Meizu M2 Note Unboxing: Downgraded Successor?

Meizu M2 Note Unboxing: Downgraded Successor?

Meizu M2 Note 10

We unbox Meizu’s M2 Note!

Meizu’s M1 Note was one of the first international bang-for-the-buck devices to be sold earlier this year, which coincidentally, also kicked off the fierce competition between local and international brands to capture the sub-10K market. Shortly after it was announced and sold, Alcatel swooped in with their Flash Plus, and companies like Lenovo and Cherry Mobile soon followed with their own devices. Today, we’ll be unboxing the M2 Note, Meizu’s follow-up to their highly popular M1 Note. The M2 Note is unique because it seems like Meizu has reined in the specs of the phone, instead of upgrading it as is the custom of other manufacturers.

Meizu M2 Note specs:

  • 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 5.5-inch full HD Sharp IGZO display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
  • 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD
  • 13-megapixel rear camera, F/2.2 aperture, dual LED flash
  • 5-megapixel front camera, F/2.0 aperture
  • Dual SIM
  • 3G, LTE
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
  • Android 5.0 Lollipop, Flyme UI
  • 3100mAh battery

Meizu M2 Note 11

Packaging and contents:

The M2 Note comes in a plain white box that accompanies the products that Meizu makes. There’s very little in the way of branding, aside from the name of the device in Meizu’s own font printed in the front, and small print on the back of the phone that details what’s inside.

Meizu M2 Note 01

Once you open the box, you’ll be treated to the phone, along with a cute SIM ejector tool in the shape of the Flyme OS icon, as well as manuals, USB cable and charger for the phone. There’s no headphones included in the package.

Meizu M2 Note 02

Initial Impressions: Feels just like the M1 Note with a few changes

The M2 Note is pretty similar to its older sibling in terms of design. Meizu borrowed heavily from the iPhone 5c when it designed the M1 Note, and that’s still the case with the M2 Note. The phone uses unibody polycarbonate design, with sloping sides to help you hold on to the phone when you’re using it one-handed. Just like the M1 Note, the M2 Note will come in different colors, though our review unit came in white.

Meizu M2 Note 04

Physical controls for the phone are all located on the left side, while the dual-SIM slot is located on the right. The 3.5mm jack is on top, while the USB port is on the bottom. Meizu uses a similar 5.5-inch full HD Sharp IGZO panel for the M2 Note just like its predecessor, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the company re-used the same panel for use in their newest phone.

Meizu M2 Note 05

One thing that’s changed in the design of the M2 Note is that the phone now uses a physical home key instead of the trademark Meizu Halo key in the M1 Note. While the home key doesn’t read fingerprints, it is able to sense if you’re swiping from left to right and vice versa on it, which allows you easily and quickly navigate through websites. Each time you swipe through the home button, dubbed the Mback you’ll feel a slight vibration in your finger which clues you into what you’ve just done.

Meizu M2 Note 06

In terms of hardware, the M2 Note is a step back compared to its older brother: 1.3Ghz MediaTek MT6753 compared to 1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752 on the M1 Note, and Mali-T720 compared to the Mali-T760. The AnTuTu score of the M2 Note reflects the downgraded hardware, as it only managed to score 31799 compared to the 39493 of the M1 Note.

Meizu M2 Note 08

What the M2 Note has over the M1 Note though, is expandable storage – you can use one of the dual-SIM slots of the M2 Note as a microSD expansion slot, something that the M1 Note isn’t capable of doing. Many of you have expressed your dismay over the M1 Note not having expandable storage, and we’re happy that Meizu has corrected that small oversight, though at the cost of a faster processor and GPU.

Meizu M2 Note 09

Will the downgraded specs affect the performance of the M2 Note? We’ll have to see. We’ll be installing a couple of graphically intense games on the M2 Note to see for sure as we put the phone through its paces and use it as our daily driver.

The Meizu M2 Note is now available in Novo7 Tech’s stores for Php 7,490.

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