 Metal. First look Meizu m1 metal Russian firmware

For a long time now, the company has been delighting us with interesting smartphones for affordable price. Its models have always been distinguished by the quality of their products, a thorough approach to development and a truly low price compared to analogues.

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However, until this moment, the entire model range of the company had one feature - the cases of all devices were made of plastic. Of course, we have had to note the metal frame more than once, but there have never been completely metal cases before.

However, over the past year, the Meizu assortment has been replenished with a huge number of new products. And one of them became the object of our attention. Even though it is intended exclusively for sale on the domestic market, it is quite accessible both in foreign trading platforms, and not official channels.

So, thanks to our partner - the online store DragonMart, we will conduct a detailed test of one of the most interesting and anticipated new products of the outgoing year - Meizu M1 Metal.

And if everything is clear with the first epithet, then why “expected”? It's simple. Until recently, Meizu, like its opponent Xiaomi, made excellent smartphones in terms of characteristics and price, but both companies previously did not differ in premium materials in the bodies of models (especially in the mid-range and budget segments).

But following the trend of numerous and lesser-known Chinese manufacturers who are trying to use metal in the case (for example, Elephone M2 and ZTE Nubia My Prague), Meizu’s turn has come to release a mid-segment device with top-end characteristics and in a metal case.

The idea of writing a review of something that is far from new: Meizu M1 Metal - came after reading Meizu characteristics M3 Note. Indeed, Meizu is pursuing a completely unclear policy, releasing the fairly powerful M1 Note, followed by the average performance M2 Note and, finally, the equally low-power M3 Note. For itself, Meizu released the M1 Metal, in which it installed hardware almost similar to the top model MX5, and all this at the price of a dead Note. Naturally, the Chinese resorted to tricks to discourage us from buying Metal and forcing us to buy the Note series. And their tricks are as simple as a stick - remove the Russian language and cut off 4G frequencies. How ascetic users survive Meizu M1 Metal I'll tell you in this review.

CHARACTERISTICS

System: Flyme 5 on YunOS (based on Android 5.1 Lollipop)
Processor: 64Bit MTK Hellio X10 2.0 GHz 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53
Graphics: PowerVR G6200
Memory: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
SIM cards: Support two SIM cards
Frequencies: 3G: 900/1900/2100 2G: 900/1800/1900 4G: FDD-LTE 1920-1980/1710-1785
Support: 3G, EDGE, 4G, LTE, GPRS, EGSM ,WAP, Wi-Fi
Screen: 5.5" IPS OGS with FullHD resolution (1080P), multi-touch 10 touches.
Front camera: 5 MP. aperture f/2.0
Main camera: 13 MP. aperture f/2.2
Battery: 3140mAh
Dimensions: 150 x 75 x 7 mm, weight with battery 160 g.
Bluetooth:BT 4.1
GPS: GPS + AGPS + GLONASS
OTG: Supports
Fingerprint scanner: mTouch 2.1

UNPACKING AND EQUIPMENT

The smartphone is packaged in durable white cardboard, with specifications on the back.

Everything is neat inside, USB-MicroUSB cable and 1.5 amp charging.

They also didn’t forget to put a set of documentation, as well as a paper clip for the tray.

DESIGN/ERGONOMICS

The device lies comfortably in the hand, the Chinese have thought about everything: the buttons on the human right side are right under the thumb, the metal body, and the surface back cover matte, non-slip - you can feel from everything that the device is high-quality and expensive.

I forgot to mention, there is also a fingerprint scanner, not on the back (like some), but built into a mechanical button, the response rate tends to be 100%.

But let's take a closer look at the device. On the front side there is a screen, front-camera, sensors, earpiece and a single button. The button combines a touch component for going “back” and a mechanical component for going “home”.

The event indicator is a different story. If you do not add an application to the white list in the security settings, then it will not work in the background (to save battery) and you will not receive notifications from it either. Therefore, we add everything that should shine a white eye on us to the white list and to the autorun list.

On the left side of the M1 Metal there is a combination slot for two nano sim cards or for SIM and memory card.

On the right side there are metal buttons: power and volume rocker. The button travel is sharp and tight.

At the top end there is an audio jack and a noise-canceling microphone. On the bottom there is the main speaker, microphone and MicroUSB connector.

BATTERY

The battery is stated to be 3140mAh, and, of course, it is.

The results of the Antutu tester are high, and with each firmware update, the autonomy indicators only grow.

DISPLAY

The display of the Meizu M1 Metal is simply gorgeous (5.5" IPS OGS with FullHD resolution, multi-touch 10 touches), there are no distortions into cold and warm shades like the Note series. The image is very rich and contrasting, close to natural. But if you have your own preferences in the color palette, it can be easily adjusted.

The viewing angles are wide. Whatever you say, Meizu puts amazing screens on its devices.

SOUND

Not long ago I held the flagship Meizu MX5 in my hands and I will say that the sound quality in the headphones is no different. The speaker is rich low frequencies, moderately loud and very high quality.

CONNECTION

The communication quality of Meizu M1 Metal is 10 points out of 10! But here lies an underwater niche. Although Meizu M1 Metal supports 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks, band 7 and band 20, which are common in our country, have been removed from the list.

But everything is fine, if you use MTS communications (band 3), then you will have 4G!

SpeedTest shows the available 40 megabits, the fingerprint scanner works clearly and very quickly.

Wi-Fi is excellent through 1 and 2 concrete walls.

GPS connects to all possible satellites, and an electronic compass is supported. In terms of navigation quality, I would like to highlight Meizu, I went on several hikes with it - everything was perfect!

OTG supported.

INTERFACE

Meizu M1 Metal runs on Flyme 5, which is based on YunOS 3.1 (developed by the creators of Aliexpress), which in turn is based on Android 5.1. The pyramid turned out to be not weak. You can’t see any special differences from the regular Flyme 5, but they are there. The main difference is the lack of Root rights, which Flyme users always had upon registration. Basically, Root rights today they are not so necessary, however, if they were, it would be possible to do a full-fledged Russification, which is simply not the case today. Although the screenshot gives hope.

Among the software features, there is a choice of performance mode and energy saving mode.

Smart point and on-screen gestures.

Possibility of locking with a button and other settings.

In the Security Center, you can configure white lists, autorun settings, and Internet access rights from mobile network or Wi-Fi.

I’m sure many are surprised that I’m talking about the fact that there is no Russian language in the smartphone, but here half of it is in Russian. That's right, full Russification using Root is not yet possible, but the Morelocale 2 program does partial Russification. Almost everything becomes in Russian, except for settings. You can read about how to provide access to the Russification program.

IRON

Now we come to the part that will make Note series users clench their teeth - performance. Meizu M1 Metal runs on powerful 64-bit 8 nuclear processor MTK Hellio X10 with a frequency of 2.0 GHz, PowerVR G6200 is responsible for graphics. RAM 2 gigabytes, inside - 16 + MicroSD card. The performance here is of course very serious, you can play anything at the highest graphics settings. Antutu shows almost 52,000 parrots and, like Tuzik, tears up the new Meizu M3 Note with its dead P10.

We enjoy the rest of the characteristics from the Antutu program.

To maintain a good tradition, I will provide screenshots from CPU X:

For the nostalgic, warm tube benchmarks:

Epic Citadel on all possible graphics settings:

CAMERAS

It wasn't just the dog that Meizu ate on camera. The main module is 13 MP. aperture f/2.2. It takes excellent photos, but, as they say, less words, more photos!

Front camera 5 MP. aperture f/2.0.

In original quality.

Video is shot in FullHD with stereo sound.

CONCLUSIONS

Meizu M1 Metal is simply a gorgeous device, updates are coming out for it with enviable regularity, excellent camera, screen, sound, navigation, powerful hardware. And all this honey is flavored with a fly in the ointment in the form of 4G only on band 3 and partial Russification. In my opinion, getting Root- it’s a matter of time, and with the advent of a full-fledged Russian language, this device is capable of eclipsing the entire Note line, from the first to the last.

The product was provided for writing a review by the store. The review was published in accordance with clause 18 of the Site Rules.

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Packaging and accessories

Meizu M1 Metal comes in a simple white box, on back which contains a sticker describing the characteristics of the device. Having removed the lid, the user will find that the contents are sealed under a film, like in a package of processed cheese.

The packaging is as simple as possible; in addition to the smartphone, the box contains: a power adapter, a synchronization cable, instructions and a paperclip for opening the SIM card tray.

Appearance and ergonomics

The appearance of the smartphone is fully consistent with the Meizu corporate style. Subjectively, the M1 Metal has a more cohesive and neat design than the flagship Pro 5, because... there are no plastic inserts or a protruding camera block, and the varnished aluminum looks at least unusual.

The body of the M1 Metal is made of a single piece of aluminum alloy, the entire front surface is covered with so-called 2.5D glass from the Japanese manufacturer NEG Co., the glass is curved to the edges, which adds appearance high prices. Unlike the screen in the M1 Metal, the screen in the M1 Metal has an effective screen that makes it slower to become covered with fingerprints and dirt is easier to remove.

The dimensions and weight of the smartphone are quite small for a device with a 5.5-inch screen, and the rounded ends make the Meizu M1 Metal one of the most convenient tablet phones. Three standard mechanical power and volume buttons are located on the right side at a very convenient height. The mechanical Home button located under the screen is combined with a fingerprint scanner and touch button Back. According to the manufacturer, the same fingerprint scanner is used here as in older models. In terms of response speed, the scanner in M1 Metal is somewhere in the middle between the scanner in and, i.e. It works very quickly, but not instantly. Speaker speakerphone, the connectors and camera module are located conveniently, the only thing I would like is for the headphone jack to be moved to the bottom end.

Screen

Meizu M1 Metal has a 5.5-inch screen based on an IPS matrix with FullHD resolution. Like other smartphones from Meizu, the M1 Metal boasts a fairly high-quality screen with good contrast and brightness levels and accurate color reproduction. In the system settings there is an opportunity to adjust the color temperature.

The screen is equipped with an effective anti-glare filter, which, combined with a decent brightness margin, makes the picture well readable outdoors in sunny weather. Touch screen can detect up to 10 touches simultaneously; it does not respond to gloved hands.

Hardware platform and performance

The Meizu M1 Note hardware platform is based on MediaTek's top-end Helio X10 MT6795 system-on-chip, which includes a 64-bit eight-core CPU operating at frequencies up to 2 GHz, PowerVR G6200 GPU and 2 GB random access memory type LPDDR3. The permanent memory can be 16 GB or 32 GB. In the younger modification, 11.7 GB is available to the user. The smartphone has a slot for memory cards up to 128 GB.

Meizu smartphones have always been famous for their good system optimization, speed and smooth interface. Metal was no exception; moreover, from the point of view of the experience of interacting with the interface, the smartphone seems ideal. The performance of the system-on-chip is enough to run any modern 3D game on maximum settings graphics at comfortable FPS values. In the AnTuTu v6.0 comprehensive test, the smartphone scores 55,631 points, and in the Geekbench 3 singlecore test – 902 points. During prolonged heavy use, the smartphone body heats up moderately in the camera area.

Cellular communications and interfaces

The smartphone supports work in LTE networks, but, because this model intended for the domestic Chinese market, for FDD in Metal there is only support for 1 and 3 lanes. On the Megafon network in St. Petersburg, the device occasionally found LTE towers, but in most situations there was a 3G icon in the status bar. The Meizu M1 Metal has two slots for nano SIM cards, one of which is combined with a slot for memory cards. There is only one communication module in the smartphone and both SIM cards will be available for calls and SMS only in standby mode.

From wireless interfaces The Metal has dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 4.1, but no IR port or NFC. The location module can work with satellites of all three geopositioning systems.

Battery and autonomy

Meizu M1 Metal has a non-removable battery with a capacity of 3140 mAh. Technology supported fast charging, with the included charger the battery will be charged from 0% to 100% in just 1 hour and 25 minutes (from 0% to 75% in 55 minutes), which is twice as fast as in the case of the M2 Note.

The Metal's autonomy indicators are quite standard for this combination of hardware, screen diagonal and battery capacity; in mixed operation mode, the smartphone will work from morning to late evening with 4 hours of screen activity. In typical operating modes, everything is also quite standard:

Note. Testing is carried out in the appropriate modes according to the following method: – listening to music on headphones at maximum volume with the screen turned off; – viewing 1080p video from the device memory at 50% backlight brightness and maximum sound volume in headphones; – active browsing (constantly opening new tabs, actively scrolling pages, etc.) via Wi-Fi at 50% backlight brightness; – 3D games (Real Racing 3) at 50% backlight brightness.

Cameras, photo and video quality

The main camera of the Meizu M1 Metal is a 13-megapixel sensor covered by a five-element lens with an F2.2 aperture and an equivalent focal length of approximately 26 mm. System camera has several shooting modes including fully manual mode.

Cloudy weather exposed camera problems budget smartphones from Meizu, photos taken in automatic mode turn out dirty and soapy with relatively little dynamic range. At the same time, color rendition and white balance are transmitted more or less accurately. At the same time, in photographs taken in good lighting conditions (the figure in the display case), these artifacts are almost absent. CLICKABLE! On the left is Meizu M1 Metal, on the right is Apple iPhone 6s plus:

The situation is partially corrected by the HDR mode, in which the dynamic range expands and photographs become sharper. At the same time, the tones are greatly compressed, but the saturation remains natural. CLICKABLE! On the left is Meizu M1 Metal, on the right is Apple iPhone 6s plus:

In conditions of artificial lighting, the shortcomings that manifested themselves under the cloudy St. Petersburg sky only intensified, even large details are lost, and some photographs begin to resemble painted paintings oil paints. CLICKABLE! On the left is Meizu M1 Metal, on the right is Apple iPhone 6s plus:

Panoramic photos taken with the main Metal camera have a resolution of more than 30 MP; as a rule, they are perfectly stitched and correctly exposed. Panos have the same disadvantages as regular photos: they are not sharp enough. CLICKABLE! Top: Meizu M1 Metal, bottom: Apple iPhone 6s plus:

The front camera in the smartphone is 5 MP, equipped with a lens with an aperture of F2.0 and efr=30mm, and can shoot video with a resolution of up to 1080p. The quality of pictures taken with the front camera does not raise any questions; it is comparable to the quality of competitive solutions.

The smartphone records video in resolutions up to 1080p at 30 fps with stereo sound. The footage comes out to be of very average quality: dirty, soapy, with a low dynamic range. There is no software stabilization, so even slight hand shaking causes the picture to shake.

It would seem that the announcement of the flagship Meizu Pro 5 should have put an end to the series of company presentations in 2015, but no. Unexpectedly for everyone, the Chinese manufacturer presented a new product from the popular Meilan line in China and abroad (aka Charm Blue, which includes M1 Note, M1 mini, M2 Note, M2 mini, which are the best-selling Meizu phones in Russia and China). The new Meizu M1 Metal is connecting link between M2 Note and MX5. And since it was created with Alibaba’s money and according to Alibaba’s requirements, the model will not go outside of China. This is a purely local device without European FDD-LTE networks, with the Flyme interface, but not on Android based, but on the YunOS build (although this firmware eats APK files without problems, since it has Android roots). Of course, purchase M1 Metal through Chinese online stores It will certainly be possible, but without Flyme firmware adapted for it with Google services and the Russian language, this does not yet look very practical. Although the smartphone looks damn attractive.

First distinctive feature Meizu M1 Metal from M2 Note became the body. It is made of metal, not polycarbonate, Nippon Electric Glass T2X-1 glass is rounded (2.5D) and has a high-quality oleophobic coating, which the panel in the M2 Note could not boast of. Metal body, however, does not feel like that and, due to the special treatment, rather resembles the Teflon coating of a frying pan. The same MX5 and Pro 5 feel and look more metallic. The second feature of M1 Metal was the hardware base. It's no secret that the MediaTek MT6753 chipset, chosen for the M2 Note after the MT6752 in the M1 Note, can hardly be called gaming. So Meizu did not step on the rake for the second time, relying on the MediaTek Helio X10 (the M1 Metal has the usual 2-GHz MT6795, and not the 2.2-GHz MT6795T, like the MX5). Obviously, here Meizu wants to strike a blow at Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 with similar hardware. Moreover, the blow is strong, because in terms of body design and design, the new product from Meizu comes out as a clear winner.

The main 13-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture has been improved with fast phase detection autofocus, allowing you to focus on a subject in 0.2 seconds. Judging by the test images from the prototype, which were not taken in the best conditions, the photo quality remained approximately at the level of the M2 Note, that is, far from the MX5. There are greases that would help to get rid of optical stabilization. Maybe next year Meizu will master OIS? I would really like to. Take a look at the results:

Other features of the Meizu M1 Metal include a universal tray that can accommodate two nano-SIM cards or one nano-SIM and one card microSD memory. Also worthy of attention is the proprietary mechanical button mTouch 2.1 with a touch layer and a fingerprint scanner capable of reading a fingerprint in 0.48 seconds. The button seemed a little flimsy to me - it doesn’t press as nicely as the Pro 5 key. The battery is non-removable, the capacity is 3140 mAh.

There are some inconsistencies with the main software. Meizu says that it has two directions - one based on the familiar Android, called Flyme powered by Android, and the other called Flyme powered by YunOS (models with YunOS were previously released only in China). At the same time, YunOS is a Linux build from Alibaba based on the so-called Android Open Source Project and supports Android applications. And what the fundamental difference is is not entirely clear, because Flyme 5.1 on YunOS, which I saw on M1 Metal, seems to be no different from Flyme 5 on Android for MX5, except for some Chinese services. Google itself considers YunOS a forked variation of Android, but Alibaba disagrees with this, claiming that YunOS has its own virtual machine and its own development environment, although with Android tools to ensure compatibility with applications. The funny thing is that YunOS has an app store containing pirated versions Google programs. In general, it may turn out that installing Google services on the device will be easy, so I advise you not to lose sight of the M1 Metal for now if you are interested in it.

In addition to M1 Metal, the company brought a couple of its own to the event external batteries– M10 and M8. They will cost 149 and 99 yuan (1,500 and 1,000 rubles), differing in materials (the more expensive version has translucent plastic) and the presence/absence of high-speed charging (the expensive model supports fast charging technology, but the cheap one does not). According to Meizu, the MX5 and Pro 5 can be charged from M10 to 25% in 10 minutes, and it will take about 3.5 hours to fully charge the battery itself. Cool accessories. Compact and, unlike Xiaomi batteries, do not require cases.

There are five colors - white, dark gray, pink, blue and gold. Meizu M1 Metal will appear in Chinese retail in early November at a price of 1099 yuan (~11 thousand rubles) for the 16 GB version and 1299 yuan (~13 thousand rubles) for the 32 GB version. The appearance of a smartphone in Russia through official channels is excluded.

In October 2015, Meizu introduced new smartphone- M1 Metal on operating system YunOS with proprietary Flyme shell. Metal is intended for sale exclusively in the domestic market of China, which is why it did not receive Russian localization and support for most European LTE frequencies. But the metal body, productive platform and the presence of a full-fledged fingerprint sensor in a smartphone for $170 (official price) willy-nilly force us to include this option for consideration when choosing a new smartphone. In this article I will try to describe my impressions in as much detail as possible after almost a month of using the smartphone as the main device.

The text may and most likely does contain grammatical, spelling, punctuation and other types of errors, including semantic ones. I strongly encourage readers to point out these errors and correct me through private messages.

▌Specifications

Screen:	LTPS-TFT display, 5.5 inches, 1920x1080, Dragontrail/NEG T2X-1 (2.5D) protective glass with oleophobic coating
Case materials:	Painted aluminum, 5 colors (white, gold, grey, blue, pink)
CPU:	MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795), 8 Cortex-A53 cores at 2 GHz
Graphic arts:	PowerVR G6200
Operating system:	YunOS (full compatibility with Android applications) and Flyme 5.1 shell
RAM:	2 GB (LPDDR3)
User memory:	16/32 GB (microSD support up to 128 GB)
Camera:	13 MP with f/2.2 aperture, Sony sensor IMX230, autofocus, led flash two tones; front camera 5 MP (f/2.0), OV5670 sensor, FullHD video recording
Network types:	GSM/EDGE (900/1800/1900MHz), WCDMA (900/1900/2100MHz), FDD-LTE (1920-1980/1710-1785 MHz), TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, support for two SIM cards (nanoSIM)
Wireless technologies:	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (dual band: 2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1, GPS (A-GPS)/GLONASS/BeiDou
Additionally:	USB-OTG and MHL via standard microUSB connector (USB 2.0)
Battery:	3140 mAh, non-removable
Dimensions:	150.7 x 75.3 x 8.2 mm
Weight:	162 grams
Cost (official):	￥999 for 16 GB and ￥1199 for the older model
Cost (real):	and dollars, respectively (depending on color)

▌About YunOS, Google Play installation and localization

YunOS is a fork of Android (applications are therefore compatible) from the Alibaba Group corporation. Initially, the concept of this OS included the execution of applications in the “cloud”, and the smartphone should serve as an intermediary for displaying information to the end consumer. I don’t know, maybe this works in China and on the example of some other devices, but in the case of Meizu and its proprietary Flyme shell, it’s almost impossible to notice the difference between YunOS and Android.

There are 2 problems you should be aware of before purchasing: lack of Google Play out of the box and Russian or Ukrainian system languages. The first one can be solved quite easily: just enough standard application “App Store” download a program that will install everything itself Google services, including the company's application store. You can find it by searching “installer” or “Google installer”.

With localization, everything is a little more complicated. Due to the blocked Meizu smartphones bootloader - custom firmware You don’t have to wait, just like the Russian language of the system. So you’ll have to figure out the settings in English, although this won’t be difficult for those who have already used Android smartphones. The problem with application localization can be solved either manually - by installing desired language in the settings of each, or automatically - using specialized programs like “morelocale2”. True, simply installing the application from Google Play and selecting the Russian language, as was the case with, will not work, because In Meizu smartphones on YunOS, the ability to gain root access has completely disappeared. To localize applications you will have to use the command line Windows string, but the process will not take more than 15-20 minutes. I won’t repeat myself again, but will simply leave a link to and instructions from the forum. All third-party applications and most standard ones (Explorer, security, video player, etc.) as a result of the manipulations performed will be translated into Russian localization.

Similarly, I will not focus on Flyme OS. In my review, I talked in some detail about system version 4.5, and the update to Flyme 5 did not bring any significant changes. I still like the system: it is nicely designed, works quickly and is quite functional. The only thing that catches your eye is the redesigned multitasking menu, which now displays application thumbnails with the ability to pin them in the device’s memory by pressing them for a long time (a lock appears on the application). Some standard programs(Explorer, video player, settings, news) were given the ability to work in two-window mode. The menu is called up by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

Among the shortcomings that users noted in the comments to my previous review, it is worth highlighting the absence of icons in the notification bar for most programs, instead of which an infinity sign is displayed. I don’t know if the problem is YunOS or Flyme, but sometimes flaws appear when working with third-party applications. For example, it doesn’t start for me official client Twitter and Facebook Messenger, search by messages or friends does not work in the VK.com application, and with latest update Instagram software began to freeze after a couple of actions. There is also no separate volume control, as is implemented in smartphones running “bare” Android or CyanogenOS.

Regarding this smartphone, it sometimes seemed that the software developers decided to protect the user from absolutely everything. You turn on your favorite song in Play Music, and after 3 minutes the playback stops. Similarly with the watch, which lost contact with the smartphone every 3 minutes (I already started blaming them at first). It turned out that by default everything is energy-intensive (in fact, everything) background processes after 3 minutes they simply turn off. You can allow the applications you need to run in standby mode through the Security application: Power Management -> Manage Applications. But the care does not end there, because... in the “Software Permissions” menu you can: manage the auto-start of programs in the background and when you turn on the phone, receive notifications and alerts, or even allow or deny applications access to various modules smartphone.

Locking with a fingerprint scanner, the issue of necessity and security of which deserves a separate article, can be set both to unlock the screen and to any of the installed applications. You can add up to 5 fingerprints to the database.

At the beginning, I mentioned two problems that you should be aware of before purchasing: the lack of Google Play and Russian localization. I cannot count any of them as disadvantages of the smartphone, since it is simply not designed for any market other than Chinese. Yes, and they are treated - these problems. But the work (or lack thereof) of some third party applications- this is a minus, since it is not known which program will have to be abandoned in subsequent updates. On the other hand, maybe Chinese developers, on the contrary, will fix compatibility problems over time.

▌Why paint metal? (About design, display, mTouch)

The body of the smartphone is made of metal - this is the main difference from other models in the M line (aka Blue Charm). There are 5 colors available to choose from: white, gold, grey, blue, pink. Unfortunately, this is not the usual anodizing, which gives the metal the appropriate shade, but full-fledged painting.

The quality of painting in some places leaves much to be desired. At the bottom end you can see small particles trapped under the paint layer. Where the cover meets the plastic display frame and protective glass The metal has been chamfered. “Bare” metal quickly becomes covered with scratches.

The Meizu Metal cover is NOT all metal! The plastic dividers for the antennas at the ends of the case blend into the paint, which is easy to notice under a bright light source. A similar unevenness is observed above the camera and below the “Designeg by Meizu” inscription at the bottom of the body. The body of a smartphone, if you remove a layer of paint, will look like Huawei Ascend G7 (I know that there are more similar examples, but I couldn’t remember), i.e. is a symbiosis of metal and plastic. to disassemble the device (carefully, Chinese).

I repeat that all these shortcomings were noticed upon close examination of the smartphone’s body. Most users still put even strong metal smartphones into cases and other bumpers, so there is no need to worry about this. Although some sediment still remains.

Information about using the reader "as in Meizu PRO 5" is not completely reliable, since even the manufacturer itself on its official website indicates a recognition time of 0.48 seconds for the smartphone under review and 0.2 s for the flagship of the line. Based on operating experience, I can rate the quality of the M1 Metal sensor as average, because... There have been errors in recognition, and the operating speed is not up to the truly lightning-fast ZUK Z1 or iPhone 6S.

Lately I stopped showing unboxing of smartphones, because... everything became terribly monotonous. But this time Meizu tried to protect the smartphone as much as possible from external influences by packing it in a cardboard package and sealing it with a matte film on top.

The kit includes only a power supply (more on that later), a cable, pieces of paper and a paper clip for removing the card tray. There are complaints about both the appearance and the design of the smartphone itself. It is difficult to count the painted metal case as one of the advantages of the M1 Metal, which is difficult to distinguish from a plastic one to the touch, but when dropped, it turned out to be not very intact.

▌One of the best budget smartphones in terms of performance

It's funny to watch how model range companies coexist with a flagship and a budget device on the same system-on-chip. The only difference from the Meizu MX5 is the frequency lowered by 0.2 GHz, and the same 3 GB of RAM and 8 Cortex-A53 cores. I won’t go into details, because in terms of performance everything is very good. Here, for comparison, is a table of synthetic test results for the smartphones I tested:

Benchmark/Phone	Meizu M1 Metal (Helio X10 MT6795)		Lenovo Vibe P1 (Snapdragon 615)
	1476	938	2158	3438	4330
	14801	6091	7262	19594	19564
	4	2,2	5,5	12	9,9
	890 / 4836	578 / 2661	642 / 2446	991 / 2990	1241 / 3222
	55209 (Antutu v6.0.1)	30624	34131	47075	50610

The only game I use to test the performance of smartphones is World of Tanks: Blitz. She is very demanding regarding mobile platform and I’m just interested in riding tanks sometimes. Ideal for the game are medium settings with shadows turned off, which guarantees an FPS of at least 30. At minimum settings with HD textures, the frame counter is unshakable - a stable 60 units.

Playing on medium graphics settings
The results presented above are typical for the performance mode, which can be set in settings (Balanced and Economy are also available). Temperature for a long time high load does not exceed 45 degrees, process throttling is not visually noticeable (if present at all).

With support for most modern audio and video formats (including 4K) there are absolutely no problems:

After the system boots, the user is allocated no more than 1 GB of RAM for his own needs. Minimizing resource-intensive applications (3D games, mainly) leads to their closing, and the subsequent launch “kills” others background application. It’s not that 2 GB is really not enough, don’t think so, but looking at Xiaomi smartphones, you want more. About 12 GB of user memory is available in the younger version, but it can be expanded with memory cards up to 128 GB.

▌Autonomy and communication

Autonomy, frankly speaking, is far from ideal. In my operating mode (lots of Internet - few calls), the smartphone barely survived until the evening with 2-3 hours of active screen operation. The same Meizu M2 Note with a weaker processor has a battery life of 3 to 5 hours.

There are problems with the battery operating outdoors, at temperatures below 10-15° Celsius. The smartphone very quickly loses charge and turns off. This kind of behavior in the cold is probably the scourge of everyone metal smartphones, including the notorious iPhone. Warm place and Charger bring the smartphone back to life with the same or slightly decreased charge level. In normal mode, charging a smartphone from 0 to 100% takes about 2.5 hours from the included 1.5 Amp power supply.

The metal case, even with plastic inserts, affects the reception level Wi-Fi networks. In my case, this is a 5 GHz / ac access point based on Xiaomi Mi mini router. For comparison, screenshots of signal reception from Metal, Redmi Note 2, Note 3 (from left to right) at a three-meter distance and with an obstacle in the form of an ordinary reinforced concrete wall (not load-bearing):

Differences in reception quality cellular networks not recorded. With microphone and conversational speakers everything is OK as well. The LTE network frequencies supported by the smartphone correspond to bands 1 and 3. With operators that provide communications on these bands, LTE will work, but I don’t know how well. There are no problems with 3G either in Ukraine or in Russia.

I’ll say something about the sound. It so happened that everyone “died” for me xiaomi headphones(Piston II and Youth Edition), and Meizu HD50 was purchased as a replacement and test (there haven’t been any for a long time). Metal, as a playback source, according to the comparison results, turned out to be much better than Redmi Note 2, both in terms of volume reserve and in terms of sound. The last statement is purely subjective, and I’ll tell you about these headphones separately.

▌Camera

The main drawback of the camera was the excessive shutter speed for taking pictures at night, which is why the photos turned out blurry. The company solved this problem in a “standard” way by increasing ISO (light sensitivity) at night and introducing more “strict” noise reduction algorithms to correct the resulting color noise. Otherwise, the camera remains at the level of other models from the Note line and does not stand out in anything special.

The application interface was changed in the fifth version, but, it seems to me, they only made it worse. Row function keys moved to the top part, which for a 5.5-inch smartphone, say, is not very convenient, both in horizontal and vertical orientation. Instead of a video recording button, there is now a mode selection menu, which was previously implemented with convenient swipes left/right. Actually, the video mode itself has been moved to this menu and it is no longer possible to start recording by pressing one button. Otherwise, everything is as before: HDR is hidden in the settings, as if hinting that this function is here purely for show, and the Manual mode remains in its place and allows you to control most parameters manually.

Since they were at hand Xiaomi smartphones Redmi Note 2 and Note 3, it was decided to compare the quality of pictures from these devices in different conditions.

Making a thumbnail for each photo, inserting it and putting a link to the full-size image on it is very hemorrhoids. In 3 days I will have this article published with a proper web gallery for quick comparison of photos. In the meantime, you can download an archive with full-size photographs at the end of the chapter.

If you look closely, you will notice how much the corners of the images are blurred in the footage from Metal, which indicates the use of far from better optics. In some night scenes, Metal produces a clearer picture than its direct competitors, but during the day, the victory is definitely for Redmi Note 2/3, since Meizu has clearly inflated ISO settings, which leads to a decrease in overall detail due to the noise reduction work. All of the above is my personal opinion based on a dozen test images, but the cameras, as for me, do not differ much and are unlikely to become a decisive factor when considering these devices for purchase. Other photos taken while using the smartphone:

HDR version:

At night:

An archive of full-size photographs and (there are more of them) can be downloaded using the appropriate links.

▌Results

Despite the price being comparable to Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Meizu Metal is still worth paying attention to when choosing a new smartphone under $200. The device has certain problems with the software (lack of localization and Google Play) out of the box, but they cannot be classified as shortcomings, since the smartphone is not positioned for sale on the international market. And these problems are solved in 15-20 minutes. The design flaws are cosmetic (if you don’t drop your smartphone), although I won’t make any guesses regarding the paint coating. The design is absolutely not for everybody: I didn’t like the paint solution, but I liked the rounded glass and the convenient mechanical touch button on the front panel with a fingerprint sensor.

On a popular Russian-language forum, the owners asked why they chose this particular device and not a more attractive one in terms of technical characteristics solution from Xiaomi. To which they responded with the design advantages of Meizu Metal (a mechanical scanner button on the front panel, microUSB in the center, a memory card slot and rounded glass) and a more pleasant OS. You need to understand that even this “sweet couple” already has competitors in the form of less famous brands (LeTV, for example) and in the future I will try to talk about them. If you need to buy now, then I can recommend Meizu Metal for purchase if its advantages are important to you, and you can put up with its disadvantages. The main thing is to analyze and do not stop at one source of information like me, for this I provide links to alternative reviews below.