I spent a day with Meizu Pro 7 and spent a week in China, and the last thing I want to do is turn this article into a regular enumeration of the characteristics and features of Pro 7 – in this kind of first glance I will try to list the main features of the gadget and tell what I and Ilya Kazakov faced a week in China. We will alternate, first about chips, then interludes. Both will be equal. For those who are only interested in the characteristics – they are below.
Why is there a second display?
All test samples have a strange firmware that does not allow you to change the wallpaper, the loading of weather data on the second screen does not work, it is not always activated when you turn it – really, it’s worth waiting for samples with normal software to test. Here are the main purposes of the second screen: at any party, you will always recognize your smartphone when a bunch of devices are screens down.
And the second purpose – you can put beautiful wallpapers on the second screen, they were shown at the presentation, alas, I didn’t take a picture of the slide. Other purposes, such as: help in selfies when shooting on the main camera, the number of steps, notifications, weather information – all this is secondary. Yes, for the corrosive and tech-savvy, important info: 1.9 ”AMOLED, 240 × 536 pixels. The glass is installed well and does not interfere with life in any way. The screen can be activated with a double tap, with a slight vibration it lights up.
Interlude about heat
The heat in Hong Kong does not allow to prepare for going out; you can take a cold shower, put on the lightest T-shirt, but the sun is natural heat. You go out at ten to reach Starbucks and feel how the sun gently presses you to the ground. Thank you for having a shadow, there is sometimes a breeze.
For the first time on this trip, I noticed that the locals actively use pocket fans, an amazingly simple device that allows you to create at least the illusion of coolness. There are a lot of options for fans, from pink women’s to brutal black men’s. There are fans with a stand, there are mobile ones. It seems to be a funny thing in the age of iPhones, but it actually makes life easier.
Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus
The difference is not only in size, but also in characteristics, the usual “seven” has the Mediatek Helio P25 processor, the large Mediatek Helio X30. The regular Pro 7 has a 3000 mAh battery, the Plus has a 3500 mAh battery. The big one can 4K, the small one can’t. The big one is really big in the hand, the small one is perceived as some kind of spindle, like the Nokia 3310.
And this, by the way, is nice – I constantly go with the iPhone 7 Plus and switch to a small device is very cool. Even in the test firmware, the music mode does not work – although this is a sentence from another paragraph. In normal samples in this mode, you can listen to music for a VERY long time.
Interlude about separate headphones
It’s amazing how many models of separate wireless headphones there are, we went to the market to look for something related to the iPhone 8, but there are a lot of these “ears” in almost every tent. From fake AirPods, stupid and huge, to works of art – and I mean it seriously. What is not there. Moreover, there are a lot of people with such headphones on the streets of Hong Kong, a lot of AirPods owners.
On the other hand, there are many stores with a variety of classic headphones on the computer market – they have everything, cables, nozzles, accessories, portable DACs, and all this is not idle, people walk, listen, take an interest. The wire is still too early to write off. But, I wanted to say here that in Russia AirPods are almost the only ones in their class, but in fact the category is developing by leaps and bounds.
Exterior
Pleasant smartphones who want to hide the black, shiny black, pink or gold color of the case – take the case out of the package and hide the beauty. I would not do this, the second screen, brushed aluminum (or glossy black aluminum), well-camouflaged antennas, well-designed little things, controls, the way the Flyme shell blends with the body, the most convenient touch button under the display – all this is cool! And for this you can pay 33,000 rubles or 40,000 rubles (preliminary prices for Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus) – but here you need to know and understand the nuances.
For example, if I were buying an Android smartphone, I would take a Pixel – to be honest, I won’t lie. Or Sony Xperia XZ Premium because I love Sony. But if I was looking for something for dad, easy to learn, well-made, so that he would not whine about the lack of a memory card slot, then he would also consider Pro 7. Draw your own conclusions. But here, in addition to excellent design, there are other positive chips.
Interlude about Adidas NMD
A friend from China was with us on the trip, and he said that Adidas NMD is a cult thing here, that it is being swept off the shelves, that it is considered very cool and in Moscow he buys all the versions that appear in stores. I thought it was nonsense and wandered around Hong Kong and Adidas Originals stores. Let me remind you that buying NMD in Moscow is not a problem at all. Here – in one sold out, in the second there was one model of the smallest size (!), in the third there were NMDs from the new collection, but also not all sizes. Prices are similar to Moscow. But the accessibility is not the same. By the way, walking in China in ordinary (not limited) NMD is very cool, convenient, comfortable, cozy, as expected, God bless you.
Audio
Once upon a time there were Meizu MP3 players and I suspect that they sold many millions of them before they spread to smartphones – they talked about the glorious past at the presentation, well, it’s clear that music is considered an important part of the Pro 7. An article about the new Meizu Flow headphones I’m cooking, it’s good. The Pro 7 has a Cirrus Logic CS43130 Hi-Fi DAC with an integrated headphone amplifier. Please love and respect. Almost a Hi-Fi player, the smartphone understands FLAC – almost all of the downloaded 10 GB, but here again I’ll write off the test firmware.
The player is simple but stylish. The sound quality for the phone is awesome, I listened just with Flow. I know that there are people who don’t shoot a lot, but they constantly listen to music – this is just such a machine. It is a pity that there is no slot for a memory card and the version with 128 GB is only Pro 7 Plus. Therefore, if you want to combine a sound-quality gadget and a smartphone with two SIM cards and good screens, here is a ready-made option for you.
Interlude about small backpacks on the stomach
In Hong Kong, I noticed that here the love for small backpacks for wearing on the stomach has become truly rampant, I don’t know how to explain it better – it may look strange, but it’s very convenient. And then there are a bunch of fanny packs, small chest bags, a bunch of backpacks – in short, hypebeast.com in action. By the way, this site has a special Chinese version. At every step in Hong Kong there are shops with bags and backpacks, and sometimes the brand name resembles well-known ones – you go in and this is such an easy deception, they changed one letter or simply borrowed part of the name. Although there are quite good local brands of accessories that deserve attention.
How Ilya and I took pictures
Well, we shot photos, videos, and selfies on Meizu Pro 7, but we’d better wait for the final samples and the final firmware and show you. That’s the truth, trust me.
Interlude about Flyme
Rarely does the shell of a smartphone penetrate you so much that you then start to lightly touch the sensor on the iPhone to go back – this is Flyme. A dangling level in the camera button, perfect fonts, icons, a ready-to-use smartphone for a person with any level of training.
If you want – dig, if you want, use it as it is. So I will say, if you are for Pixel, then Meizu will not come to you. If you like to dig and imbue the ideas of smart people, then it’s interesting to play with Flyme, you just feel like a pioneer. In a good way, no bullshit.
What was it?
After the presentations, I constantly ask myself this question and try to answer it without eeeeee or nuuuuuu: Meizu showed a new smartphone for a wide audience, with a second display for a change, with advanced audio capabilities, without comparison with the iPhone 7 or Samsung, without aggression and show-off. In our time, already such an easy approach is expensive. In Zhuhai, a Chinese city, they booked an opera house, invited fans, made a beautiful presentation, now we’ll wait for the final iron in Russia and make a review. In the meantime, I’ll take the Meizu Pro 7 from the table, carefully put it in my pocket and go through the streets of Hong Kong to see the treasured 10,000 steps on the second screen. What, I like it.
SPECIFICATIONS OF MEIZU PRO 7:
Connectivity: 2 nano SIM cards with LTE support
Display: 5.2 “SuperAMOLED, 1920×1080 pixels, protective glass 2.5D
Secondary display: 1.9” AMOLED, 240×536 pixels, touchscreen, color
Processor: Mediatek Helio P25 (64-bit, 8-core, up to 2.6 GHz, Cortex-A53)
Graphics: Mali-T880 MP2 (1GHz)
RAM: 4 GB, DDR4X
Internal memory: 64 GB, UFS 2.1
Main camera: 12 MP + 12 MP, SONY IMX386, f/2.0, 6 lenses, phase and laser autofocus, dual tone flash, special portrait mode (background blur), AcrSoft algorithms
Front camera: 16MP, f/2.0, 6 lenses, wide angle, Face AE light boost, FotoNation 2.0 smart selfie, ArcSoft algorithms
Audio: Cirrus Logic CS43130 Hi-Fi DAC with integrated headphone amplifier
Interfaces: dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; 2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1 LE, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB Type C with USB-OTG support, USB-HOST
mTouch fingerprint scanner, 360 degree scanning, read in 0.15 sec
Navigation: GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS, electronic compass
Battery: 3000 mAh with fast charging function (2A/9V)
Dimensions: 7.3 mm, weight 160 grams
Body colors: black, gold, red
SPECIFICATIONS OF MEIZU PRO 7 PLUS:
Connectivity: 2 nano SIM cards with LTE support
Display: 5.7 “SuperAMOLED, 2560×1440 pixels, 2.5D protective glass
Secondary display: 1.9” AMOLED, 240×536 pixels, touchscreen, color
Processor: Mediatek Helio X30 (64-bit, 10-core, up to 2.5 GHz, Cortex-A53 + Cortex-A73)
Graphics: IMG PowerVR 7XTP-MT4 (800MHz)
RAM: 6 GB, DDR4X
Internal memory: 64 GB / 128 GB, UFS 2.1
Main camera: 12 MP + 12 MP, SONY IMX386, f/2.0, 6 lenses, phase and laser autofocus, dual tone flash, special portrait mode (background blur), AcrSoft algorithms
Front camera: 16MP, f/2.0, 6 lenses, wide angle, Face AE light boost, FotoNation 2.0 smart selfie, ArcSoft algorithms
Audio: Cirrus Logic CS43130 Hi-Fi DAC with integrated headphone amplifier
Interfaces: dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; 2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1 LE, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB Type C with USB-OTG support, USB-HOST
mTouch fingerprint scanner, 360 degree scanning, read in 0.15 sec
Navigation: GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS, electronic compass
Battery: 3500 mAh with fast charging function (2A/9V)
Dimensions: 7.3 mm, weight 160 grams
Body colors: matte black, space black, amber gold and crystal silver.
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