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M6 Note marks the welcome return of Snapdragon power to Meizu phones

Following Qualcomm settlement, Meizu to use all three major makers' processors

Andy Boxall
By

Despite having only very recently revealed the dual-screen Pro 7, Meizu has now launched another phone: The M6 Note. We’re particularly excited by two of the new features introduced to the M6 Note, a member of the company’s core high-spec affordable M-series range, that represent significant steps forward for the brand, and its appeal to international users.

The first, and perhaps most welcome, change is the introduction of a Qualcomm processor. In the past Meizu has used Samsung Exynos or MediaTek chips, but the recent settlement of a patent case with Qualcomm has made a return possible. It’s the Snapdragon 625, a 2.0GHz octa-core chip introduced in early 2016, used in phones including the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X, the Huawei Nova, and the Motorola Moto G5 Plus.

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Meizu has told Digital Trends that going forward it “will use all three major [system-on-chip manufacturers]; Samsung Exynos, Qualcomm Snapdragon, and MediaTek. Each one offers a unique advantage and will complement our products differently.”

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In the M6 Note, that 625 chipset is accompanied by either 3GB or 4GB of RAM. It’s especially good at conserving energy, which we hope will make the device a strong performer when it comes to battery life. It should be great, as Meizu has put a large, fast-charging 4,000mAh cell inside the phone.

In addition to the new processor, the M6 Note has a dual-lens rear camera, ensuring it’s right up to date with the latest smartphone trend. The main lens has 12 megapixels with an f/1.9 aperture, and the secondary lens has 5 megapixels. It’s not clear how the lenses work together yet, and whether it will replicate the blurred-background bokeh effect; but we do know it has some clever software included for different effects. Meizu highlighted the camera’s low-light performance on its Twitter feed, where it compared very favorably against the Huawei P10.

Like most Meizu phones, the M6 Note has a metal body, which weighs 173 grams, and there is a 5.5-inch screen on the front with a stadium-shaped fingerprint sensor underneath. The screen has a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. A 16-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture sits above the display, and has a beauty mode along with other fun software features. Android 7.0 Nougat is installed with Meizu’s Flyme user interface over the top.

The Meizu M6 Note comes with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of internal storage space. You also get the choice of three colors: black, blue, or gold. The price hasn’t been announced, and neither has the precise release date, or where it will be sold. Expect the M6 Note to be available in China, and in Meizu’s other primary markets, but not in the United States.

Update: Added an official statement from Meizu regarding its plans to use processors from multiple manufacturers.

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