Meizu M5: A budget phone with great battery, enhanced OS but average camera

Priced in a decent range Meizu M5 provides with a different experience altogether

Chinese smartphone company Meizu has come up with yet another budget phone that meets practically every need of the user. Meizu, which entered the Indian market in 2015, has made a mark in the mid-range priced smartphone segment in less than two years. Its new offering, the new Meizu M5 model, brings a number of features that aren't too hard on the pocket.

Priced in a decent range in comparison to other Chinese companies such as Oppo and Gionee, Meizu provides with a different experience altogether as it comes with the Flyme OS 5, a highly-customised android operating system that provides a vast array of features, unlike a typical stock android phone. Brighter AMOLED colours, better user interface (UI) experience, greater transitions and several other added features give the user a fresher outlook towards android phones.

After using the device for a couple of days, Business Standard evaluated the Meizu M5 16GB, to see if it meets every requirement of the consumer at comparatively low price of Rs 10,499.

Design

Meizu M5 model has a very neat, extra sleek look that immediately attracts the eye. The model comes in two colours -- Sapphire Blue and Champagne Gold. The size of the phone, at 5.2 inches, makes it neither too big to hold nor too small for reading on the phone. The material used in the model is plastic but it definitely looks sleek with the feel and touch of metal, although it tends to get a bit slippery in hand.

More than the size, the phone is extremely lightweight, at a mere 138 grams. Apart from that, the rear of the model has a very smooth finish. The camera and flash are seamlessly designed into the phone and the whole model, in fact, does not come with any bumps whatsoever, even with the camera, which is perfectly fitted at the rear.

M5, like many of its contemporaries such as Oppo and Vivo, comes with a brilliant fingerprint scanner below the display giving it a complete packaged look.

UI

Meizu M5 comes with Flyme OS 5 customisation to Android 6 (marshmallow) version.  The phone comes with several pre-installed apps provided by Flyme such as Tools, Security and phone booster. Apart from the Google Play Store, the phone has its own App Store as well as Hot Apps adding to the Play Store. The interface, after using, seemed a little tiresome but becomes quite easy and friendly once we got a hang of it.

Display

The phone naturally comes with an IPS LCD capacitive touch that gives a very vibrant display. The colours are blended perfectly with a decent amount of details which does not hurt the eye. The apps are all placed on the home screen with no option of leaving the screen to go to the apps drawer.

One significant difference in the display and functioning of the phone is the absence of the back and recent apps button at the bottom of the display. The phone comes with just one multi-tasking home button which works as the fingerprint scanner, home button as well as the back button.

Camera

The camera of the phone is not the best feature at all. Sporting a 13MP Primary Camera and 5MP secondary camera, the captures are just average with no special features. The photos come out just fine with fewer details making the pictures come a little jaded. The front camera also lacks many enhancements making it a very average camera phone.

Battery

M5 comes with a great battery of 3070 mAh that provides a charge of one day after heavy use. The phone’s battery gives a powerful backup of one day even after heavy usage like playing high-end games or being on the internet throughout. The phone also charges in about 2 hours at max, giving a great battery backup.

What the phone misses
 

M5 comes with the least amount of accessories possible. Apart from the USB charger, it comes with the handset alone. There is no pair of earphones with the handset which is quite disappointing as it causes an extra charge. Moreover, the model being a Chinese product has the Chinese language by default at some instances where it cannot even be changed, for example, when discharged, the phone tends to read in Chinese when switched on while charging through 0 per cent.  

Verdict
 

Meizu M5 makes for a decent and prospective buy at the quoted price but it lacks a few features. For a generation living on selfies and photos, the camera is quite below average and the OS makes it a little less friendly at first before one gets used to it. 

Nevertheless, for a consumer looking for a prospective budget buy that meets every requirement can go for this super built phone with comparatively great features at such a price.