Meizu C9 and C9 Pro smartphones - advantages and disadvantages

One of the best mobile device manufacturers, Meizu, showed off its most budget smartphones for 2019 in Indonesia - the Meizu C9 and C9 Pro, the advantages and disadvantages of which are discussed in this article. Regardless of its low-cost segment, the new items were equipped with extraordinary functions for Meizu: pure Android replaced the Flyme interface.

The features do not end there. For popular models, the Meizu trademark has produced a removable 3,000 mAh battery, so the cover is removable. The panel is made of polycarbonate materials and has a corrugated texture, interrupted in the area of ​​the company logo.

Positioning

All fans of the company's products from China, Meizu, are surprised at how skillfully they "juggle" new phones and their "hardware". The year started with the M6s, which suddenly received an Exynos 5 processor from Samsung, and then smartphones with mid-range processors (E3, M15) from Qualcomm were added to the rating of high-quality mobile devices.

After some time, gadgets based on M6T and V8 chipsets from MediaTek literally took off, after which the reliable 16 and 16 Plus appeared, whose models were not long in coming. The finale of this year was marked by 2 ultra-budgetary at a price that are not at all going into the general chain of the company's products.

In general, the issue of releasing cheap devices is very controversial. To be honest, very few people need them, and manufacturers love to equip them with powerful cameras or displays, which raises the cost to affordable low-cost smartphones based on some kind of 450 chipset from Snapdragon.

The culprits of today's review are just such a case when the main processor is not at the level of other parameters. This article discusses in detail all the functionality of new products, displays their pros and cons, and also compares their characteristics.

C9 overview

Meizu C9 is a cheap entry-level gadget. There is a 3,000 mAh battery inside the device, as well as "pure" Android without interfaces. The demonstration of the smartphone took place in October 2018.

Equipment

• Smartphone;
• Long USB cable;
• User instructions;
• Charging.

Design and ergonomics

The shell of the novelty is made of matte polycarbonate materials. This is a very convenient and inexpensive material that made it possible to reduce the price of the device. On the back is the large rear camera optics. Below is a LED flash and a company logo. There is also a thin mesh of the multimedia speaker.

The front side of the device received a "frameless" screen with rounded corners. At the same time, in fact, the bezels around it are medium in size. There are significant protrusions on the top and bottom sides, which made it possible to get rid of the "monobrow".

There are no navigation or other keys under the display. Matrix covered with 2.5D glass for better protection. The bottom edge has a microUSB slot, as well as a headset and microphone hole.

It will not be superfluous to say that almost the entire surface of the back panel received a corrugated texture. This makes it possible to reliably feel the device even in a wet hand. The novelty comes in 2 colors:

1. Blue
2. The black.

Dimensions are 146.2 x 71.2 x 9.7 mm.

Screen

The smartphone has an IPS display with a diagonal of 5.45 inches. The format is 1440 x 720 px. The IZGO technology is characterized by the absence of an air gap between the curved glass and the matrix, which favorably affects the practicality of the picture. The contrast ratio (1,000: 1) is quite high for a phone of this price category.

There is autoconfiguration of sharpness, but the user can adjust this value himself. In the sun, the display behaves moderately, as the rays still prevent the device from being used comfortably for viewing content. In this case, the image is very saturated, although you can change the calibration "from the factory".

Performance

The novelty comes with Spreadtrum's SC9832E chip. Its 4 Cortex-A53 cores are clocked at 1.3 GHz. The device is equipped with a Mali-T820 MP1 video accelerator. The device received 2GB of RAM, as well as 16GB of ROM. The user is allowed to install flash drives with a capacity of no more than 128GB.

Autonomy

The phone has a battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh. 100% charging is enough for several days of gadget operation.

Interface

As standard, Android 8.0 is available without any additional shells. On testing AnTuTu, the smartphone is gaining a few points - about 10 thousand. In general, the gadget is perfect for browsing the Internet.

We are talking about launching "light" programs, a browser (without many open windows), Google services. In this case, the user needs to be aware that this smartphone is not suitable for games. For the latter, it is better to look for something more expensive and quicker.

Sound and communication

The novelty has a very high-quality multimedia type speaker. Its maximum volume is enough to hear a call or SMS in almost any environment. The earpiece speaker, while uncomplicated, works well. But, in noisy rooms or on the street, some difficulties with audibility may appear.

The sound in the headset is of high quality, which in itself is good for a cheap device. There are even some configurations present. The device supports dual sim "Nano" type, as well as Bluetooth 4.1 and LTE.

Cameras

The device was equipped with a 13MP main camera with an aperture of 2.2 and an LED flash. The block contains 5 components, autofocus is present. There is no point in hoping for miracles with this camera. She does an excellent job with the assigned tasks in good conditions. But, if we talk about how he photographs at night, then it is worth noting that with a lack of lighting, photographs instantly lose their own attractiveness.

It has an integrated 8MP front camera with an aperture of 2.2. This scanner has support for face unlock technology, albeit in a truncated form. Selfies are pretty good, but only if you look at examples of photos in the daytime.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Comfortable shell made of plastic materials with a corrugated texture;
• Good quality large screen;
• Detachable back panel with powerful battery;
• Naked Android without unnecessary third-party interfaces;
• Unlocking your smartphone by face.

• Quite uncomplicated design;
• Not the most powerful processor;
• No fingerprint sensor.

How much does the C9 cost?

The average price is 6,000 rubles.

C9 Pro review

Meizu C9 Pro is a convenient phone in an inexpensive price category. The device received a "bare" Android OS without auxiliary interfaces, and also a rather rare chipset from Spreadtrum. The demonstration of the gadget took place in mid-October this year.

Equipment

• Smartphone;
• Long USB cable;
• User instructions;
• Guarantee;
• Charging.

Design and ergonomics

The shell of the phone is made of plastic materials. In this case, the back panel is not only removable, but also has a corrugated texture. This allows you to use the device with convenience, since it will not slip out of your hand. On the back there is a rear camera module and an LED flash, and at the very bottom there is a multimedia speaker.

The "bezel-less" display has got significant protrusions from the bottom and top, but there is no vaunted "monobrow". All navigation buttons are located on a screen covered with a protective glass. At the bottom there is a microUSB slot, and also a hole for an audio headset.

The device looks relatively up-to-date, but at the same time is devoid of auxiliary components. The phone's shell is extremely comfortable, and there are practically no traces left on its surface. The novelty is produced in 2 colors:

1. The black;
2. Gold.

The dimensions are 146.2 x 71.2 x 9.7 mm, and the weight is 150 g.

Screen

The screen of the new model is made on the IGZO matrix. This type of matrix was in demand in 2012-2013, but now they are replaced by IPS and AMOLED technologies. The diagonal is 5.45 inches. In the reviews, fans did not expect a 6-inch diagonal from an ultra-budget smartphone, and therefore, the company's developers guessed the size. The display format is 720 x 1440px, which means the aspect ratio is 2: 1 (18: 9).

The saturation of pixels per inch here is 295 ppi. The screen sharpness is 350 cd / m2, and the contrast is 1000: 1. The glass is rounded and curved for a 2.5D effect. It should be noted that the display here is very good for a device of this category, for this the company is a huge plus in the piggy bank. The phone, by the way, does not pretend to become "frameless", the screen occupies only 73.87% of the front part of the device.

Performance

Processors of the Spreadtrum trademark are becoming a good solution only for cheap devices, which are the culprits of today's review. Spreadtrum's SC9832E chip is built around four legacy ARM Cortex-A7 cores operating in a single cluster. The development standards for this chipset are 28 nm, and the limit frequency is 1.3 GHz.

AnTuTu testing puts this processor at 5,000 points, which is far from sufficient for the current state of technology advancement. Those users who at least somehow monitor the category of inexpensive phones know that the manufacturers of these "technical miracles" prefer budget and often outdated MediaTek processors, for example:

• MT6737M - 22,700 points;
• MT6737V - 21,680 points;
• MT6735P - 21,600 points.

It is clear that the chipsets listed above are much better when compared to the chips that are responsible for this review. Processors from Spreadtrum have not been on sale for a long time, but the extremely low cost and their incredible number in "China's repositories" force manufacturers of inexpensive devices to use them. By the way, another "modern" ultra-budget device was awarded this "hardware" - Archos Access 57 from France.

The memory capacity of the novelty is such that it equates to the level of confident budget-priced smartphones - 3 / 32GB. It is not entirely clear why such a weak chipset has as much as 3GB of RAM, but most likely, the Meizu trademark had its own scheme in this regard.

The memory operates in single-channel mode, and its type is LPDDR3. Internal memory has acquired support for eMMC 5.0 technology. Such a "highlight" will improve the performance of all tasks in a smartphone that are in any way related to memory.

Autonomy

The novelty boasts a 3,000 mAh battery. The type of battery is lithium-ion. The gadget is not suitable for active games, but if the owner uses it exclusively for "work" tasks, this power will be enough for him for a day. The novelty lacks support for fast charging. Output power adapter - 5V / 1A.

Interface

The OS Android 8.0 is installed from the factory. It won't be superfluous to say that there are no well-known interfaces that are found in most innovative phones. In AnTuTu testing, this inexpensive gadget was able to score approximately 25 thousand points. At the moment, this result may seem very small, but it is necessary to take into account the very low price of the device.

For games, this smartphone is unlikely to be an acceptable solution. It can only open "light" games with undemanding graphics. The daily programs work well.

It is impossible to note that the device is very fast, but it cannot be called slow either. It should be noted that it is not recommended to overload the smartphone with the synchronous launch of many applications.

Sound and communication

The external speaker in the smartphone is located on the back panel.Its volume is quite high, but on condition that the back of the device is not covered. The sound in the headset is surprisingly good, many frequencies are felt. The speaker makes it possible to talk comfortably with the interlocutor. There is support for Bluetooth 4.1 and A2DP. The device can operate in LTE Cat 4 networks at speeds up to 150 Mbps.

Cameras

Surprisingly, however, the cameras are very decent. The rear photographic unit is made by one 13-megapixel module with an optical aperture ratio of 2.2. The camera has all the options and parameters of "older" phones: there is a double LED flash, support for geotagging, panoramic shooting, face identification, white balance configuration, and so on.

The front photographic unit is made by a sensor model - Galaxy Core GC13023. The front camera boasts a good resolution, which is 13 megapixels, which does not make the owner blush from the quality of self-portraits. The aperture of the optics is 2.0, which is even higher when compared to the rear camera sensor.

Meizu decided to save on the chipset and improve the display and camera parameters.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Attractive appearance with corrugated finish;
• A very decent front camera;
• "Pure" Android without third-party interfaces;
• Good quality "frameless" display;
• Impressive memory capacity.

• The rear camera takes weak pictures;
• Not the most productive chipset;
• No fingerprint sensor.

How much does the C9 Pro cost?

The average price is 8,000 rubles.

Comparative characteristics

For a detailed comparison, you need to compare the characteristics of the culprits of today's review in order to fully reveal the meaning of the "Pro" binding in the title. To assess the ability to compete, the table shows the parameters of another gadget, namely Alcatel 1, which also belongs to the samples of the inexpensive market category.

Firstly, it is worth noting that the main difference between the C9 Pro and the C9 is the increase in memory capacity and the improvement of the front camera. If we compare the "brainchilds" of Meizu and Alcatel, we can see that the former saved only on the chipset, but everything is fine with other phone parameters. Alcatel 1 is equipped with the MT6739 processor from MediaTek, made on 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a maximum frequency of 1.3GHz.

AnTuTu benchmark scores the processor's power at 35,460 points, which is several times higher than Spreadtrum's SC9832E. The chip is the only factor in which the Alcatel 1 beats its rivals from Meizu.

As for the cameras, it is worth saying that Alcatel has decided to improve the quality of images through software interpolation of images, but the synthetic quality improvement cannot be compared with the actual one.

A more acceptable chip made it possible to put in Alcatel 1 a not so powerful (when compared with the new products of Meizu) battery - 2,000 mAh. The most obvious drawback of the Alcatel model is that it has only one SIM card tray.

Output

C9 is the cheapest phone from a well-known brand from China, which has a frameless display and a high-quality battery. If desired, the owner can change the battery, since the panel of the device is removable. The pluses of the device include the presence of a "bare" Android, which is not overloaded with auxiliary services and applications.

The C9 Pro is a very affordable phone with very good hardware. This improved modification has a higher memory capacity and also has a relatively bezel-less screen.It should be noted the unique corrugated panel, thanks to which, in fact, it is comfortable to hold the device in hand.