Due to the crisis situation, Meizu was forced to focus its efforts only on the domestic market for some time. However, after such a long lull, at the end of October Meizu decided to break into the Russian space with “old” devices.

The company decided to attract Russians who want to buy a new smartphone with three models: Meizu 16xs, Meizu Note 9 and Meizu M10. Today the object of our attention has become the last gadget – a budget smartphone for 11 rubles with “pure” Android, an 990-core processor and a triple camera.

Specifications Meizu M10:

• Dimensions: 164,87 x 76,33 x 8,45 mm, 184 grams
• Display: 6,5 ″, 1600 × 720 (~ 270 ppi), 19,5: 9, IPS
• Processor: 8-core MediaTek Helio P25, 2,5 GHz, Mali-T880 MP2
• Memory: 2/3 GB RAM, 32 GB ROM, microSD slot (up to 128 GB)
• Камеры: 13 MP, f / 2,2 + 2 MP, f / 2,2 + 2 MP, f / 2,2 (main), 8 MP, f / 2,4 (front)
• Battery: 4000 mAh
• OS: Android 9 Pie
• Communication: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2, 4G, microUSB
• Cost: 11 990 rubles

Appearance

Meizu M10 is presented in three colors: Sea Blue, Purplish Red and Phantom Black. All options are made in the classic fashionable style for Chinese smartphones with an iridescent back cover. The multi-layer polymer brings to life the blue hue of the M10 Sea Blue panel, forcing it to brighten smoothly from top to bottom.

Feels like the back side is covered with glass, but from the first seconds it’s not so difficult to notice the catch – the glass turns out to be a high-quality plastic, which, when pressed firmly, bends slightly.

It is very pleasant that for such a price, Meizu tried to imitate the external implementation of a more expensive smartphone. Fingerprints, however, successfully remain on the case, which for me personally, for several weeks, fortunately, did not have time to get scratched up and down, given the lack of a protective case. Meizu M10 withstands rare placements in a pocket to unfriendly neighbors such as keys and ruble coins without problems.

The layout of the elements in Meizu M10 is standard: on the rear panel there is a triple camera, a fingerprint scanner and a company logo at the very bottom. On the front panel, everything is also classic – under the glass there is a large display with small frames and a distinct cutout for the front camera. At the top, there are light and proximity sensors, as well as an LED indicator, and at the bottom – everyone’s favorite chin.

On the left side there is a volume control key and a power button, on the right there is a combined slot for two nanoSIMs, one of which can be replaced with a memory card. At the bottom there is a microphone, a 3,5 mm headphone jack, a speaker and a microUSB port. The outdated charging connector became the first drawback for me – in the same Vsmart Joy 2+, Type-C was placed on the bottom edge.

Display

The tangible dimensions of the device indicate the presence of a screen of quite impressive dimensions. The diagonal of the display with a resolution of 1600 × 720 pixels is 6,5 inches. The pixel density is at the level of 270 ppi. It would be wrong to talk about the noticeable graininess of this IPS matrix, but I can immediately note that such a large screen still lacks clarity.

From the first seconds of acquaintance with the device, my eyes were struck in a not very positive way by the interface with large elements, such as fonts and banal icons in the launcher. However, the rest of the display is not satisfactory. The maximum brightness thresholds of 450 nits are sufficient for my requirements when using my smartphone in the sun.

The color saturation of the display does not go off scale, the backlighting of the screen is minimal, the black color fades out a little at different angles, and the white color remains unchanged.

The only drawback is the impossibility of calibrating the color tone in any way. Thanks to “pure” Android, only the night mode is available from any settings, which reduces the strain on the eyes. But it is worth noting that, taking into account the characteristics and practical experience, we can confidently consider the standard colors that the screen transmits, more or less true.

Iron and software

The heart of the Meizu M10 is the MediaTek MT6757CD processor: it’s easier to call it Helio P25. It is made using a 16 nm process technology and consists of eight Cortex A53 cores. The maximum clock speed of the first four cores reaches 2,5 GHz, the rest – no more than 1,7 GHz. Responsible for the graphics is the 2-core Mali-T880 MP2 accelerator.

The permanent memory is only 32 GB – it is desirable to expand it by installing a memory card up to 128 GB. RAM in my version is 3 GB. In 2019, this may not be enough, but in practice, the Meizu M10 quietly keeps several applications in the background. Thanks to the proprietary technology MediaTek DuraSpeed, active programs can be accelerated by lowering the priority of other background applications.

In AnTuTu, Meizu M10 collected 98 783 parrots. In the multi-core GeekBench 5 test, the device received 882 points, in the single-core test – 179.

The operating system here is Android 9.0 – this has become one of the notable chips among the recently presented Meizu smartphones in Russia. Of the programs installed by the company, there are only “Camera”, a browser and a branded application store, as well as a utility for updates and “My Flyme”. I didn’t get any worse from their presence, but personally, when I first met, the Meizu app store refused to work at all. It’s good that at least there are no problems with Google Play.

The lack of a proprietary Flyme shell is not critical for me, but it is worth noting that Meizu M10 is not a member of the Android One program, so the risk of lack of firmware updates and security patches is much higher than if the smartphone was under the Meizu-controlled shell.

In general, the interface does not jam and demonstrates stability as befits a “pure android”. The animations are quite smooth and without unnecessary artifacts. Sometimes I notice that it is sometimes difficult for a smartphone to withstand scrolling through long lists. For example, when scrolling through the VKontakte or Instagram news feed, slowdowns are noticeable. Of course, it will not be possible to “hack to death” in complex games – the power of the filling is enough only for light toys.

It is worth adding a few words about autonomy. The built-in 4000 mAh battery lasts on average for a whole day, taking into account the screen activity of about six hours. Alas, the Meizu M10 does not have support for fast charging, so it will take about two and a half hours to charge the smartphone via microUSB.

Camera

The main camera module Meizu M10 13 megapixel with an aperture of f / 2,2 and phase detection autofocus PDAF. The other two modules are 2 megapixels each with an aperture of f / 2,0. The first helps to take portraits, while the second is not clear. Yes, it is really unclear why Meizu has built in the third module, if its purpose is not explained at all and is not demonstrated in practice.

Macro shooting with a fixed focus at a distance of four centimeters is not here – usually the third module in some smartphones is used for this. The module also does not act as a second “depth sensor”, as evidenced by a warning in the camera application about violation of the “dual camera effect” in low light or covering all modules with the palm of your hand.

Returning to the same Vsmart Joy 2+, the Vietnamese brand, it seems to me, realized the futility of a triple camera immediately, having released a cheap smartphone with only two main camera modules. Most likely, Meizu decided to follow the trends – after all, by the end of 2019, without a triple camera in public, it turns out, it’s a shame to go out.

If you take pictures in very good lighting conditions, then there is a chance to get a good photo. Although the picture comes out more or less saturated, the camera often loses detail, which results in soapy images. Of course, it is a little annoying that the photos are not taken instantly – after pressing the shutter, a short delay is noticed.

Further: it would seem that the worse the conditions, the worse the quality of the images. In fact, the results impressed me – sometimes the Meizu M10 camera manages to almost completely convey the delights of the night streets. With night mode, photos do not change very much, but I am sure that this function can still be useful to someone.

You won’t be able to shoot a decent video – the smartphone is deprived of stabilization and allows you to create videos with maximum Full HD quality. If you try, with the help of a cheap stabilizer from AliExpress, the situation can be improved significantly. The microphone, by the way, records the sound of mid-side city noise, although the smartphone tries to muffle it, but, to put it mildly, the sound is not very clean.

The main camera can take portrait shots, but often the contours of the head are very blurry. An 8 megapixel front camera with an f / 2,0 aperture is also trying to cope with its task – ideal for making video calls, but no more. In practice, the images are slightly darkish, and the face is not particularly detailed. In principle, if there is a desire to make bokeh, then the front camera will allow it, but you should not count on something super-quality in this case.

Other features

The fingerprint scanner is not the fastest and certainly not the most accurate. Noticeably often, the smartphone may ignore the finger or not recognize the fingerprint. Over time, you get used to unexpected surprises when the scanner does not recognize your finger the first time.

The main speaker has no bright minuses, but it can’t boast of pluses either. The sound is quite ordinary, I would say, typical for a state employee. With the spoken speaker, the interlocutor can be heard very well during telephone conversations. The volume reserve when listening to music through wired headphones is sufficient.

The Meizu M10 has a dual-band Wi-Fi module, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.2. The smartphone catches the network without problems. Unfortunately, there is no contactless payment here – I think that on the way to 2020 in this price category, the absence of an NFC module can already be counted as a serious minus.

View

Meizu M10 is a typical representative of budget class devices. The smartphone cannot boast of anything surprising – everything is in moderation in it: a good screen, performance sufficient for everyday tasks, a camera usual for this class. 

Alas, the presence of microUSB is disappointing to say the least. I can’t say anything bad about the lack of NFC and a faster fingerprint scanner, realizing that all these are trifles, because without a Type-C port, a smartphone no longer seems so attractive. I think this is a big mistake for Meizu.

The rest of the device looks good and is quite suitable for undemanding users who choose a cheap smartphone for everyday use. On Yandex.Market, the price of Meizu M10 starts at 9690 rubles, although the official price tag is set at 11 rubles.