First review of Meizu Pro 7: are we slipping?

The new smartphone is equipped with an additional touch color display, which is useful not only for displaying various notifications, but also for controlling the music player, as well as taking selfies with a dual main camera, complemented by a portrait mode function. In addition, this device boasts high-quality sound through headphones, a fast fingerprint scanner, good battery life and fast charging. Vesti.Hi-tech found out not only the pros, but also the cons of Meizu Pro 7.

The manufacturer positions smartphones in the “professional” Pro line (see, for example, our reviews of Meizu Pro 5 and Meizu Pro 6 here and here) as “musical” flagships, with a special emphasis on sound quality. The new Meizu Pro 7 was no exception, which, however, turned out to be remarkable not only for this. Note that the named 5.2-inch device is a simplified version of the more serious 5.7-inch Meizu Pro 7 Plus device with Quad HD resolution. The significant differences of the “big brother” include an even more powerful processor, increased RAM, built-in UFS 2.1 storage, and increased battery capacity. However, while maintaining the main features, Meizu Pro 7 is available at a more attractive price.

Contents of delivery

Although we wanted to make a short review of Meizu Pro 7, it’s simply impossible not to mention the packaging. Meizu can be accused of using already boring processors, but the company knows a lot about how to effectively present a product. This time we do not have a rectangular box, as was the case with Pro 6, but a more familiar shape. However, instead of ordinary cardboard, Meizu uses plastic. When you see a box that has sloping edges and the front glossy part is decorated with the number “7,” you understand that this is a really expensive device that is probably trying to be one step ahead of the market. It looks really unusual and cool.

But take your time, even the smartphone itself is not just thrown into the box, but neatly placed in a special, fancy-looking compartment. Inside, by the way, another box awaits us, but this time it’s cardboard. Nearby we see a branded clip for removing the tray, and in the main compartment there is a power adapter, a charging cable, documents and a branded case.

Meizu's presentation of the Pro 7 was impressive, but will the company keep the bar?

Appearance

Continuing the review of Meizu Pro 7, let's move on to the design. In general, I have always liked Meizu smartphones precisely because of their appearance. It seems like nothing special, other companies have already shown something similar, but at the same time I’m ready to forgive weak hardware and less-than-ideal cameras – and all for the sake of this neat design. Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus does not show anything outright unusual, or something that we have not seen before. Before us is Meizu, similar to the company’s other smartphones, and, of course, the latest iPhone. We have the same sloping edges, rounded corners, sparkling in the light. Screen on the back? Well, it’s the only thing that makes Meizu Pro 7 stand out on the market. But he didn’t embellish the smartphone. Of course, there is no dispute about taste, but it does not add any attractiveness. Yes, and it is located somehow strange.

The main material of the case is metal, which further highlights the presence of an additional display. Below and above are slightly noticeable (at least on the black Meizu Pro 7) plastic inserts for the antennas. The front side is covered with curved protective glass. Here, on the front, we see the usual mTouch button. Here Meizu has stability, which is good. It also performs the tasks of a fingerprint scanner and, in principle, there are no questions about the speed or accuracy. At the top there is the usual speaker slot, and the front camera peephole is also visible.

According to the classics, the power button paired with a volume adjustment rocker is located on the right. On the left we see a small hole that is used to remove the SIM card tray. The tray is not hybrid, that is, you can only install a pair of nano SIM cards - you cannot install a memory card. On the one hand, this is bad, on the other, similar amounts of memory as the Meizu Pro 7 should be enough. Only the microphone was located on top. At the bottom end is a USB Type-C port, surrounded by two screws. Here we also find another microphone, a 3.5 mm jack on one side and the main speaker grille on the other. The back side, which everyone has probably already seen, is represented by another display, just above which there is a dual camera, as well as the company logo, located atypically - vertically, on the edge.

Can't find information about the moisture protection of Meizu Pro 7? So, it’s understandable - how can you even find information about something that doesn’t exist? Sad, Meizu. We gathered hundreds of bloggers for the presentation of Meizu Pro 7, as if we were really showing something super top-end, and there weren’t too many flagship features. Maybe every user does not need this moisture protection, but A-brands present it out of inertia.

In general, I would like to call the design quite good. Well, there's no way he can do anything more. Meizu Pro 7 is not frameless, not record thin, and is made of familiar body materials. The dual camera no longer surprises anyone, and the additional display does not look like a design feature.

Advantages and disadvantages

The Meizu smartphone will appeal to fans of the manufacturer. We can say that the company has managed to present a good flagship; the display adds to its attractiveness. The second window is for notifications and acts as a viewfinder and music player. Advantages of a smartphone:

Excellent build quality, materials and finish.
Improved SuperAMOLED screen, 450 Hz brightness, contrast, accurate color rendition.
Good sound.
Long battery life.
Amazing wireless connectivity.
The operating system is powerful and responsive, with excellent unlocking gestures and a fingerprint scanner.
The second screen is useful with the necessary functions.
Impressive GPU.
Excellent loud speaker.
Good portrait photos, decent 16 MP camera with detail and dynamic range.
Video quality 1080 r.
Flaws.
Overcharge.
There are no stereo speakers.
There is no optical stabilization in video recording.

The flagship MeizuPro7 Plus turned out to be an excellent product from this manufacturer. The OS functions stably, the camera is of a decent level. The sound is truly amazing from both the headphones and microphone. The original second screen has a beautiful appearance, provides updated operating capabilities and an improved design of the device.

Screen

From the Meizu Pro 7 body with smooth edges we move smoothly to an overview of the screen. This year Meizu is releasing two flagship smartphones with different screen diagonals. The more compact Meizu Pro 7 received, as it seems to us, the optimal 5.2 inches for today. The standard resolution for this class is FullHD, which provides 423 dpi. A Super AMOLED matrix is used, a high-quality and pleasant matrix. In general, we have a good screen with rich colors, which can be easily compared with the displays of flagships of other A-brands.

The older Meizu Pro 7 Plus has a 5.7-inch screen made using the same Super AMOLED technology, but with an increased resolution to 2560x1440 pixels. The stated specifications give an impressive 518 dpi. Of course, the display is at a high level, it has a clear and bright picture, which may seem too cold. However, do not worry - in the settings you can set the display temperature to your liking.

The screens have wide viewing angles, which is not surprising, remembering the segment. Covered with slightly curved glass with a good oleophobic layer. The touch reacts quickly to touches, and in general it’s a pleasure to use them.

Additional screen

What smartphones have recently been able to attract users with their screens are frameless ones. Yes, the Meizu Pro 7 has a good display, but is it really what interests us? The additional screen located on the back of the smartphone looks much more interesting. What did he forget there? According to the Meizu Pro 7 manufacturer, the user will receive notifications about missed messages, calls and other alerts through it. This miracle should also help selfie lovers take self-portraits with the main camera (the front 16-megapixel camera is not enough).

As for the characteristics, it uses a 1.9-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 240 x 536 pixels. There are no problems in terms of quality.

Some will remember the LG V10, others will think of the YotaPhone - they are all united by the presence of an additional screen. But even in the Yotafon, which is unloved by many, the additional display looks more organic. In LG V10 we saw a stripe above the screen. Meizu took a middle path, making the screen larger than that of the V10, but smaller than that of the YotaPhone. On the one hand – OK, it will be useful (check the time, weather, see how much you’ve walked). On the other hand, you constantly rotate your smartphone to see what someone wrote, then do another somersault to read the message itself. Well, that's it. In the LG V10, such techniques were not needed - everything was in front of your eyes; in the Yotafon, the screen was much more functional.

In general, so far the additional display of Meizu Pro 7 looks like an experimental attempt by the company. How useful it will be, and whether the manufacturer will further develop this idea, we will have to find out in the near future.

Performance

Every review of Meizu smartphones will show you that hardware is often the main drawback. Neither budget solutions, nor the middle segment, nor the flagship class can boast of a chip that could satisfy the needs of the absolute majority of users. There should be a reference here to Xiaomi smartphones, which, young and old, are equipped with quite suitable chips from Qualcomm. Beautiful design is good, but you also want to play games without lags.

So, what do we have in Meizu Pro 7? Pro 7, regarding hardware, is presented in two versions - MediaTek Helio P25 and Helio X30. In the first case, we have, in fact, an average chip, which is presented in the same frameless Bluboo S1 for 10,000 rubles. This is an 8-core solution built on a 16nm process technology. The processor was introduced quite recently, operates at a frequency of up to 2.5 GHz, and the Mali T880 MP2 core is responsible for the graphics capabilities. To help the chip, they were given 4 gigabytes of RAM (the Chinese budget segment is already reaching this volume, so it’s not surprising). The drive of the younger version is presented at 64 gigabytes.

Meizu Pro 7 scores about 65,000 points in AnTuTu. In general, there was a flagship and everything came out.

The older version of Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus with a larger screen are presented on a more powerful MediaTek Helio X30 chip. This is the company's latest 10-core 10nm processor. It has the same clock frequency of 2.5 GHz, but the PowerVR 7400XT MP4 is responsible for graphics. The chipset is noticeably more powerful, but I wouldn’t dare call it top-end. Naturally, Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus are only inferior to the 2020 flagships in tests - for everyday tasks and modern games the performance is sufficient. 6 GB of RAM are responsible for multitasking; 128 GB are allocated for user files.

In AnTuTu, Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus on MediaTek Helio X30 were approximately comparable to similar smartphones on Snapdragon 821 - around 160,000 points.

Communication, interfaces, navigation

In terms of communication, everything is typical: there is support for all necessary networks, including LTE. Nothing surprising. Everything is typical and with interfaces, and for this Meizu Pro 7 gets a bad rating. Not only is Bluetooth 4.2 announced, but there is also no NFC. Meizu, what year is it? Even ultra-budget devices, not to mention flagships, have begun to get the interface. The lack of NFC is really surprising, considering that in such an expensive smartphone you expect it by default. Well, at least not microUSB (equipped with Meizu Pro 7 USB Type-C 3.1) and that’s it, “thank you”. Well, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, operating in two bands: 2.4 and 5 GHz. GPS and GLONASS systems are used for navigation - again, nothing new.

Review from YouTube

The video review is available on YouTube hosting at the link:

It talks about Meizu's presentation of the seventh version in China. For the global market, the device received the part number – M792H, and for the domestic market – M792Q-L/M792M-L. The author of the video personally tested the smartphone in his hands.

He liked the vendor's new solution, especially the second display on the back of the phone. The AMOLED matrix creates the feeling of a frameless screen, which undoubtedly adds exclusivity to the model.

The solution supports Russian language by default. The client will not have any difficulties when working with the operating system.

The built-in battery, together with Flyme OS, holds a charge well and allows you to use the device all day long without recharging. Technical parameters are listed: processor, RAM, resolution and others. In general, the vendor's solution successfully appeared on the market. The release took place at the end of 2020.

As of today, the cost of a mobile device is 17,000 rubles with built-in memory of 64 GB, and with 128 GB it starts from 25,000 rubles. Price information was taken from the DNS retail store.

operating system

Another thing that made Meizu Pro 7 smartphones fall in love with users is the proprietary Flyme shell. It is distinguished by its convenience, simplicity and the absence of unnecessary functions that would clutter the interface. Meizu Pro 7 is presented on Flyme 6, which is based on the latest Android Nougat. Everything is, in principle, familiar, with the exception of some moments. There is one noticeable innovation – the music player mode. With its help, you can put Meizu Pro 7 into a kind of MP3 player state, in which unnecessary applications become inactive. It will be possible, because the function, so the system message politely forgive us, wait a little. We think that there won’t be any serious problems with the Meizu Pro 7 firmware, you just need to wait a little until the company brings everything to fruition.

Software shell

The “seven” uses the vendor’s “native” firmware called Flyme version 6. It is based in turn on Android 7.0

The main feature of any version of the vendor's OS is the One Mind option. It allows you to track a customer's choices and then create a list of preferences based on previous decisions.

The second point is the presence of built-in functions that optimize the operation of the communicator for the user’s tasks. All processes that are launched rarely are automatically closed by the OS. This allows you to free up system resources for more demanding tasks.

OS updates can be received automatically over the air. This feature is supported by the M792H, released for the global market.

Using the Flyme shell provides the account holder with additional benefits. The vendor has created a special “cloud” in which personal data can be stored without the danger of losing or compromising it. The majority of consumers of previous Meizu solutions left positive reviews about the work of the vendor’s cloud service.

There is a small disadvantage when using this OS - the lack of Google services that are present in the standard Android shell. But for users of Meizu solutions, the vendor provides its own store of applications and services.

These two features make the development of Fly OS unique. One Mind adds fluidity to the phone experience so customers don't feel stuck.

Cameras

Meizu Pro 7, to which this review is actually devoted, became the company’s debut smartphone equipped with a dual main camera. It is located directly above the additional screen; it all doesn’t look very symmetrical (perhaps because we are already accustomed to the location of the camera in the corner or in the center). According to the manufacturer, the sensors are provided by Sony (IMX386), which supplies more than a dozen companies. Both modules are 12 megapixels: one is color, the other is black and white. Aperture – F/2.0. The camera received digital zoom and dual LED flash. It can record video in 4K resolution, although this will surprise few people. At the first review of Meizu Pro 7, the cameras can be described positively. Yes, they haven’t surpassed the shooting quality of other flagships this year, but you can get a good photo on a smartphone both day and night. Perhaps the quality will improve a little more after firmware updates.

But selfie lovers will rather pay attention to the front camera, which is represented by a 16-megapixel matrix. A strong statement on paper that remains to be tested.

Autonomy

Like 99% of flagships, Meizu Pro 7 has relatively small batteries. The younger version of Pro 7 received 3000 mAh, Pro 7 Plus received a more capacious 3500 mAh battery. It’s clear that you can’t count on more than a day of active use, despite the AMOLED and relatively energy-efficient processors. Therefore, for those who like to watch videos on YouTube or play games, it is advisable to have a Power Bank on hand. But there is support for fast charging mCharge 4.0 (the Meizu Pro 7 battery is half full in half an hour). No matter how much I would like to, autonomy cannot be considered an advantage.

Battery

The smartphone in question features a non-removable lithium-polymer battery. One battery charge is designed for approximately 15-17 hours: half an hour of talking, 6 hours of network surfing with constant synchronization with mail, Twitter, Skype, 5 hours of Wi-Fi, an hour of listening to audio.

In its most optimal condition, the gadget can work for a day, so it cannot be said that the battery is weak. If you set one synchronization with data, then the charge will last for a couple of days or up to 13 hours of talk time. When watching videos, the battery will run out in 6 hours.

Meizu Pro 7 price, where to buy, release date

Meizu Pro 7 is already available for order in many online stores, the price starts at 30,000 rubles. The official release date of the smartphone in Russia is scheduled for early autumn. It is expected that the cost for the younger version will be around 27,000 rubles, Pro 7 with 128 GB of memory will cost a little more than 30,000 rubles, and for the Pro 7 Plus version you will have to pay around 36,000 rubles.

Here are links to stores and sellers where you can buy Meizu Pro 7/Pro 7 Plus today:

You can order Pro 7 Plus on Aliexpress for 36,000 rubles ( here or here ); this or this seller is offering the Pro 7

Sound quality

Since at one time it developed sound devices and applications, the vendor also keeps up with its solutions.

The seventh version has one speaker located at the bottom. The sound will come out with a power of thirty watts maximum. There is a headphone amplifier, which is built into the communicator's sound card.

Among the settings there is a five-band equalizer that adjusts the volume in the range from 0.1 kHz to 16 kHz.

Some owners noted this fact as a minor drawback. From their point of view, the manufacturer should have provided much more options for customization, as well as increased the range of adjustable output frequencies.

Pros and cons of Meizu Pro 7

So what did you like:

everything is beautiful, from the box to the design;
dual camera, which inspires optimism;
impressive front camera;
good screens with which there are no complaints;
fast charging and USB Type-C 3.1.

What I didn't like:

so far a meaningless additional screen;
lack of NFC;
poor autonomy;
not a flagship “filling”;
no moisture protection.