Last week we finally published a review of Meizu MX4. We liked the unit itself, we are glad that you liked the review, so it’s time to tell you about one of the many pleasant sides of the unit – the firmware. Flyme OS 4.0.4. successfully combines brevity and simplicity of iOS and diversity and fussiness any other Chinese firmware, a kind of product at the intersection of iOS and Android. But with a couple of useful tricks. Here’s talk about them under the cut.

Say at once – with previous versions of the firmware, I know only by pictures, so that the review will be a series of “fell in love at first sight.” If you have the opportunity to compare with earlier versions you something not satisfied or can draw a parallel – Welkom in the comments, there is everything and discuss.

I purposely dropped a shell item in the survey because of flyme os can talk a lot. Let’s start with the obvious – the button. This, though not part of the firmware, but without any explanation of its main features the whole system not imagine. In contrast to all other Android-smartphone, which three control buttons (with a few exceptions – some have two), it does not matter – they are virtual or touch, but they are still three in the bulk devices, this device one button, and touch it. Kruglyashok is at the center of the screen. He fluorescent and glow in the dark. In addition to their direct duties, he still serves as a sensor notifications. With it, you can go to the main menu. This button “Home” – A short press. A long press (about a couple of seconds) – a device lock. And if you hold the button up – you go back. Nothing complicated, remember easily.

If you are missing some buttons “Back” and “Context menu”, has a smart bar. It appears this (not always), the band extra buttons. In fact, it is more a hindrance than help, because it brings additional functionality only preset programs, and in all the other eats just to win a part of the display. Therefore, in setting provides the function to hide the smart bar unnecessary. Here are a couple of screenshots of the application where the smart bar really need. That is, it displays all the “buttons” that otherwise would have somewhere to hide “a cat”, complicating the system.

Menu with the latest running applications can be opened by pulling on the main screen is unlocked from the bottom face up. Applications are removed one by one, or swipe up or swipe down all together, cleaning RAM. Long retention block the application icons.

The first thing that caught my attention in Flyme OS, – it supports multiple gestures. And if Color OS on my Oppo Find 5 million and they had zamorochitsya to remember them all, everything is simple:

At first I put Twitter and happy as now everything quickly and at your fingertips, BUT! If you are an active user tips from Google, remember that the swipe of a menu button Google does not cause it mehanichekoe movement, sewn into the firmware is already interesting, so I set this svayp Google Now. I like the cards, they are useful. The result was a full-fledged Android KitKat. You can always go into the settings and change the application. Them to choose from there are a million. From preset to those that you yourself in Play Market rocked. Even games can be. In general, everything.

I specify! Out of the box on my particular device was not installed any one Google service. But the store directly on the home screen, so it’s all done quickly.

You can install on your smartphone remedies, such as a password, which will contain letters and numbers, or PIN. It is possible to set passwords for opening specific applications. Guest Login is also present. A set of applications for this mode choose yourself.

Unlocked – and came into the world Flyme OS. The main pillars of the firmware: personalization, security and seals. The exterior looks like iOS. Still have not passed even times when the firmware without the application menu still compares it with her. And the settings menu with icons accompanying inscriptions which are drawn only after a swipe to the left. Everything is stored on the desktop may collect application folder is present, the number of applications in them, as I understand, is not restricted, and the maximum number of desktops – nine. Tables are scrolled horizontally inside the folder management – vertical. You can install widgets, home desktop is set in two clicks, designated house, all other individually signed letters of the Latin alphabet. The bottom tray is placed four shortcut or folder. The new application takes space on the last desktop. Application shortcuts are placed in the grid 4 on 4. In the control desk there is an item “Settings”, which allows you to align icons on the top or bottom edge. If you decide to remove a shortcut from the desktop, you are prompted to delete the entire program.

Notification translucent curtain. It is possible to edit it. Initially, you see five shortcuts to open the other must be done swipe down.

I read that in Flyme OS has sewn voice assistant, but whether he is still exclusively for the Chinese market, then I just have not found it, but was looking for. But as he says still only in Chinese – do not worry, you will still enjoy it will not (unless you like Vatralik pessimist or for any other reason to learn Chinese). Charms and the need to voice assistants we have discussed here, so that today we will not. But there is a search, it does take on any desktop to make the move from top to bottom.

Enjoy the simple elements such as firmware dialer does not have time. Drew the attention of the item “Personalization”. Here, as in any other huge Chinese store in hell break a leg, you can wander up to the gray sideburns. But beware – themes can be more interesting or cute than simple and useful. The very first shell, which I liked, was completely wild icons on which it was impossible to understand what kind of application in front of us. And dialer in which figures are shifted and it was easy to make a mistake in the room. And the message is not displayed on top of the screen is locked, and something like that. Therefore, there are separate modules, “wallpaper”, “Icons”, “Desktop”, “Calls”, “Messages”. All this can be configured as you like, and so create a unique image of the shell.

And on the first screenshot shows the trouble shell – adaptation. It is good that Flyme 4 already supports 25 languages, Russian and Ukrainian including, but sometimes you wonder how all the “nice” happened. Hanging letters beyond the icons … as metal or foam glass.

An opportunity that can boast not many smartphones – a record of all calls. This function is disabled by default, so be sure to include it in the settings.

With it, you can quickly clear the smart really unnecessary things from clogging the memory, to find large files that take up the ROM, quick clean of applications that do not use for a long time, remove viruses, manage rights application in the menu “Permissions” and traffic in accordance menu, if your carrier has limitations.

A very useful feature – the additional memory. Each user is given a shell bezvozdmezdno cloud storage capacity of 100 GB. Do not forget that Meizu MX4 there is a variation on 16/32/64 GB without the support of microSD. Therefore, such a system to simply unrealistic steep. Who but the Chinese may well become generous? I register by mail or phone number – and use them.

In addition, the firmware stimulates creativity – has built risovalka. Functionality compared to the Samsung Note 4 lacks as SPen, but it is. Memo pad, voice recorder, weather – it’s little things. Built-conductor very comfortable with his side menu, where there are points “cloud”, “Disc”, “recent”, “Network Neighborhood” and many other labels. Very easy to manage. There is a useful guide that will explain how your working with the device. The right thing in our time – built-in calculator, currency converter, which can also reduce and keep on top of any window.

Trifle, but nice – while charging port on the screen fly “charges”. Do not have a suspicion that it is, but here are some details to the developers worked on the shell.

Still there are several features in the shell chamber, but they are aligned with the features done by MediaTek, so read more about them in the review and the camera menu. Battery menu has three power saving mode: “Performance”, “balanced”, “Energy Saving”.

From the fact that the shell did not like: the adaptation of language, and the menu for some reason the battery a couple of times disappears. Why is this, and have not understood, but were treated normal reboot. Still it is necessary to clarify that there are situations when the smartphone is not the first time to react to touch. I read that the problem is not unique, and it’s probably Fixed in new versions. And as a conclusion I would say that the company Meizu has already announced a firmware update Flyme 5, but the exact date of release did not mention. So we wait for it with a new super powerful flagship. A Flyme 4, which we have seen today, in honor can get the title of one of the most beautiful, concise, simple and functional as possible. This is an adult and a complete system with features which quickly get used to that and then did not have enough in stock Android (for the support I sign!). Flyme 4 really liked me and rightfully became one of the many obvious advantages Meizu MX4.

The post Flyme OS 4.0.4 review – from shell Meizu MX4 appeared first on Raqwe.

Recent years is particularly interesting to observe the development of Chinese companies. In the face of industry giants Samsung, LG and HTC have long reached a plateau and please evolutionary development, Lenovo and Huawei have proved that they are no worse than the first, and can act as an equal. Were ambitious Xiaomi and Meizu, who also have something to say and show. Particularly pleased with the last – after additional investments the company has expanded its product line and today there are as many as four current smartphone Meizu, assembled in two lines. We decided to get acquainted with the most interesting of them.

Design and usability

First announced in 2014 has become a model smartphone Meizu MX4, senior MX4 Pro presented a month later, no one would dramatically change the appearance of new items. Between design last year MX3 and MX4 Pro fresh too little differences. Changed the materials and design of the case, but the contours and shape were similar.

Base of the housing Meizu MX4 Pro is made from a single piece of aluminum, it is seen as a side frame with beveled demonstrating the natural color of the metal. The screen is covered with protective glass, and a large part of the back is made of matte plastic.

The cover is removable, the bottom there is a special recess for the nail, so no special tools are needed. Under it is the only slot for Micro-SIM, memory card slot is not present, non-removable battery. The lid itself is mounted on a plurality of small latches, thus it can be easily removed and perfectly adapted to the frame.

The remaining parts also fit perfectly with each other. Despite the design as simple as possible, devoid of bright elements, smart looks and feels high quality thing.

Location of controls for traditional Meizu. Power button located on the top right, the volume button is on the left side. Both are thin, have a distinct short pressing. The headphone jack is on the left top, bottom – MicroUSB, opening of multimedia speaker and microphone.

Meizu MX4 Pro – big enough smartphone display with non-standard aspect ratio makes it wide, but thanks to the well-rounded back cover it perfectly in the hand, it is quite convenient to use.

Absolutely flat glass cover and sidewalls at its junction create almost a sharp transition, and thanks to chamfer is clearly felt as MX4 Pro «rests” in the ear during a call. Between the glass and the frame there is a gel, it should help to survive the fall.

Furthermore visited on a survey of dark gray, Meizu MX4 Pro is available in gold, black and white and completely white. Removable cover is easily replaced by corporate or compatible unusual bright color or texture.

Display

Meizu MX4 Pro got a screen diagonal of 5.5 inches with a resolution of 2560 by 1536 pixels. Non-standard aspect ratio – 15 to 9, but it does not cause any problems in the operation, just when playing videos on the edges remain narrow black stripes, other applications work correctly with such a resolution.

Manufacturer Screen – JDI, pixel density – 546 ppi, the last values Meizu MX4 Pro a bit ahead of other smartphones with 2K-screens. According to official data, the maximum screen brightness up to 450 cd / m² and a contrast ratio is 1: 1500. Between the glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3 matrix and no air gap. Uses a new type of IPS screens, called NEGA, its advantage is called the best image quality and reduced power consumption.

Our measurements showed that the brightness varies from impressive 2 cd / m² to 480 cd / m², measured contrast – 1: 1200. Display is well calibrated, most of the parameters deviate from the minimum reference values. Traditionally, Meizu, the color temperature is too high to 7400K, which makes the picture slightly chilly. However, the proprietary interface looks great on this screen, the image is way cold.

The display itself we liked – incredibly smooth and pleasant to the eye image, the maximum viewing angle, clear fonts. Individual pixels are simply impossible to see, watch videos or read on this display – a pleasure. Automatic brightness control works fine, but the quality oleophobic coating can be called average, would like to see on the glass was a little less fingerprints. The screen is incredibly thin frame, the manufacturer claims that its width is 2.8 mm, but visually they seem even thinner.

Hardware Platform

Unlike MX4, in MX4 Pro uses a familiar platform for Meizu Samsung. Exynos 5430 chipset is familiar to us by Samsung Galaxy Alpha . This is one of the first SoC, made in compliance with rules 20 nm process technology. It is built according to the scheme big.LITTLE, includes 4 CPU cores Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A15, which operate at a frequency of 1.5 GHz and 2, respectively. The role assigned to GPU Mali T628 MP6 with an operating frequency of 600 MHz.

The amount of RAM – 3 GB (dual channel LPDDR3), built-in can be 16, 32 or 64 GB. On the review was the youngest version with 16 GB storage capacity, of which 11.87 GB is available. Given the lack of memory card slots, the user should determine in advance with the necessary memory. Set of communication modules standard: dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, NFC, 4G-support networks, magnetic field sensors, digital compass.

In the synthetic tests the performance model is on a comparable level with other flagships, in some tests, the number of “parrots” less because of the larger screen resolution. In normal use the platform’s performance is sufficient for any task, whether working with email, browser or games. Moreover, the difference in speed between the productive, balanced and economical mode is minimal. Currently Meizu MX4 Pro is subject to significant heating of the problem, which can manifest itself not only with a heavy load on the chip, but also in high-brightness screen, camera operation. Smartphone becomes scalding hot, but heat will feel good.

Work modules Wi-Fi and GPS has not caused any complaints.

MX4 Pro chip supports fingerprint scanner, called mTouch. He entered into a mechanical button under the screen. It is framed by a metal and covered with sapphire crystal. The system allows you to store prints five fingers. While the fingerprint stated at half a second. The speed and accuracy of the scanner is at the iPhone 6 and inferior Huawei Mate7, sometimes imprint not read the first time, we have to change the position of a little finger. It’s nice that the key is left with nothing to do, if you do not use the function mTouch, it can be used to turn on and off the screen. Button covered with a layer of capacitive, touch so it can serve as a key “Back”.

Calls, multimedia

The speaker volume Meizu MX4 Pro can be described as average, if the person says on the quiet talk in the metro will be problematic, in other cases, the problems with the lack of volume should arise. Speaker sound pleasant, voices remain recognizable. Multimedia speaker MX4 Pro is on the bottom. Due to the sloped frame to block it in your pocket will be difficult, it is possible only by holding a horizontal orientation during games or watching video. Speaker itself has a clean and loud sound, frequency range relatively narrow, but it does not prevent him well play ringtones and other sounds. Vibrate the smartphone average, felt in his trouser pockets.

Meizu MX4 Pro perfectly cope with the role of the video player, built-in player has one of the broadest support for third-party codec that we have to meet.

Special attention is given quality music, which has always been famous smartphone Meizu. Here MX4 Pro is no exception. He received a sound chip SABRE-2M ( ESS ES9018K2M ) and a separate headphone amplifier Texas Instruments ( OPA1612 ). Together they make Meizu MX4 Pro the best solution for music among smartphones. The overall sound MX4 Pro can be described as the most detailed, three-dimensional and pure. Even when listening to mp3-tracks in and offer new details. Smartphone easy to “shake” any large or small headphones that do not require inpatient amplifiers. Moreover, a comparison with the ASUS Essence One MKII Muses Edition showed that when using headphones worth up to $ 200 there is only a slight difference in sound handwriting, but not as a play of the same tracks.

Similarly, Video, Music application supports popular audio formats, including lossless-different formats. The application has a user-friendly interface, the library is based on data from the tags, there is support for folders. When using headphones with an impedance greater than 20 ohms, you can select the mode of operation of the amplifier, for popular models of headphones have a special equalizer setting (Dirac Sound).

Operating system and shell

Meizu MX4 Pro running the operating system Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the role of the shell performs Flyme OS 4.1.1.3. Development Meizu different from that offers MIUI, EMUI and others. Since under the screen is only one key management system heavily processed compared to other smartphones that actively use different gestures.

To turn on the screen, you need to click twice on the glass, press the key below the screen or hold the screen from the bottom up, the last step at the same time unlock the screen and the user gets to the desktop. You can turn off the screen by double-clicking an empty area of the desktop or by pressing and holding the keys below the screen. All this allows you to not reach for the power button on the top. Also on the screen is off work gestures. You can run the camera outlining a circle, a music player, “writing”, “M”, etc., these actions are configured. In addition, from the lock screen gesture from right to left and left to right, you can run the camera, or; any application of your choice.

Separate application menu is not available, so the labels of all installed programs are placed on the desktop. They can be sorted into folders. Hold your finger on the blank area of the desktop to access its settings that allow you to group shortcuts from above or below, the list of widgets.

A list of running applications called swipe from the bottom edge of the screen. Hold your finger on the application icon, you can fix it in mind, if the application is closed whisk up spending down the list, you can close all running programs, and tapnuv beyond return to the desktop or the currently running application.

Gesture bottom-up on the desktop launches global search, top to bottom – opens the notification bar with the switches. After spending the list of notifications down again, you can access all your shortcuts settings. Hold your finger on the individual switches you can sort them, and some of the items contain additional items settings.

In line switches include the additional on-screen button Smart Touch. It can serve as a key “Back” and “Home”, it can help to open the notification list, and side swipe let you switch between adjacent running applications. Double-clicking this button lowers the screen down and performs a complete analog functions Reachability of iOS.

Settings menu Flyme OS also processed, as compared to the standard Android. Icon located to the left of certain subparagraphs. After spending left to right you can see their names, and to remove the contents of the selected item is used right-hand side of the screen.

As we said above, after the stock Android and shells of all other manufacturers, Flyme OS looks very unusual. However, the shell is well thought out, to understand all the novelty of an hour. Separate “chip» Flyme OS can be considered “smart” panel with the virtual keys. Depending on the application, its content varies, but the support of third-party programs is low, in most cases, it displays only the buttons “Back” and “Menu”, so good that it can simply be turned off.

Flyme OS – it’s probably the only firmware, which has a root-access (admin rights) out of the box. To obtain enough to create Flyme-account and enable the option in the settings. You can record telephone conversations, as in the communication process, and all calls by default.

There in the shell and the ability to change the design by installing from a chain store. Unfortunately, the store is not localized, and most of the toll, and the installation of extensions from third-party sources require the user to read the instructions.

A little frustrating in Flyme OS incomplete localization, which will probably be fixed in future updates and minor roughness. For example, the system has its own keyboard and TouchPal and Fleksy. If you set your keyboard, it becomes impossible to bring a magnifying glass, allowing to set the cursor to the desired location words, making it difficult to edit the text. Built-in dialer deprived of Cyrillic characters, making it impossible to quick search for contacts, call history and all calls are grouped, have access only to the last call and there is no way to know when you were talking to a man before. Russian MX4 Pro users are faced with a problem when just purchased a smartphone can not create a network of “Megaphone”. To solve this problem you need to insert a SIM-card of any other operator, wait for the registration on the network and then install your card. A similar problem exists in the case of Life :).

Operation time

At the time of writing the work is not strong Meizu MX4 Pro. Internal battery capacity of 3350 mAh smartphone runs for about a day, showing 3-4 hours of screen.

This is a fairly average for the champions, at the same time, most of them equipped with FullHD, rather than 2K-screens. Use different modes of performance has almost no effect on the time of MX4 Pro. Perhaps the problem lies in the particular test sample or moisture firmware, but in tests of autonomy smartphone also showed rather modest results.

Camera

Meizu MX4 Pro got two cameras. As the main module is used Sony IMX220 Exmor RS with 20.7 megapixel resolution, lens aperture lenses of 5 F / 2.2, disguised sapphire glass with a blue filter. The burst speed is stated at 30 f / s, focusing time – 0.3 seconds. Front camera – module with OV5693 5-megapixel resolution, wide-angle (84.4 °) lens of four lenses with aperture F / 2.2 and a blue filter.

Camera application processed. His settings are intuitive, there are plenty of shooting modes: macro, manual, portrait, HDR, panorama, night, and others. Switching between them using a swipe across the screen.

In good light smartphone shows excellent photo quality.

Under real conditions, decreases slightly detail and can make some claims to the image processing algorithms, but if to study the photos at a maximum resolution, the user will be satisfied with the result, regardless of the shooting conditions. More substantive comments – is the average for the flagship high speed operation.

Quality front camera shooting on a level with the best smartphone.

Results

Meizu MX4 Pro – is the actual flagship got a nice body, high-quality screen and camera, good performance and impressive quality music playback. Not without its drawbacks, which include the lack of memory card slots and an average autonomy roughness firmware. But all this is a little secondary. More importantly, the MX4 Pro manages to stand out from the competition, it has its own face, in many moments there is a breath of “fresh air”. The smartphone is not always selected solely on the set of parameters, sometimes I want to get positive emotions from exploitation, to try something new. All this can give Meizu MX4 Pro.

Liked:

+ Design, body materials

+ Display

+ Good performance

+ Excellent quality music playback, a good external speaker

+ Flyme OS

+ Camera

Did not like:

– There is no memory card slot

– Mean time

– Small roughness firmware

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