Meizu's new MX6 offers an iPhone-inspired design for Android fans
It's hard not to notice that Meizu's MX6 bears striking similarity to Apple's handsets, but the phone offers quality and more.
Chinese smartphone Meizu maker may not be well-known outside of its homeland, but the company has got its fans in China, thanks to its iPhone-inspired designs for its products. And on first glance, it's obvious the Meizu MX6, launched earlier this week in Beijing, shares striking similarities with Apple's iPhone.
That said, the Meizu phone does have its own differences. For one, the rear 12-megapixel camera is located in the middle, which makes it less likely your finger will accidentally block your shot compared with the iPhone. Another thing going for it is that unlike other Android phones, the MX6 doesn't have the usual back and recent apps button.
Instead, the home button, which also serves as a fingerprint scanner, also acts as the back button with a simple touch of the button. You might be confused what I mean about that -- instead of pressing down on the button like you do the iPhone, you just need to touch the button once. It takes a while to get, but once you do, it's actually quite easy to navigate the Meizu Flyme OS, which is a customized version of Android 6.0.
The Meizu MX6's rear camera is located in a more central location compared to the Apple iPhone.
I do like the design of Flyme. Meizu has put in plenty of effort to make the UI design stand out compared to other Chinese Android skins and it shows. Each icon gets its own good-looking flat look. The end result is a UI that matches the iPhone-ish looks and could be something Apple wouldn't mind having in its own phones.
Overall, the build and quality of the MX6 impresses, and I think the phone has what it takes to do well. And with 3.2 million preregistrations for the phone before it even goes on sale, it looks like plenty of Chinese fans think the same thing, too. The phone will go on sale in China on July 30 for 1,999 yuan (which converts to around $300, £225 or AU$400) and will be available globally through third-party online vendors soon.
What you need to know
- Deca-core (10) Mediatek MT6797 Helio X20
- 5.5-inch full-HD display
- Flyme 5.2 OS on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Comes in gray, silver, gold and rose gold
- 4GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage
- USB Type-C, fingerprint scanner
- 3,060mAh battery