Together, the Meizu M2 Note, Yu Yureka Plus and Asus Zenfone 2 Laser make the most popular smartphones of the month. So, here's pitting them against each other.
The sub-10K smartphone market is currently brimming with smartphones that are packed with the latest specs. There are phones in this segment that offer enough performance to outclass even higher priced smartphones. Few new phones, which recently joined the segment, have upped the ante even more. Yes, we are talking about the Yu Yureka Plus, the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser and the Meizu M2 Note. Among these the Yu Yureka Plus and the Meizu M2 Note are powered by an octa core SoC whereas the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser is one of the newer entrants, with its quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC. However, the Laser theoretically has an upper hand in the camera department since it comes with a laser assisted auto-focus. Also, unlike the other two smartphones which offer Full HD displays, the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser just makes do with a 720p display.
But before we begin
We are going to compare the camera quality, performance and build & design of the three phones. These three comparisons should be able to give us a clear winner or at least give us a fair idea of which phone lacks in which area. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
Camera comparison
Like we mentioned earlier, in the camera comparison, the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser should have the upper hand, and it does. Images captured in normal lighting conditions have better colour accuracy and dynamic range over the other two. Thanks to Asus’ laser autofocus system, the focusing is quite accurate and subject details are equally good. The Meizu M2 Note is also close behind in terms of dynamic range but colour accuracy is not that good and in one of the test images the entire frame seems overexposed.
(L-R) Asus Zenfone 2, Meizu M2 Note and Yu Yureka Plus
However, the M2 Note does a better job in low light conditions. In low light conditions, images taken by the Meizu phone exhibit more true to source colours and better details over the other two. Lastly, the Yu Yureka Plus which sports a new Sony sensor lags behind in this test. Images taken by the Yureka Plus are quite good for the price, but it lacks the overall quality the other two phones offer.
(L-R) Asus Zenfone 2, Meizu M2 Note and Yu Yureka Plus
Adding to the camera qualities of the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser, the camera software on the phone offers tons of options to fiddle with. This is closely followed by the Meizu M2 Note, which offers comparatively limited manual control. The Yureka Plus again gets the last position with even more limited features.
(L-R) Asus Zenfone 2, Meizu M2 Note and Yu Yureka Plus
Take a look at the test pictures in full resolution here.
Winner: Asus Zenfone 2
Performance & Synthetic benchmarks
We tested browsing performance, video performance and things that a normal person would use in day to day life and found that the Yu Yureka is the fastest with the Meizu M2 Note running close behind. The Asus Zenfone 2 was the slowest of the three, which was expected since it only has a quad-core SoC. Of course, quad-cores can on occasion be better than octa-cores, but not in this case.
Justifying the real world performance, on synthetic benchmarks, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 powered Yu Yureka has an edge over the M2 Note and the Zenfone 2 Laser. The Meizu M2 Note comes second offering a considerably fast performance. And, just like the real world tests the Asus Zenfone 2 is left behind by a large margin due to its less powerful SoC.
Winner: Yu Yureka Plus
Build and Design
Now this is the part where the opinions differ. The more predictable (typical Asus design) and tough looking Asus Zenfone 2 is without a doubt the best built among the three. The inclusion of Gorillas Glass 3, fit and finish of buttons and the matte plastic back is more than enough to give it a better standing in the build department. However, the Asus Zenfone 2 design is not exactly efficient and the phone is larger than it needs to be. Also, it doesn't help that Asus has more than 12 phones in the market with similar designs. We are not saying the design is bad but it has now become quite repetitive.
So, we think the Meizu M2 Note is a better designed phone. The phone is not a complete slab like the Yu Yureka Plus and offers a quite refreshing look compared to the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser. It is plastic and has an inferior build to the Laser but the smartly designed phone is easily the best looking phone in the sub-10K range. One may argue that the phone takes its design cues from the Apple iPhone 3GS, and you would have to agree that the iPhone 3GS was a good looking device.
Winner: Tie between Asus and Meizu
Bottomline
With this we conclude our three way battle for these sub-10K smartphones. It is clear that if you are looking for a camera phone, the Asus Zenfone 2 is a good option but the Meizu M2 Note is the better looking one, and it isn't badly built either. In the performance and design section also, the M2 Note does well unlike the Yu Yureka, which only shines in the performance tests. Overall, while the Asus Zenfone 2 is the winner in this comparison, with two points while the other two take one each, we have to say we're mighty impressed with the Meizu M2 Note as well. It has been a consistent performer during this comparison and it's the one we would go for if we were buying. We will know more about the phones once we are through reviewing it.
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Hardik Singh
Light at the top, this odd looking creature lives under the heavy medication of video games. View Full Profile
