Meizu M6 Unboxing and First Impressions

The Meizu M6 is tagged as a budget smartphone with specs normally found on slightly higher priced devices.

Meet Meizu M6

In particular, it highlights MediaTek's 64-bit MT6750 octa-core processor found on several pricer devices like the Vivo Y69 priced at PHP 9,990.

The Meizu M6 has no local SRP yet, but internationally it isn priced under the PHP 7K range. Interesting right?

Let's check it out!

Meizu M6 Specs

Display: 5.2-inch 2.5D curved IPS screen w/ HD 1280 x 720 resolution at 282 ppi
HD IPS 1280 x 720 resolution w/ 2.5D curved glass at 282 ppi
CPU: 1.5GHz 64-bit MT6750 octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-T860 MP2
RAM: 2GB/3GB 
ROM: 16GB/32GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 128GB
Back Camera: 13MP f/2.2 w/ PDAF and dual tone LED flash
Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.0
Battery: 3,070mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat w/ FlyMe OS 6.0
Connectivity: WiFi, 4G LTE w/ VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.1 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (hybrid)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: Fingerprint scanner, Colors: moonlight silver, champagne gold, matte black, electric blue
Dimensions: 148.2 x 72.8 x 8.3 mm
Weight: 143 g
Price: PHP 4,490 (2GB RAM/16GB ROM), PHP 6,990 (3GB RAM/32GB ROM)

Disclaimer: This unit was borrowed from Meizu Philippines for our honest review.

Unboxing / Accessories

Everything inside

Inside, it has a 1.5A USB wall charger, USB to micro USB charging cable, SIM ejector tool, and documentations. We are a little disappointed that it didn't have the standard earphones.

Build Quality / Design

Sleek antenna band design behind

In terms of build, the M6 is made of metal, glass and plastic. Majority of the back is made of metal with the upper and lower part being made of plastic for antenna reception.

The front is covered by 2.5D glass that adds that extra layer of premium look to it. This isn't a premium phone but this adds to the overall design.

Metal, glass, and plastic build materials

Overall build of the phone feels solid and sturdy enough with 2.5D glass and metal back plate adding a premium look, heft and feel to it.

Top

Bottom

Left

Right

Design-wise, it looks on par with most phones in the price range. 

Ergonomically, most of the ports, buttons, and parts of the phone are found on strategic and familiar placements.

The upper and lower bezels are thicker than most phones in this prize range for 2018.

The handset feels very good to hold though. This phone is petite and easy to hold in today's standards. The textured back adds that extra grippiness which helps with holding the phone with one day.

Initial findings

1. Design is alright. Design is on par with most of the competition. Build is okay, but nothing spectacular. We like that it is made of plastic, metal and 2.5D glass. It has  5.2-inch HD IPS 1280 x 720 resolution w/ 2.5D curved glass at 282 ppi.

2. It has one of the better specs for the expected price. 1.5GHz 64-bit Mt6750 octa-core processor and Mali-T860 MP2 can still be found on few phones priced at PHP 10K. This phone is priced internationally at just under PHP 7K. It is paired with 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable storage. Lastly it has 3,070mAh of battery capacity.

3. The Android 7.0 Nougat w/ FlyMe OS 6.0 looks clean and unique. The large drawback is the lack of official Google App support. There is no Play store or access to Google's ecosystem. It offers the Meizu store instead. This may limit the functionality of the user. It also does not have the standard Google on-screen navigation bar with back, home and recent apps. The OS is heavily inspired by iOS.

4. At the back, it has a single camera setup. In particular, it is a 13MP f/2.2 w/ PDAF and dual tone LED flash for the rear camera while the front is a 8MP f/2.0. The daylight and low light shots that we initially took are decent. The grain in low light is more apparent though. 

5. Fingerprint scanner is not the fastest but it is fast enough and we've never had an instance where it misread our fingerprint.

Related: Meizu M6: First Camera Samples

As of the moment

The Meizu M6 is on paper is spec'd on par if not better than most phones in the price range but it is the Flyme OS that may be where consumers will either like it or dislike it.

It is heavily inspired by iOS and thus navigates like one and it doesn't support the true Google Play ecosystem which could limit the number of apps available and how quick apps are updated. This is critical and we will add more details in our review. 

Watch out for it!