Meizu m1 metal firmware. Meizu M1 Metal. First look. Hardware platform and performance

The idea of ​​writing a review of something that is far from new: Meizu M1 Metal - came after reading the characteristics of Meizu 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

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 body is metal, and the surface of the back cover is matte and does not 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, a front camera, sensors, an 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 combined slot for two nano SIM cards or for a SIM and a 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 in low frequencies, moderately loud and of 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. In principle, Root rights are not really needed today, however, if they were there, 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, white lists, autorun settings, and rights to access the Internet from a mobile network or Wi-Fi are configured.


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, it is not yet possible to get full Russification using Root, 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 a powerful 64-bit 8-core MTK Hellio X10 processor 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 pictures, 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 is 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.

Externally Meizu Metal is very reminiscent of the company's smaller flagship Meizu Pro 5, which was presented in September. The same curves of the case can be seen here, as well as protective glass curved at the edges using 2.5D technology.

The hardware component is more similar to another model of the manufacturer - MX5. As the central computing force in Meizu Metal features an 8-core MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795) chipset with a clock frequency of 2 GHz. The screen of the new product is represented by a 5.5-inch FullHD matrix, and the memory capacity is 2 GB of RAM and 16/32 GB of built-in storage.

The main camera received a standard resolution of 13 megapixels for this price segment, as well as a dual LED flash. The front camera module is capable of creating pictures with a maximum resolution of 5 megapixels. Meizu Metal has two slots for installing SIM cards, and one of them is universal: instead of a SIM card, you can install a memory expansion card in it. The smartphone supports GSM, WCDMA, and FDD-LTE networks (1800, 2100, 2600 MHz).

Among other things, Meizu Metal received a fingerprint scanner built into the proprietary mTouch button located under the screen. The manufacturer promises a scanner response speed of 0.48 seconds. Other sensors include: Hall sensor, accelerometer, electronic compass, as well as standard proximity and light sensors.

Meizu Metal equipped with a 3140 mAh battery. The physical dimensions of the case are 15.07 x 7.53 x 0.82 cm, weight 162 g. The smartphone runs YunOS with the proprietary Flyme 5.1 shell.

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 Meilan line, popular in China and abroad (aka Charm Blue, which includes the 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 a link between the 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 based on Android, but on the YunOS build (although this firmware eats APK files without problems, since it has Android roots). Of course, it will certainly be possible to purchase M1 Metal through Chinese online stores, but without the 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.

The first distinctive feature of the Meizu M1 Metal from the M2 Note was 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. The metal body, however, does not feel like one 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 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 some blurs that optical stabilization would help get rid of. 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 microSD memory card. 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 to be a forked version of Android, but Alibaba disagrees, arguing that YunOS has its own virtual machine and development environment, albeit with Android tools to ensure compatibility with applications. The funny thing is that YunOS has an app store containing pirated versions of 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 the M1 Metal, the company brought a couple of its own external batteries to the event – ​​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.

Packaging and equipment

Meizu M1 Metal comes in a simple white box with a sticker on the back 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 towards the edges, which adds to the expensive appearance. 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 a touch Back button. 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. The speakerphone, 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, together with a decent brightness margin, makes the picture well readable outdoors in sunny weather. The 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 of LPDDR3 RAM. 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 at maximum graphics settings 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 LTE networks, but... This model is intended for the domestic Chinese market; for FDD in Metal there is support for only 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. Meizu M1 Metal has two slots for nano SIM cards, one of them 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.

Among the wireless interfaces, the Metal has dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 4.1, but there is 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. Fast charging technology is supported; the included charger will charge the battery 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. The system camera has several shooting modes including a fully manual mode.

Cloudy weather revealed problems with the cameras of budget smartphones from Meizu; photos taken in automatic mode turn out dirty and soapy with a relatively small dynamic range. At the same time, color rendition and white balance are transmitted more or less accurately. At the same time, in the photos 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:

Under artificial lighting conditions, the shortcomings that manifested themselves under the cloudy St. Petersburg sky only intensified, even large details are lost, and some photographs begin to look like oil paintings. 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 shaking of hands leads to the picture shaking.

Comparing Chinese phones with each other is a thankless task. There will always be a friend with the usual remark: “how dare you praise this model when xiaocai/iNew/Jeasung/some other name offers such characteristics even cheaper?” Still, there is something to praise Meizu Metal for.

A good display and good sound in headphones, decent quality cameras and a decent amount of power for the 13-14 thousand rubles that Chinese online stores are asking for our hero. Of course, there is not as much metal in Metal as the advertisement predicted, but even small touches (polished edges on all four edges) are enough to prevent the smartphone from looking cheap, made from recycled materials.

They say that during the Soviet era, guests from China remarkably adapted to our socialist realities and, with their inherent Asian ingenuity, lived no worse than original Soviet citizens. It’s a pity that the same cannot be said about Chinese mobile phones in modern Russia: in the regions, Meizu Metal buyers will be faced with non-working 4G, and globally, lovers of “exclusives from the Middle Kingdom” will have to carry out independent (partial) Russification of the phone and come to terms with crooked Google services.

We will try to check how things are going with the main competitor, Xiaomi, a little later, but in Russian retail the less powerful, all-metal Huawei-which-is-not-Huawei costs at least 4 thousand more, and behind it is a wasteland with space price tags of competitors. But according to the “performance/price” scale accepted by geeks, the M1 Metal is already good, so for now we will leave the question of buying an original Chinese model in difficult times of crisis open.