Meizu M6 Note

Meizu M6 Note overview

Meizu M6 Note is the oldest model in the M6 series, the mid-budget smartphone on Android, which almost does not have incompletes for its price category. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chip is installed inside. It is much better than the MediaTek hardware, which the manufacturer has installed in smartphones recently. What’s more, the M6 Note is the first budget gadget of this brand with a dual camera. The rest of the characteristics are usual ones: a metal case, a 5.5 inch IPS display, FullHD video and a 4000 mAh battery.
Meizu M6 Note is one of the best smartphones in the mid-price category. It has a usual design, a bright screen, a performance which is enough for 3D games, autonomy of 1.5-2 days, main and front cameras, which are close to the flagships in their quality. As for disadvantages, we should mention the lack of NFC and USB-C. And what’s more, the M6 Note is not for you if you like frameless displays with a 18:9 aspect ratio. Here it has the standard aspect ratio of 16:9.
The smartphone is available on sale in three versions:

• 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory;
• 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory;
• 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory.

Each version is available in silver, gold, blue or black colours. The latter is the most classic option, but its back cover gets very dirty from touching it with fingers. The blue case looks more interesting and practical.

Pros of Meizu M6 Note

The Qualcomm processor. It is an advantage in itself. Add an excellent optimization from Meizu and you will get one of the best hardware systems in the mid-price budget segment. The smartphone can support even demanding 3D games on average settings. In launcher and social networks it operates very fast;
The battery holds charge for 1.5-2 days. The battery capacity is designed for 4000 mAh plus optimization. Even with maximum brightness and regular use the smartphone works almost for 24 hours. The charger is one more advantage, here the technology mCharge is applied. The device can be charged during 2 hours from zero to 100%;
Dual camera. It shoots at the level of older models such as PRO 7. The second module adds a nice blur effect in portrait mode and speeds up the focus. The quality is still low at night, but it is much better than in Meizu M6. A powerful front camera is also a benefit — it has as much as 16 Mp;
Debugged manufacturer’s shell. Flyme together with the current Android version works quickly and almost without bugs. The shell itself supports many settings, including gestures and swipe settings;
Quality assembly. Last but not least. The design may seem to be obsolete, but it's the Meizu classic version. The case elements are fixed strongly, the case does not crack and fall apart. It is comfortable to hold it in the hand, although it is a bit big for a small hand.

Cons of Meizu M6 Note

There is no NFC chip. Therefore, it will not be possible to pay for purchases with the smartphone. The technology is becoming more popular, so think about the smartphone prospects;
There is no USB-C connector. Such a connector is installed in the flagships, including the iPhone. Type C is faster and more convenient than microUSB, here the M6 Note is also worse in terms of prospects;
Aspect ratio of the screen is 16:9. In many ways it's a matter of taste, but fashionable stretched displays with the aspect ratio of 18:9 look more stylish and, if you get used to them, they are more convenient.

Meizu M6 Note design and ergonomics

Meizu regards the devices design and construction very conservatively. The M6 Note almost does not differ from any other gadget of the company, including the M5 Note. The classic layout of the control elements, the main button in the center at the bottom of the screen, the camera at the top at the back — you get used to the smartphone in a couple of minutes, especially if you had already had one of the Meizu models.

The main features of the design are useful for everyone who is not familiar with the devices of the company:

• Front side. There is a front camera, a light sensor, a notification LED and a microphone for speaking above the display. Under the display is the mTouch 2.1 button. The whole panel is covered with 2.5D glass with oleophobic coating;
• Back side. Main and additional cameras are installed here. The former slightly protrudes above the case, the latter, on the contrary, is set slightly deeply into it. Here the flash and the Meizu logo are also situated;
• Left edge. It only has a SIM card slot, and it's almost invisible. It can be opened with a clip from the package, inside you can install either two SIM cards or a SIM card and a memory card;
• Right edge. Volume rocker and lock button are installed here. This time they are placed in a small recess in the case, and there is a gap left between them to avoid confusion;
• Lower edge. It is the most technologically equipped part in the M6 Note. There is a microUSB for charging in the centre, on the right — the main multimedia speaker, on the left — a microphone for speaking and a 3.5 mm jack for headphones;
• Upper edge. After moving the headphone jack to the lower edge, only the hidden microphone for noise reduction remained here hidden in the case.

A few more changes: on all edges, except for the lower one, there is a chamfer — a beveled edge. Thanks to it, it is more comfortable to hold the smartphone in the hand. On the back panel, plastic strips with antennas built in them are situated at the top and at the bottom. The flash is right on the top stripe. Another only visual update: the edging of the mTouch button is colored in the same way as the case is. It looks pretty.

In terms of ergonomics, Meizu M6 Note is the same as other smartphones with a 5.5-inch screen. It seems quite massive, but it is comfortable to hold it in the hand, it does not slip. The assembly is also helpful in this way — there are no backlashes and creaks, everything is jointless and reliable. Some users are more fond of smartphones with a 18:9 screen, but for classic adherents the M6 Note with 16:9 is the best solution in this market segment.

Meizu M6 Note display

5.5 inches and FullHD 1920x1080 — this is exactly what you need from a high-quality budget model. The screen is covered with native glass with fingerprint protection, but an additional film will always be useful.
There are no complaints about brightness and contrast. The minimum brightness — 1 cd/m2 — is an especially good feature, at night it will not blind the user. The manufacturer claims a maximum of 450 cd/m2, but according to the tests, this figure is hundred times lower. However, it is still enough even for a sunny day. Automatic brightness works well, but sometimes it is a bit slow. It is better to turn it off — you will save energy.
With color and viewing angles everything is fine too. The calibrator shows almost complete coincidence with the sRGB triangle, which means that the smartphone reproduces colors close to real ones. In some models there is a deviation in the green colour at extreme viewing angles, this can be a production fault. The temperature, if it does not suit you, can be changed in the settings. There is also an eye protection mode that makes the picture colours warmer.

Meizu M6 Note camera

The main feature of the camera is that it is dual. The 12 MP main module with a f/1.9 aperture protrudes above the case on the back panel. Under it an additional 5 Mp camera with f/2.0 is installed. The second module is used for blurring the background in photographs and for more accurate focusing in poor light. There is a flash above the main camera.
As for the photo quality, Meizu M6 Note is good. Usually, the company equipped its budget models with not the most powerful cameras, which can hardly cope with their tasks in the daytime. But this time the quality is high. Outdoors in good light, the photos are of good quality, although sometimes blur zones may appear. indoors the result is worse, there are some problems with the processing of the foreground contours. In the twilight and at night there are strong noises. The manufacturer’s application offers a set of filters, standard modes and a full knob with shutter speed adjustment (1/2000 — 20 seconds), ISO (100 — 3200) and white balance.

The front camera has received as much as 16 megapixel and a f/2.0 aperture. It makes selfi, as it should, but indoors and at night it also produces noises. You can experiment with the ArcSoft settings, which automatically retouch shots. It is a matter of taste — the program is designed more for the Chinese users.
The video camera shoots in resolution up to 4K and 30 fps. The quality of the picture increases as the resolution rises, but with the sound everything is the other way around. For some unknown reasons the smartphone records it much better in FullHD than in 4K — it can be a software bug.
Compared to past models of Meizu and its competitors, the camera is excellent. Its quality is even close to the PRO 7, although it is still behind it. You can find some faults regarding night shooting and HDR mode, it is slow here and always oversaturates shots.

Meizu M6 Note performance

For a long time Meizu and Qualcomm had been arguing over patents, so smartphones were released with MediaTek chips and occasionally with Exynos ones. But now it seems that the companies have agreed on cooperation. And it is good news! Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor is not the newest one, but it is productive and reliable. In Meizu M6 Note it is designed for 8 cores, each of which operates at a frequency of 2 GHz. The graphics Adreno 506 chip with a frequency of 650 MHz is also much better than the hardware in the M5 Note.

The tests in AnTuTu of different versions show from 61000 to 75000 points. This is an average figure even for the budget models, but it's worth highlighting Meizu optimization. On the basis of not the most powerful chip the company has made a fast smartphone, which copes even with heavy games. For example, you can play WoT Blitz on average settings with a comfortable 40-45 fps. Asphalt, Mortal Kombat and less demanding games can also be played without any problems. For gamers, a special "game mode" with limited notifications and a block of swipes is suitable.

If you need maximum performance, then you should buy the version with 4 GB of RAM. But in the earlier versions with 3 GB, the hardware corresponds to the price level.

Meizu M6 Note software

The gadget has Android 7.1.2 Nougat with added Flyme 6 shell in the retail software. The exact Flyme version depends on the time of buying — in the middle of May 2018 it is 6.1.4.1G. By the way, the letter G means that the firmware is certified by Google, it has already installed services, including Google Play. The previous generations of Meizu smartphones lacked this feature.
The sixth version of Flyme has added nothing absolutely new — there are more possibilities for customization, the design has been slightly updated. All the usual features have remained in place:

• mTouch. The main control element is the physical button at the bottom of the screen. It allows you to return to the previous page when you touch it, to go to the home screen when you tap and lock the smartphone with a long tap;
• Virtual button. You can add a touch zone that duplicates mTouch functions;
• Gestures. One of the main features is a lot of gesture settings for any actions;
• Desktops. There is no separate menu for applications, they immediately appear on the screens;
• Quick access to shortcuts. Swipe from the top downward causes a curtain with 15 shortcuts and a settings button;
• Application manager and search. They are called by swipes from the bottom upwards, they run programs;
• Customization. There are a lot of paid and free themes and designs in the manufacturer’s store;
• Modes of operation. There is a simple mode with a simple design, a children one with limited set of functions, a guest one with the personal data protection, maximum performance, energy-saving and gaming modes.

Flyme 6 is flexible enough, if you get used to it and understand the settings, you can change almost everything for yourself. The design is a matter of taste, some consider it to be too cartoonish, but at least in the M6 Note it looks good.
For those who are accustomed to the old Flyme versions only the appearance of touch buttons at the bottom of the screen will be unusual. It is a feature of the firmware with the G letter. Virtual buttons are the same as in the pure Android, include going back, returning to the home screen and calling the Task Manager. By default, they are enabled. They can be easily deleted: "Settings" — "Special features" — to disable the Show Navigation Bar.

Meizu M6 Note sound

The smartphone has only one multimedia speaker, the second one is for conversations, which is used only in phone mode and is not suitable for music and movies. The sound in both speakers is generally good, there is a volume reserve, but it is not recommended to put it at the maximum. This is true for headphones too.
As for shortcomings, there are some problems with bass sounds — this is especially noticeable when you use a headset. In the tests of Bose QC35 and Meizu Flow headphones in both cases low frequencies are heard the worst of all, middle ones are slightly better, there are no complaints about high frequencies.

To use the smartphone as a loudspeaker is not advisable. Through the speaker you can listen to a movie, but do not put the music at the maximum volume. With headphones the situation is better.

Meizu M6 Note security

The system is standard for all Meizu models of middle and top levels. The central button mTouch has a built-in fingerprint scanner. Touching the button you can unlock the device when the screen is on. But if it is off, then you need to press the button — the percentage of successful operation in this case is slightly less. Up to 5 fingerprints can be stored in memory at the same time. In addition, the M6 Note supports both the password and the pattern.

Meizu M6 Note battery

The 4000 mAh battery capacity along with the optimized processor give excellent results — on average, the smartphone lives for 1.5-2 days. This implies a standard mode: social networking, Internet surfing, calls, watching video and a few games. With full brightness and HD video watching the smartphone is discharged in 12 hours, with 3D games — in 5-6 hours. If you turn on the energy-saving mode and reduce the brightness, it will withstand 2 days of operation.
The gadget supports fast charging mCharge, it takes 2 hours to charge it up to 100%, 40 minutes — up to 50%.

Meizu M6 Note packing and arrangement

Meizu offers no innovations, everything is standard. The package is a white cardboard box in a low-key style with a recognizable logo on top and specifications at the bottom. Inside we will find the following items:

• Smartphone Meizu M6 Note with a manufacturer’s film — it cannot be used as a protective one;
• Charging adapter — its characteristics are 5/9/12V and 2A, it supports fast charging;
• USB-microUSB cable — it is used for adapter or connection of the smartphone to a PC / laptop;
• A clip for the SIM card tray — it's better to open the tray with it;
• Instruction.

As usual, there are no additional benefits from official sellers. If you order the smartphone by AliExpress, then as a bonus, you can get a protective glass and a cover.

Meizu M6 Note errors and bugs

There are few software and hardware problems with the smartphone, but it's better to be ready for them. The most popular errors and bugs of the M6 Note are the following:

• The time determination is incorrect. You can always set the time zone manually, but there is a way to fix the program. To do this, turn on the flight mode, turn off automatic detection, set the time manually, turn off and on the flight mode again, and after that — automatic detection. Finally, turn off the flight mode at all. Now the system will be able to determine the time correctly by itself;
• Transactions in applications do not work. Meizu developers often produce small test updates, which are called daily. These versions can affect third-party services, including Google. For example, if you want to make purchases in games and other applications work, you must allow Google Play and the rest of the company's services to work in the background mode. This is true for daily in May 2018;
• Some purchases are disappearing from Google Play. The problem is also connected with the daily features. Users are advised to install the Flyme 6.8.2.1 daily version and make all standard Google applications system-wide. This will only possible with the root rights — remember that the root rights automatically cancel the warranty! Any application that extends administrator rights will be suitable. Through the interface, you will need to mark all Google applications and convert them to system ones. After that restart your smartphone;
• Problems with the memory card: data is not recorded or lost, photos and videos are broken. The tray for SIM cards and memory cards is quite fragile. To make everything work, you need to get used to install the tray into the slot. Practice to do it in the way that it enters smoothly — you can adjust it with the clip from the kit.

Recommendations for Meizu M6 Note usage

To improve the smartphone performance, you can get root rights. We do not recommend doing it until the warranty expires, but extended rights give you more options for the device configuration and optimization. Here we give some tips on how to improve the M6 Note without root rights:

• Combine flash memory with built-in storage. In order to make the smartphone work correctly with the memory card, the latter should not be formatted. There are programs that allow you to return this status to almost any drive. When you install the card in the smartphone, the system must format the memory by itself, then you can combine it with the built-in memory;
• Disable Google system applications. They can take up a lot of space and waste precious memory. To disable it, download, for example, File Explorer and find the item "System Applications". For each Google program that you do not need, mark "Stop" and "Disconnect" in the control panel. The apps will not work, Google Play will not offer updates for them;
• Speed up the GPS operation. Without obtaining the root rights, this can also be done with the help of third-party programs. You can try FasterGPS, you can download it from 4PDA.

A standard procedure for solving many problems is to upgrade the smartphone firmware. This can be done in the following way:

1. Download the latest firmware from flymeos.com or flyme.cn. The second site is Chinese, there are the most debugged versions there. Then you can select English in the settings;
2. Turn off the phone. It is better to update the firmware when the battery is fully charged;
3. Clamp the side switch on button and + on the volume rocker simultaneously;
4. Release the power button as soon as the smartphone wakes up, but continue holding +;
5. In the Recovery menu, which appears in a couple of seconds, put both ticks;
6. Connect your smartphone to a PC or laptop;
7. Download the firmware file downloaded from the site on the Recovery disk — it is the connected smartphone;
8. In the M6 Note menu click Start, then the device will do everything by its own.

Reviews about Meizu M6 Note

In most cases, buyers are satisfied with Meizu M6 Note — as for cons not mentioned above, they are the following:

• A screen slightly tending to the warm shades — this is solved by the temperature correcting in the settings;
• The lack of optical stabilization in the camera — but the quality remains at an excellent level for a budget model;
• Not the most accurate GPS — it is searching for a location during 10-20 seconds with an error of 30-50 meters;
• The sound in headphones and speakers is not ideal — it can be too quiet or does not support some frequencies.

What’s more, some users note the low performance in games, even in the light ones. But these are singular cases. Problems are most likely to appear because of firmware errors, and not because of bad hardware optimization. Sometimes there are problems with the screen — it depends on how lucky you are. It depends equally on the assembly and firmware, but high-quality bright screens are still found more often, judging by the reviews.

The customers are particularly pleased with autonomy, Flyme convenience, adequate work of the fingerprint scanner, assembly and ergonomics. Meizu M6 Note is one of the best smartphones in its price category in May 2018.

Meizu M6 Note - Comparison

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