The M1 Note made a lot of heads turn overseas as it featured a much higher spec sheet than what its price would suggest. The phone was launched in China late last year at a price of 999 CNY (Rs. 10,000 approx) and we are expecting a similar pricing here in India. Here are some of its most interesting features.
Meizu the brand
Meizu is a Chinese manufacturer based in Zhuhai, China. The company is one of the top ten phone manufacturers in China.
M1 Note: SoC
The Meizu M1 Note features a MediaTek MT6752, which sounds like a good choice since the current crop of 64-bit Qualcomm SoCs are struggling to instill confidence in both users and manufacturers. The MT6752 has been a consistent performer in other phones we have tested so far like the HTC Desire 820s and the Gionee Elife S7.
M1 Note: RAM
The M1 Note has 2GB of RAM. We know 2GB RAM is not a new thing in the sub 10K price segment but it does put the smartphone ahead of some of the current phones in the same budget.
4-channel ISP chip
The 4-channel ISP chip is a dedicated chip which almost doubles the speed at which the camera takes pictures. The technology, developed by Fujitsu, can calculate algorithms faster while taking images and reduces shutter lag.
FHD display
The M1 Note also features a 5.5-inch FullHD display. This will be a class first if the phone is launched under the sub 10K mark. The display is made by Sharp and uses its IGZO display technology. It also gets full lamination and Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
13MP camera with Dual-tone LED
Again a 13MP camera is not new in the segment but a 1/3.06-inch sensor is, which when combined with the 4-Channel ISP technology, promises better image quality than the competition. It is worth noting that while almost every manufacturer uses a 13MP Sony sensor, the Meizu M1 Note uses a Samsung one.
Bigger Battery
The smartphone features a 3140mAh battery which promises 12 hours of web surfing on 4G and 60 hours of call time. We will check Meizu’s claims as and when we get the chance to try out the device.
LTE enabled
The upcoming smartphone supports Dual-SIMs and 4G. While 4G is not yet a big thing in India, it's a good deal to get a 4G enabled phone for this price.
UI
The Meizu M1 Note uses Flyme UI which offers similar functionality to MIUI and is layered on top of Android 4.4.4 Kitkat.
Here are some of the other smartphones in the budget category it will compete against.
Xiaomi Mi 4i
Read our review of the Xiaomi Mi 4i
