Meizu MX4: What You Need to Know About This Android Device

The Meizu MX4 is a high-end Android device that's definitely worth considering. It was released in 2014 and features a 5.4-inch display.

One of the standout features of the Meizu MX4 is its powerful processor, a 2.2 GHz octa-core CPU. The device also comes with 2GB of RAM, which is plenty for smooth performance.

The Meizu MX4 has a sleek and slim design, measuring just 7.5mm thick. Its aluminum body gives it a premium feel and look.

The device's camera is another notable feature, with a 20.7-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera.

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The Meizu MX4 has a sleek design inspired by Apple's products, with a circular home button on the front that lights up to alert you to notifications. This design feature is a nod to Apple's Touch ID buttons.

The device measures 144.0 mm x 75.2 mm x 8.9 mm and weighs 147 g, making it a compact and lightweight smartphone. It features a metal frame and comes in four different color variants.

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The MX4 has a 5.36-inch IPS multi-touch capacitive touchscreen display with a FHD resolution of 1152 by 1920 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 403 ppi.

The phone has a single circular halo button on the front for navigation, and volume/zoom control buttons and the power/lock button on the right side. A 3.5mm TRS audio jack is located on the top, and a microUSB port is on the bottom for charging and connectivity.

The rear camera has a resolution of 20.7 MP, a ƒ/2.2 aperture, a 5-element lens, laser-aided phase-detection autofocus, and an LED flash. The front camera has a resolution of 2 MP, a ƒ/2.0 aperture, and a 4-element lens.

The MX4 features a MediaTek MT6595 system-on-a-chip with four ARMCortex-A17 and four Cortex-A7 CPU cores, a PowerVR G6200 GPU, and 2 GB of RAM. This combination results in a score of 50,987 points on the AnTuTu benchmark, making it almost 106% faster than its predecessor, the Meizu MX3.

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The Flyme OS on the Meizu MX4 has a unique design and improved one-handed usability. This operating system is based on Android KitKat.

Flyme 4.0, the custom UI on the MX4, has a mix of both software and hardware keys. The circular button is used for home, while a soft key is used for back.

The MX4's aspect ratio of 5:3 can cause issues with most apps, making them not scaled properly. This can lead to a frustrating experience.

The menu button is often missing unless you rotate the phone to landscape mode, which then gives it a little more space at the sides for it to show up. This is a common issue with the Flyme OS.

The Flyme keyboard lacks auto-correct, but it does have suggestions. This can make typing quite frustrating, especially when you need to type numbers and symbols.

The latest update to the Flyme OS has added Google Play support, making it easier to install Google services like the Play Store and Gmail. This is a major improvement over the previous version.

Meizu has also added some gesture controls to the device, such as swiping up from the bottom to quickly unlock the phone, or double tapping it to wake it up.

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The Meizu MX4's processor is an eight-core MediaTek MT6595, but only four cores are actually working at a time. It uses slower Cortex-A7 cores for less intensive tasks and faster 2.2GHz Cortex-A17 cores for gaming.

In benchmark tests, the MX4's processor didn't quite match up to high-end Qualcomm chips, scoring 16,764 in Quadrant, compared to the Sony Xperia Z3's 20,425. This is likely due to the Z3's quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz.

The MX4's processor also struggled in Linpack, a multi-threaded test, returning a dismal 317.043 MFLOPs over 0.53 seconds. In contrast, the Z3 scored 843.333 MFLOPs over 0.2 seconds.

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The MediaTek MT6595 processor in the MX4 has a unique setup, where only four of its eight cores are active at any given time. This is because the other four cores are slower Cortex-A7 cores that take over for less demanding tasks.

Benchmark tests show that the MediaTek chip doesn't quite match up to high-end Qualcomm processors. In Quadrant, the MX4 scored 16,764, while the Sony Xperia Z3 scored 20,425 with its quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz.

The MX4's processor does beat the HTC Desire 816, which has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 and scored 12,708 in Quadrant. This suggests that the MediaTek chip has some advantages over lower-end Qualcomm processors.

In Linpack, the MX4's multi-threaded test returned a result of 317.043 MFLOPs over 0.53 seconds, which is a pretty dismal performance. In comparison, the Z3 scored 843.333 MFLOPs over 0.2 seconds.

The battery life of the MX4 is a bit of a letdown. In our CNET Labs video play test, it only lasted 8 hours 15 minutes, which is shorter than expected. The phone has a large 3,100mAh battery, so it's surprising to see it perform this badly.

I've personally experienced this issue, and I think it might be due to the swipe-to-unlock feature accidentally turning the display on. This can quickly drain the battery, especially if you're not careful.

The anecdotal test showed that the phone lasted for slightly under a day with push notifications enabled. This is still not great, but it's better than the lab test results.

The Meizu MX4's display is a mixed bag. It has a maximum brightness of 535, which is considered poor.

The display's viewing angles are not its strongest suit, but it does have a good minimum brightness of 2, making it suitable for low-light environments.

The camera, on the other hand, is a redeeming feature. With 20.7 megapixels, it's capable of producing detailed images, especially in well-lit conditions.

However, the camera struggles with metering the light, often resulting in underexposed images, especially when there's a strong backlight.

Here's a comparison of the Meizu MX4's display metrics with the LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3:

The display on a smartphone is a crucial aspect to consider, especially if you're a gamer or love watching videos on the go. Meizu MX4 has a screen measurement of 535 in bright max, which is considered poor.

Viewing angles are also an essential factor, and the Meizu MX4 has a viewing angle of 2 in bright min, which is actually good. This means you can easily watch videos or browse the web from different angles without the screen looking washed out.

Color accuracy is another vital aspect, and the Meizu MX4 has a color temperature of 7778, which is not specified as good or bad. However, the Sony Xperia Z3 has a color temperature of 10324, which is also not specified.

The color gamut is not specified in the article, but the LG G3 has a Delta E rgbcmY of 2.10, which is considered good. This means the LG G3 has excellent color accuracy.

The Meizu MX4 has a Delta E grayscale of 6.74, which is considered average. In contrast, the LG G3 has a Delta E grayscale of 2.86, which is considered good.

Here's a comparison of the display features of the Meizu MX4, Sony Xperia Z3, and LG G3:

It's worth noting that the Sony Xperia Z3 has a higher maximum brightness of 713, which is considered average. In contrast, the Meizu MX4 has a lower minimum brightness of 2, which is considered good.

The camera on the Meizu MX4 is a bit of a mixed bag. It's got a lot of megapixels, with 20.7 to be exact, which means you'll get plenty of detail in your photos if the lighting is good.

However, the phone seems to struggle with metering the light, often resulting in underexposed images, especially when there's a strong backlight.

Taking a picture with the Meizu MX4 takes around 3.2 seconds, which is a bit slower than some of its competitors. Here's a breakdown of the camera performance in comparison to a few other phones:

It's worth noting that the Meizu MX4 doesn't seem to be able to take HDR pictures, at least not quickly enough to be of much use.

The Meizu MX4's processor and memory are top-notch. It boasts a Quadrant score of 4107, outperforming the LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3.

The AnTuTu score is also impressive, with the Meizu MX4 reaching 49154.3, leaving the LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3 in its dust.

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In terms of graphics performance, the Meizu MX4's Vellamo Metal score is 59, while the LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3 manage 13 and 15, respectively.

The Vellamo Browser score is a notable mention, with the Sony Xperia Z3 taking the lead at 32938.

The Sunspider score is a measure of JavaScript performance, and the Meizu MX4's score of 87.6 is lower than the LG G3's 47.2 and the Sony Xperia Z3's 63.7.

Here's a summary of the Meizu MX4's processor and memory performance:

Meizu is somewhere in between the global conquests of Xiaomi and the local actions of Oppo and Huawei. They've been operating for about three years now.

Meizu's approach is unique, blending global ambitions with a focus on their local market. This is evident in their product offerings and marketing strategies.

The Meizu MX4 is a prime example of this blend, offering a high-end Android experience with a price tag that's more affordable than some of its global competitors.