Meizu may not attract as much attention as other Chinese smartphone companies, but that doesn’t mean we should be ignoring it, and the proof comes with the Meizu Pro 6, it’s latest metal smartphone. Unveiled in China on April 13, the launch comes after a series of official and unofficial leaks. We now have all the details on the device, which happens to be the world’s first smartphone to use the new MediaTek Helio X25 deca-core processor.
MediaTek had already announced Meizu as its exclusive partner for the Helio X25, a deca-core (yep, that’s 10 cores) chip that’s a slight upgrade over the Helio X20. Some early reports stated the Pro 6 would have 6GB of RAM, but Meizu has opted to use 4GB, which should be plenty. The AMOLED display measures 5.2-inches and has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, plus a 3D touch system has been built into it. Like the iPhone 6S, this will reveal additional functionality depending on how hard the touchscreen is pressed, but exactly what it’ll do hasn’t been confirmed.
Made of metal, the Meizu Pro 6 is 160 grams, and just over 7mm thick, making it reasonably thin and light. The design definitely has an iPhone-like style from the side-on view. There’s no denying it’s sleek attractiveness though, particularly in the black finish. The phone takes its energy from a 2560mAh battery, which with that capacity, may not provide a lengthy standby time. A USB Type-C connector is used for charging, and Meizu has thankfully added a fast charge facility that’ll see the battery reach 100 percent in an hour.
On the rear, the Meizu brand name sites below the main 21-megapixel camera lens, and a 10-LED, ring-style flash unit with an autofocus sensor. The Meizu Pro 6 isn’t the first to feature a ring flash, Acer fitted one to the Liquid S2, and Motorola has used a similar setup on the Moto X and the Nexus 6. The selfie camera above the screen has 5 megapixels, and there’s a fingerprint sensor built into the home button. Android 6.0 is installed, with Meizu’s own Flyme 5.5 user interface over the top.
The Pro 6 is a dual-SIM phone that’s compatible with all networks in China, and the international version should have wide compatibility too, thanks to the MediaTek processor, although exactly which bands aren’t known yet. There will be two versions sold, one with 32GB storage for around $390, and another with 64GB for about $430. However, there’s no news on when the Meizu Pro 6 will go on sale.
Article updates:
Updated on 04-13-2016 by Andy Boxall: Rewritten to include all official Meizu Pro 6 details from the launch
Updated on 04-08-2016 by Andy Boxall: Added in news of the Meizu Pro 6’s launch date
