Metal is the head of everything. Meizu M3 Note smartphone review

Replacing the popular M2 Note, Meizu M3 Note changed the plastic case to a metal one, got a normal oleophobic coating and pumped out the battery. Despite the appearance, practically not inferior to the iPhone 6s Plus, the device retained an attractive price, but this did not prevent us from finding flaws.

The presentation of the new smartphone Meizu M3 Note, which was held under the slogan "It's time to leave polycarbonate behind", took place in Beijing in early April. The novelty replaced the rather successful model, the sales of which, according to the manufacturer, amounted to more than two tens of millions of devices since last summer. at least repeat the success of its predecessor.

Specifications

• Model: M3 Note (M681H)
• OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Flyme OS 5.1.3.1G shell
• Processor: 64-bit MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755), ARMv8 architecture, 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53 (4x1.8 GHz + 4x1.0 GHz)
• Graphics coprocessor: ARM Mali-T860 MP2 (550 MHz)
• RAM: 2 GB / 3 GB LPDDR3 (933 MHz, one channel)
• Storage memory: 16 GB / 32 GB, eMMC 5.1, support for microSD / HC / XC memory cards (up to 128 GB)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), microUSB (USB 2.0) for charge / synchronization, USB-OTG, 3.5 mm for headphones
• Screen: capacitive touchscreen, IPS LTPS (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) matrix, GFF (full lamination), 5.5-inch diagonal, resolution 1920 × 1080 pixels, pixel density per inch 403 ppi, brightness 450 cd / sq. m, contrast ratio 1000: 1, protective glass NEG 2.5D T2X-1
• Main camera: 13 MP, PureCel matrix, OmniVision OV13853, optical size 1 / 3.06 inches, pixel size 1.12 microns, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 5-element lens, f / 2.2 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), dual two-tone flash, video [email protected]
• Front camera: 5 MP, BSI-matrix, Samsung S5K5E8 or OmniVision OV5670 PureCel, optical size (1/5 inch), pixel size 1.12um, 4-element lens, f / 2.0 aperture
• Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA / HSPA + (900/2100 MHz), 4G FDD-LTE (1800/2100/2600 MHz)
• SIM card format: nanoSIM (4FF)
• Slot tray configuration: nanoSIM + nanoSIM, or nanoSIM + microSD / HD / XC
• Navigation: GPS / GLONASS, A-GPS
• Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, Hall sensor, light and proximity sensors (infrared), fingerprint scanner
• Battery: non-removable, lithium-polymer, 4 100 mAh
• Colors: dark gray, silver, golden
• Dimensions: 153.6x75.5x8.2 mm
• Weight: 163 grams

Design, ergonomics

When creating the M3 Note, the designers seem to have drawn their inspiration from the older Meizu models of last year, in particular smartphones and.

So, for the manufacture of the all-metal case of the novelty, also known as unibody, they chose an aviation aluminum-magnesium alloy of the 6000 series.

To prevent the smartphone's antennas from being shielded by metal, we provided two inserts made of radio-transparent material, separating them from the aluminum alloy with relief stripes. The dimensions of the new items have not changed very significantly compared to - 153.6x75.5x8.2 mm versus 150.7x75.2x8.7 mm. Well, the weight, due to the more capacious battery, has quite predictably grown - 163 g versus 149 g.

Recall that in the predecessor for the case, they were content with glossy colored plastic and only for the gray color matte polycarbonate was used.

At the time of testing, there were two color options for the anodized coating of the M3 Note cases on sale: silver (with a black or white bezel) and gray (with a black or white bezel).

The entire front surface of the M2 Note, including the screen, is covered with a protective glass, which was chosen as Dinorex 2.5D T2X-1 from Nippon Electric Glass (NEG).

The 2.5D effect consists of a smooth "rounding" of this glass around the perimeter of the front panel.

Above the display, with traditionally narrow side bezels,

the grill of the "spoken" speaker is located, surrounded by the front camera lens (left), light and proximity sensors, as well as an LED indicator (right). The latter, it seems, is not used by the standard means of the smartphone.

Below the display is a mechanical key with a built-in mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner, which looks very similar to the mBack that first appeared in a smartphone. It also inherited its basic functionality from the latter. So, the usual touch (tap) of this button activates the "Back" function, a short press with a hardware "click" returns to the main screen ("Home"), and a long press (with hold) extinguishes the screen backlight. But the "Recent Apps" button replaces the swipe up from the bottom edge of the display. After a short getting used to, such a control scheme becomes very convenient.

A volume rocker and a power / lock button are located on the right edge in a small depression.

The left edge is occupied by a closed slot with a double tray, which can accommodate either two subscriber identification modules of the nanoSIM format, or a microSD memory expansion card will take the place of the second. A special tool is required to open the combo tray lock. A thin paper clip can still be used as it. Unfortunately, during the production of the device (at least of our test specimen), the size of the tray and the slot for it was not adjusted perfectly, as a result of which the tray rattles slightly if you shake the smartphone.

The hole for the second microphone (for noise cancellation and sound recording) and the 3.5 mm audio headset connector remained on the top end.

The microUSB connector is framed by decorative grilles (four round holes in each) at the bottom end between two fastening screws. At the same time, a "conversational" microphone is hidden under the left, and a "multimedia" speaker under the right.

On the back panel, the most striking are the relief stripes separating the metal from the radio-transparent plastic,

The front camera has a 5-megapixel BSI sensor (Samsung S5K5E8 or OmniVision OV5670 PureCel, 1/5-inch optical size) equipped with a wide-angle 4-lens f / 2.0 aperture. But autofocus and flash are absent here. The maximum image size in the classic aspect ratio (4: 3) is 2592x1944 pixels (5 MP).

Both cameras can record video in Full HD quality (1920x1080 pixels) with a frame rate of 30 fps, while the content is saved in MP4 container files (AVC - video, AAC - sound).

The interface of the "Camera" application in the M3 Note, in comparison with that of its predecessor, has been slightly "refined", but the basic features have changed little. The modes "Auto", "Manual", "Portrait", "Panorama", "Change of focus" and "Slow motion" (4 times, resolution 640x480 pixels, up to 60 minutes) remained in place. At the same time, removing the "Scanner", added "Macro" and "GIF" (up to 6 minutes of animation). In the settings, you can select the HDR mode, as well as determine the size of the photo and the quality of the video. Shooting in manual mode (M) involves adjusting the shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, saturation, white balance, etc. By activating the corresponding option, focus and exposure metering can be performed separately. In addition, nearly a dozen image filters are available. It is convenient to switch the viewfinder from the main camera to the front one and vice versa with vertical swipes. But the volume rocker (both increase and decrease) is also proposed to be used to release the shutter. The manufacturer notes the role of the image processor ISP TrueBright, which allows you to make a picture in low light conditions, brighter and clearer. Nevertheless, it is difficult to boast of a special quality of shooting in such conditions even with the main camera.

Not only in the placement of the grille of the "multimedia" speaker, but also in its acoustic capabilities, the M3 Note practically does not differ from its predecessor. Standard smartphone tools still allow you to listen to audio files, for example, with FLAC extensions, created by codecs for compressing audio data without losing quality. After connecting an audio headset, it is suggested to use a 5-band equalizer with presets and manual tuning. Alas, there is no built-in FM tuner in the device. A simple "Dictaphone" makes fairly high-quality monophonic recordings (44.1 kHz), which it stores in MP3 files.

But with the playback of music via Bluetooth, a small problem was discovered - clicks that occur when you take the smartphone in your hand or move it across the table. Apparently, the reason is insufficient shielding of the audio path from static electricity on the case.

Filling, performance

If they relied on the 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 platform with eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores (1.3 GHz), then for the M3 Note they chose the firstborn from the family of middle-class chipsets MediaTek Helio P10 (aka MT6755), designed, according to the manufacturer , for thin smartphones.

At the heart of this crystal is an 8-core processor, where four ARM Cortex-A53 cores are clocked up to 1.8 GHz, and four more - up to 1.0 GHz. At the same time, the 2-core architecture ARM Mali-T860 MP2 (550 MHz) with support for OpenGL ES 3.2 and OpenCL 1.2 is used as a graphics accelerator. The MT6755 chip is manufactured using the new TSMC 28HPC + (28 nm) technological process, which, according to the manufacturer, provided a 30-35% reduction in power consumption compared to chips manufactured in compliance with the "old" 28HPC design standards. In addition, an increase in energy efficiency while maintaining sufficient computing power is achieved by automatically adjusting the frequencies of the processor and video accelerator. Helio P10 can work in LTE-TDD, LTE-FDD Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbps), HSPA +, TD-SCDMA, EDGE, etc., and is also equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 LE and 2-band Wi-Fi interfaces. Among other proprietary "highlights" of MediaTek MT6755, in addition to MiraVision 2.0, it is worth noting the load optimizer for processor cores CorePilot and the heart rate monitoring system (using a camera built into the smartphone) Heart Rate Monitoring.

The basic configuration of the M3 Note is complemented by LPDDR3 RAM (933 MHz), which is controlled by a single-channel controller. Note that in the smartphone variants with 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage (eMMC 5.1), 2 GB or 3 GB of RAM are installed, respectively. We got a device with a 2 GB / 16 GB combination for the test. Judging by the published data, Helio P10 successfully competes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615/616 chipsets in terms of performance, which does not contradict the results of the tests performed.

The number of "virtual parrots" obtained on the synthetic benchmark AnTuTu Benchmark was predetermined by the chosen hardware platform.

The efficiency of using processor cores (Geekbench 3, Vellamo) of the new smartphone looks rather optimistic, but the estimate of the amount of "horsepower" is not so major.

On the Epic Citadel visual test settings (High Performance, High Quality and Ultra High Quality), the average frame rate changed as follows - 60.1 fps, 59.8 fps and 41.5 fps, respectively.

On the universal gaming benchmark 3DMark, where the Meizu M3 Note was tested on the recommended Sling Shot set (ES 3.1), a rather modest result of 326 points was recorded. If problems are unlikely to arise with simple games, then on "heavy" ones (Asphalt 8: Takeoff, World of Tanks Blitz) it is better to limit yourself to medium settings.

In turn, the total number of points scored by the smartphone on the Base Mark OS II cross-platform benchmark was 986.

Of the 16 GB of declared internal memory in the tested model, about 14.56 GB is available, and about 9.6 GB is free. At the same time, like in the case of expanding the available storage, it is possible to install a microSD / HC / XC memory card with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB. True, the double tray, where the memory card is inserted, is universal, and, having taken one place in it, you will have to sacrifice the installation of a second SIM-card (nanoSIM format). By the way, you can also expand the built-in memory thanks to the support of USB-OTG technology, by connecting an external drive.

Similar to its predecessor, the set of wireless communications in the M3 Note also includes a 2-band Wi-Fi module 802.11 a / b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0 (LE).

When two nanoSIM cards (4FF format) are installed, one radio channel of the device operates with them in Dual SIM Dual Standby mode, in other words, both SIM cards are active, but when one is busy, the other is also unavailable. Both trays in the slot support 4G, while the SIM card for data transmission, as well as the priority network mode, is selected in the corresponding menu. Unfortunately, only two "Russian" FDD-LTE bands are available - b3 (1800 MHz) and b7 (2600 MHz). But the most "punchy", low-frequency b20 (800 MHz), as before, remained "overboard". The manufacturer emphasizes support for the promising VoLTE (Voice over LTE) technology.

The built-in multi-system receiver uses the satellites of the GPS and GLONASS constellations for positioning and navigation, which is confirmed by the results of the AndroiTS GPS Test and GPS Test programs. There is also support for A-GPS technology (coordination over Wi-Fi and cellular networks).

The volume of the lithium-polymer battery, which was equipped with the M3 Note (4 100 mAh), compared to its predecessor (3 100 mAh), has increased quite significantly - by about 32% (1000 mAh). Despite such a margin of capacity, the body of the new smartphone has become 0.5 mm thinner. There is no support for fast charging. The smartphone comes with a power adapter (5 V / 2 A). It will take about 2 hours to fill the battery to 100% from the 15-20% level.

On battery tests, AnTuTu Tester managed to earn an impressive 8,778 points. While here he limited himself to 6 289 points. With a 100% full battery, the manufacturer promises up to two days of work in active mode, or up to 17 hours of watching a video, or up to 36 hours of listening to music. The test set of videos in MP4 format (hardware decoding) and Full HD quality at full brightness ran continuously for almost 9.5 hours.

In the "Power management" section of the settings, depending on the expected load, you can force the smartphone to switch from the "Balanced" mode to "Energy saving" or "Performance". In addition, in the "Energy Optimization" section, you can not only manage the sleep mode of applications, but also take advantage of flexible settings to save battery power - "Smart", "Super" and "Customizable".

Features of the software

The M3 Note smartphone runs on the Android 5.1 (Lollipop) operating system, the interface of which is hidden under the proprietary Flyme OS 5.1.3.1G shell. It should be noted here that in the latest versions of Flyme firmware, including the one mentioned above, the first launch of the Google Play app store (creating a Google account) must be performed on a smartphone with an installed SIM card. This additional device authorization has become one of the new security requirements.

All program shortcuts, folders and widgets in Flyme launcher are placed right on the desktops. Swipe down to open the quick settings panel (where there is now a brightness adjustment slider), and swipe up to open recently opened applications.

The "Accessibility" section still contains possible smartphone control gestures, including the SmartTouch control "ring" (not shown in the screenshot) with adjustable transparency.

In the new version of the shell, it became possible to split the screen to simultaneously display the work of two applications, although so far this applies only to the "Settings", "Video" and "Maps" programs.

Using up to five fingerprints from the fast (0.2 seconds) mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner, you can lock not only the screen, but also access to files and applications.

The M3 Note has a minimal set of software. From this software, one can single out a collection of utilities for regular smartphone care, collected in the "Security Center" (scanning for viruses, cleaning up "garbage", cleaning up memory, managing energy saving, etc.), as well as practical tools from the "Useful" application ( "Mirror", "Flashlight", "Ruler", etc.).

Purchase, conclusions

Improvements in Meizu M3 Note, compared to its predecessor, affected not only the replacement of plastic with an aluminum alloy, but also the functionality of the filling. Now the smartphone, which can be installed with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, uses a new processor, significantly increased battery capacity, and also added a fast fingerprint scanner. In addition, both trays in the slot support not only LTE technology, but also VoLTE. At the same time, they managed to keep the price of M3 Note quite attractive: 16,990 rubles for the 2 GB / 16 GB version and 18,990 rubles for 3 GB / 32 GB (RAM / internal memory, respectively).

Unfortunately, some of the disadvantages of its predecessor have migrated to the new model. In particular, the 800 MHz LTE band remained "overboard", the obligatory choice between the second SIM-card and the memory expansion remained, and the built-in FM tuner is still missing.

As for the closest competitors Meizu M3 Note, among them the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, already certified for sale in Russia, looks good. No less metallic than the new product from Meizu, it received a more powerful processor, a 16-megapixel camera and a battery of almost the same capacity. (4000 mAh). At the same time, in large retail chains its configuration of 3 GB / 32 GB is estimated at 17,990 rubles, and 2 GB / 16 GB is another 2 thousand rubles cheaper.

The results of the review of the smartphone Meizu M3 Note

Pros:

• Attractive price
• High autonomy
• LTE and VoLTE support on both SIM trays
• Expandable memory
• Fast fingerprint scanner

Minuses:

• Alternative installation of a second SIM-card or memory card
• Slightly wobbly SIM tray
• Clicks when playing Bluetooth music
• Lack of support for the frequency range LTE Band 20 (800 MHz)
• No FM tuner

Meizu M3 Note is a beautiful, modern and productive budget segment smartphone. This balanced device got a large display, as well as a fingerprint scanner. The device was officially unveiled in April 2016.

Appearance and ergonomics

Meizu M3 Note case is made of high quality aluminum alloy. This material is actively used in the aviation industry, as it has excellent characteristics. Such metal is carefully processed so that the user notes an excellent tactile sensation. The all-metal body has rounded corners for better ergonomics. Symmetry dominates here, so all elements are positioned accordingly. At the bottom there is a microUSB connector and multimedia speaker grilles. But the audio jack is located on the upper edge. The entire front side is covered with a very stylish 2.5D glass. Directly under the screen is a mechanical button for navigation mTouch 2.1, which has a built-in fingerprint scanner. The gadget has a 4100 mAh battery. This battery guarantees long battery life. Available colors: gold, gray and silver. Dimensions: height - 153.6 mm, thickness - 8.2 mm, width - 75.5 mm, weight - 163 g.

Display

The M3 Note has a 5.5-inch screen, which is implemented using MiraVision 2.0 technology. For this reason, the display stands out for its natural color reproduction as well as minimum power consumption. The LTPS matrix has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which provides high-quality picture details. The display will delight the user with a contrasting image and wide viewing angles. Flyme Assistive Touch technology makes the screen extremely responsive and responsive, and you can use it even with gloves.

Iron and performance

M3 Note got hold of an eight-core Helio P10 processor, which is capable of operating at a maximum frequency of 1800 MHz. This solution provides an optimal balance between low power consumption and performance. The device has at its disposal 2 GB or 3 GB of LPDDR3 RAM (dual channel mode). The built-in memory is 16 GB or 32 GB. At the same time, there is support for MicroSD cards up to 128 GB. The Mali-T860 chip is a graphics accelerator. It uses the Android 5.1 operating system along with the proprietary Flyme 5 shell. In the AnTuTu test, this model easily gains about 46000-48000 points. The smartphone copes with many daily tasks confidently. Almost all games run smoothly if the graphics level is not increased to the maximum.

Communication and sound

The Meizu M3 Note has a multimedia speaker that is really loud here. Sound detail is quite good. The interlocutors are perfectly audible through the earpiece. The device supports 4G TD-LTE and FDD-LTE wireless networks, as well as Bluetooth 4.0.

Camera

Meizu M3 Note has a 13-megapixel camera with dual-color flash, 2.2 aperture, panoramic lens and phase detection autofocus. TrueBright ISP technology makes it possible to take a bright picture even in low light. Thanks to the 5MP 2.0 aperture front camera, you can take very high-quality self-portraits.

conclusions

It is unlikely that the M3 Note has gone far ahead of its predecessor, but it certainly received very necessary and high-quality improvements. This is a truly balanced smartphone that is worth every dollar or ruble spent.

Pros:

• High quality aluminum housing.
• Great modern design.
• Excellent indicators of autonomy.
• Fast fingerprint scanner.
• Massive display with a juicy picture.

Minuses:

• The smartphone does not shoot well enough in the evening.
• Possible software problems with some firmware.

Specifications Meizu M3 Note

Prices

Video reviews

In order to oust the iPhone from the Chinese market, Chinese smartphone manufacturers began to combine good performance, nice design and low price. One of these was the Meizu M3 Note, which came to us for a test.

Meizu M3 Note Smartphone - Reviews

Corporations such as Meizu, Xiaomi, and Oppo produce many cheap phones, but today there are many budget lines with decent quality, and you can easily get one of them for less than $ 300.

As the market for affordable phones is saturated and competition is fierce, every company is trying to outshine the best manufacturers with the perfect smartphone. In this review, we'll take a look at the Meizu M3 Note and compare it to other high quality, low-cost phones like the Huawei Honor 5X and Motorola (Lenovo) Moto G4.

Meizu M3 Note design and appearance

Meizu M3 Note is similar to the iPhone, it may appeal to those who appreciate the design of Apple products. This already shows not the originality of Meizu, but still there are not many inexpensive smartphones that would look as stylish as the M3 Note.

The phone doesn't seem thin enough for today's models, but the metallic sheen gives the impression of being a premium smartphone. However, despite the fact that the M3 Note seems to be made of aluminum - it is plastic, only the back cover is made of metal.

Unfortunately, since it's not a solid metal case, it scratches too easily. Customers complained that visible scratches appeared on the first day of use. Even if it is easy to push the phone along the surface of the table, its back panel may lose its presentation. The device requires an extremely careful attitude.

On the front of the smartphone, you will see a screen, a multifunctional home button that has a built-in fingerprint sensor, speaker, front camera and a proximity sensor. In general, everything looks quite symmetrical and stylish.

On the back is a slightly bulging main camera and an LED flash just below it. On the right you will find the standard power and volume buttons, and on the left side there is a slot for two SIM / MicroSD cards. Thus, despite the fact that the Meizu M3 Note supports two SIM cards, if you use MicroSD, there is simply no room for the second.

The back panel also contains plastic inserts for the correct operation of the antennas, which are made after the example of the iPhone. There is a Micro USB port on the bottom, a speaker on one side, and a microphone on the other. The headphone jack is at the top of the phone.

The design is not very original, but still not bad. Unfortunately, the easily scratched case spoils everything, especially when comparing the M3 Note to the Honor 5X, which has a much stronger aluminum rear panel.

Is it Android or IOS? No, it's Flyme

Meizu mimics the iPhone not only in design but also in interface. The Meizu M3 Note runs Android, but just as Samsung uses TouchWiz for the OS, Meizu changes the look of Android with its own Flyme user interface.

As with IOS, there is no application directory here, so they are all right on the desktop. Like any Android smartphone, on the M3 Note you can create application folders, but there is no separate panel where you can hide those icons that you don't often use.

However, if you prefer the Android desktop, you can simply download Google Now from Google Play.

Flyme has many useful apps that many will find useful for their daily use. For example, the Security app helps you clean up the system - delete temporary files, close unused apps, check how much RAM your open apps are using, edit apps (only after permission), and even perform basic virus protection functions. It's a great thing that's well thought out, easy to use, and can speed up your phone a lot with regular use.

Another interesting application - Toolbox, is useful in many cases, as it is a set of tools: a flashlight, mirror, compass, ruler and magnifying glass.

Overall, Flyme looks a lot like IOS, but offers some really useful features, so it can be considered a decent OS in its own right. In addition, you can significantly change the appearance of Flyme, there is even an application that offers many themes, allowing you to choose according to your taste.

Unfortunately, the device is a little outdated - the Meizu M3 Note ships with Android 5.1 and no updates are available. This poses serious security and performance issues.

As vulnerabilities such as Stagefright and Heartbleed become more prevalent, it is especially important to keep phones up to date. But a highly customized user interface on top of Android is a surefire way to ensure that updates take a long time, if ever, to get installed. It is a real shame that Meizu does not allow its users to update Android in a timely manner.

Universal home button

Controlling the Meizu M3 Note will be a little difficult for Android users and it will take a while to get used to. But this does not mean that it is inconvenient. There is no standard Android home button or app button here. Instead, there is one that is used to both navigate to and from the home screen, and to manage applications.

In order to access the list of open applications, you can swipe up from the very bottom of the screen. After that, a list of applications will open, as well as the "Close All" button. When you click on the "Clear All" button, you will not only delete all unnecessary, but also find out how many megabytes of RAM you have freed up.

We have to admit that Flyme surpassed Google in this, and they developed Android functions in an interesting way.

In addition, there is a fingerprint sensor in the home button, and although it works a little slower on the M3 Note than for example on the OnePlus 3, this is enough for a comfortable use. As with many smartphones, it sometimes happens that the prints are not recognized the first time, and one more attempt is needed, but this is a small problem.

Meizu M3 Note raises the bar for budget displays

The time has passed when the combination of "budget smartphone" was associated with a 720p screen. The screen on the Meizu M3 Note is a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with 1080p resolution.

The display looks great. Rich and vibrant colors, decent viewing angles, if you don't need to read very small fonts, you won't need more pixels either. This is quite a big achievement for a smartphone in this price range - often companies are saving on display in favor of better performance. But for this phone, Meizu seems to have done the opposite.

Meizu M3 Note specifications

Design is important, but when shopping for a budget phone, you need to pay attention to the specs as well. In the case of the Meizu M3 Note, it is clear that it is inferior to other smartphones.

In short, its performance is low. The tested device had 16 GB of internal memory with 2 GB of RAM, but there are also versions with 32 GB and 3 GB, respectively. Other specs: MediaTek Helio P10 processor, 8 Cortex-A53 cores, Mali-T860 MP2 GPU. MediaTek processors are known for being finicky and not doing the best with graphics in demanding games.

The M3 Note scores 41,235 on AnTuTu and 2,725 on Geekbench 3 (multi-core test). These are pretty average ratings, which means that, despite its 8 cores, the smartphone remains mediocre. What's more, the Meizu M3 Note scored slightly higher on AnTuTu than the two generations of the older Meizu Note, but on GeekBench 3 M1, the Meizu M1 Note scored 3.988. It turns out the line's performance has dropped since then.

It is worth noting that if you are not a very demanding user, such indicators should not bother you. And if you don't play mobile games, or open many tabs on the Internet, the performance of your smartphone will be enough for you in abundance. However, it should be noted that for the same price, you can get the all-metal Huawei Honor 5X with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, which has much higher specifications.

Luckily, the battery makes up for the processor issues a bit. The M3 Note is powered by a fairly large 4,100mAh battery, which will last for 2 days of regular use unless you're a gamer. If you charge the phone every night, the battery will last for a working day for any user. Despite the impressive size of the battery, the smartphone doesn't feel too thick.

Photo quality matches the price of Meizu M3 Note

The Meizu M3 Note has a 13 megapixel camera with dual-color flash. It lacks some features, such as optical image stabilization, but there is phase detection autofocus.

The camera app is roughly the same as on the iPhone. You have quick access to flash, countdown timer, filters and camera settings. Plus, you can turn on HDR and a horizon sensor to make sure your photos aren't tilted.

Unfortunately, most of the M3 Note's camera features seem to be severely limited. Despite all the variety of options, photos are usually imperfect, and autofocus does not always work. Still, in HDR mode, the photos look a little better and the colors are richer, but of course in this case any movement should be avoided.

Insufficiently bright consecration will be a problem for those who want to take a good photo. The dual-tone flash will allow you to capture the moment, but such a photo is unlikely to make an impression. Things get a little better with manual mode, but this will only help experienced photographers and those with time to tweak.

The front camera is not bad, with acceptable contrast and naturalistic colors, and of course you can take selfies with it, but they do not cause delight either.

Overall, the Meizu M3 Note is not a smartphone worth buying for a camera. It is suitable for shooting at home, but if you need to capture an important event, or take a high quality photo, it is better to use another option.

Outcome

Although the Meizu M3 Note looks good and the battery lasts for a long time, its performance is mediocre and the camera is not the best quality.

For the same price, you can get a range of other more powerful smartphones that will also allow you to take better pictures.

Advantages

• Nice design;
• Useful default apps;
• 1080p screen;
• Durable battery.

Flaws

• Average productivity;
• Bad camera;
• Plastic is easily scratched;
• Outdated Android version;
• It is inferior to competitors at the same price.

If you're going to spend $ 200 on a smartphone, you'd better get the Huawei Honor 5X, which is actually made of metal, has a fingerprint sensor, Qualcomm processor, and allows you to take good pictures.

Another alternative is the $ 250 Motorola (Lenovo) Moto G4 Plus. It is not completely covered in metal, but it is water resistant and fast charging.

And for $ 400, you can get flagships like the OnePlus 3 or ZTE Axon 7, which boast excellent specifications like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and great design.

Therefore, summing up, it is worth admitting: Meizu M3 Note will not withstand tough competition in the market of budget smartphones.

Meizu M3 Note smartphone - video review

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The speakerphone plays somehow ... detached. Like, "they put me in a metal box - I work as best I can." With the volume, everything seems to be good, but the effect of the "tin can", coupled with the cut off low and leaky mids, discourages the desire to listen to music without headphones. For YouTube, the speaker, of course, is good, and the vocals from it sound more or less, but there is nothing to praise the budget Meizu for this part.

Judging by the sound in the headphones, no one interfered with the standard audio path of MediaTek Helio P10 - the smartphone reproduces sound in about the same way as any representative based on MT6753 or even MT6735 “without preservatives”. That is, the sound is slightly more sonorous than it should be, and the average volume margin (for “plugs” - with a margin, for monitor headphones - not quite enough). It turned out not good and not bad, but just insipid. There is a constant desire “to fix it, here - to tweak the equalizer”.

Iron

Under the hood, the M3 Note is powered by the still exotic MediaTek Helio P10 processor, aka MT6755M. This is such an answer to Chamberlain Kvalkom and a way to knock out the cheaper Snapdragon 615/616/617 (which are installed in all your Wileyfox Storm, Honor 5X, ASUS ZenFone Selfie, etc.). The processor is not painfully purebred - all the same 28, familiar from other inexpensive chips, but it is much more sensible than the outdated MT6752 / 6753. And Sony also liked this chip - new

Among Chinese smartphones with a diagonal of 5.5 inches, two models shared the sales records: Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Meizu M3 Note. Meizu devices are traditionally positioned as more expensive and functional due to proprietary chips like a hardware button and its own operating system based on Android.

The popular M3 Note is no exception. Its cost is $ 150, which corresponds to the middle price segment for Chinese devices. But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear: it could have cost more.

Specifications

Appearance

Opening the box, you expect to see another clone of the iPhone or the embodiment of a dubious design idea. But the front of the smartphone says otherwise: the Meizu M3 Note is truly a stylish device.

The main decoration of the smartphone is the multifunctional proprietary mTouch 2.1 button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. The scanner is triggered in just 0.2 seconds. This is what is used in the MX 5 from the mid-price category and the flagship of the last generation Pro 5. The button works as a Home key, is used to unlock the gadget, and in the settings you can define additional functions: for example, restrict access to certain files.

There are no other controls near the center button. To access the list of open applications, you must use a vertical slide from the place where the corresponding button should be.

In the hand, the smartphone sits like a glove - it's not for nothing that the company used (one of the first, especially in this price segment) a one-piece metal case. The corners are rounded, the back cover is too. Forms are strict, nothing more. 2.5D protective glass creates an imitation of a rounded screen in the general style of streamlined lines.

Symmetry is another disease of Meizu designers. The bottom edge has two grilles (the speaker is still one), the microUSB port is exactly in the middle. Even the camera and the proximity sensor, combined with the LED indicator, are spaced from the earpiece as symmetrically as possible.

The streamlined shape of the M3 Note fits perfectly in any hand: women, children or men. The central button is under the thumb, as well as the power button with the volume rocker on the left side.

Despite the 5.5-inch display, the smartphone fits perfectly in pockets and bags - the difference in size with 5-inch devices is almost imperceptible.

Screen

The overall impression is supported by a bright LTPS display with Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels). Such matrices are usually used in more expensive smartphones, although they are relatives of IPS matrices.

The screen can display information both in bright sun and in complete darkness. Auto-adjustment works like high-end branded smartphones - instantly. The viewing angle approaches 180 degrees: the contrast drops slightly, the colors are distorted to a minimum. The sensor is responsive, responds quickly and accurately. Supports up to 10 simultaneous clicks. The device can be used with cloth gloves.

The screen is protected from scratches, glare and dirty handprints. For the first, a protective glass of the Dinotrail brand is used. For the rest - a special polarizing filter (as on the lenses of SLR cameras) and an oleophobic coating.

Performance

The Meizu M3 Note uses the Mediatek Helio P10 platform. It consists of 8 processor cores: four of them operate at a frequency of 1 GHz, four more - at an increased frequency of up to 1.8 GHz. The graphics subsystem is based on a rather weak Mali solution.

Performance records from such a system should not be expected. Synthetic tests show 3-5 times lower numbers than the flagships of 2016. But are such metrics important in real use? Of course not.

The interface works smoothly. You can play World of Tanks, Asphalt 8 or their analogues. You can open a "heavy" presentation in PPT or large PDF.

Poor performance is the price to pay for economy and moderate heating. And this is more important than "parrots" in Antutu (by the way, in it M3 Note gains 46,978 points, in GeekBench - 809 for one core and 3,002 in a multicore test). Thanks to the use of a processor "cut" in frequencies and the number of cores, the temperature under load does not rise above 37-40 degrees.

The battery life depends on the processor no less. The device battery with 4 100 mAh is sufficient for:

• 10 hours of watching video in airplane mode;
• 18 hours of reading at minimum brightness;
• 5 hours of 3D games;
• work up to 2 days in a mixed mode of use;
• 14 hours with LTE, Bluetooth on and occasional screen use.

In any case, this is enough for a work or school day. Built-in energy savers will extend your battery life. For the rest, you need an external battery. There is no fast charging, it will take 3.5 hours to replenish the power.

Operating system

The Meizu M3 Note uses the proprietary Flyme 5.1.3 shell, based on Android 5.1. The system is pretty well developed compared to the usual AOSP builds of Android.

All applications are located on desktops, there is no general menu. Instead of a menu bar from Flyme 4, the system displays a conventional "carousel" with the ability to quickly clear all programs in one move. The notification shade looks familiar enough.

Like the company's main competitor, Xiaomi, the operating system received significantly more settings than the usual Android 5.1. They mainly deal with customization, but there is also a color correction of the display.

In addition, you can clear memory, grant application permissions, enable spam blocker and antivirus. There are clear possibilities for power management and energy saving. The shell is thought out, detailed, at the same time laconic and beautiful. Perhaps Flyme OS is one of the best add-ons on the market today.

Photo

The main camera uses a 13-megapixel sensor and a wide-angle five-element lens with an aperture of f / 2.2. There is phase detection autofocus (PDAF). The two-tone flash is bright enough. The application allows you to configure all the necessary parameters.

The resulting images are not perfect, but quite competitive. It turns out worse in the dark, but not completely bad, like, for example, Lenovo K5 or.

Taking a selfie is not a problem. The front camera gives off slight overexposures and does not work very well in difficult lighting. But thanks to the software capabilities of the proprietary application, you can choose a preset suitable for the shooting conditions or use the image enhancement function.

Sound

Unfortunately, the audio section in Meizu M3 Note is much simpler than in MX6 or Pro 6. Yes, the volume is sufficient, the clarity is not bad. In headphones, you can listen to MP3s and not notice the shortcomings. Anything bigger will require a different apparatus.

Connection

Since the case is one-piece, the M3 Note uses a dual SIM card slot. You can install two cards: microSIM and nanoSIM. Instead of the second, you can insert a memory card. If desired, you can use a combined microSIM + microSD. There is enough space for its placement.

The smartphone supports work in almost all networks necessary for Russia. But! Devices for the Chinese market do not work in LTE 20 bands (Band 20). Therefore, in regions with 4G, there may be certain problems.

The communication quality of all modern smartphones is about the same. Meizu M3 Note does not break records, but it also does not allow itself to be considered an outsider. The interlocutor is heard perfectly, on the other side no one complains either.

GPS works well: enough for use as a navigator or compass for orientation on the ground.

conclusions

The main advantage of the M3 Note is ease of use. It manifests itself in everything: user-friendly form, user-friendly controls, user-friendly operating system. In the design, everything is thought out to the smallest detail, and where hardware capabilities cannot be used, software ones are saved.

The cost of modifying the Meizu M3 Note with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of permanent memory in the Chinese market is $ 168. The younger modification (2/16 GB) costs $ 149.

Among the real competitors of the reviewed Meizu in terms of equipment and convenience, only Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro can be distinguished (Note 4 is still quite expensive). It costs $ 140 for the 2/16 GB version and $ 180 for the 3/32 GB version. In addition, it lacks a hardware button, a scanner is located at the back, a slightly worse camera, and a different OS. Thus, comparing smartphones is a bit incorrect.

How, then, can you make a choice? You need to decide what you like more, which of the devices seems more beautiful. After a week with the M3 Note, I don't feel like letting go of it. Even the stylish Xiaomi Note 4 seems rude in comparison. Therefore, I choose Meizu M3 Note - for the mTouch button and rounded shapes.