Smartphones Meizu C9 and C9 Pro - advantages and disadvantages

One of the best manufacturers of mobile devices Meizu demonstrated in Indonesia its most budget smartphones for 2019 - Meizu C9 and C9 Pro, the advantages and disadvantages of which are discussed in this article. Despite their low-cost segment, the novelties are equipped with extraordinary features for Meizu: the Flyme interface has been replaced by pure Android.

The features don't end there. For popular models, the Meizu brand has made a removable 3,000 mAh battery, respectively, the cover is removed. The panel is made of polycarbonate materials and has a corrugated texture interrupted in the company logo area.

Positioning

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

Some time later, gadgets based on the M6T and V8 chipsets from MediaTek literally flew out into the world, after which the reliable 16 and 16 Plus appeared, whose popularity of models was not long in coming. The finale of this year was marked by 2 ultra-budgetary products for the price, which are not at all assembled into the general chain of the company's products.

In general, the issue of producing cheap devices is very controversial. To be honest, very few people need them, and manufacturers love to equip them with high-performance cameras or displays, which pushes the cost up to acceptable low-cost smartphones based on some kind of Snapdragon 450 chipset.

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.

Overview of C9

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

Equipment

• Smartphone;
• Long USB cable;
• User instruction;
• Charger.

Design and ergonomics

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

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

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

It would 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. 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. IZGO technology characterizes the absence of an air gap between the curved glass and the matrix, which has a beneficial effect on the practicality of the picture. The contrast ratio (1000:1) is quite high for a phone of this price category.

There is an auto-configuration of sharpness, but the user can adjust this value himself. In the sun, the display behaves moderately, since the rays still do not allow you to use the device comfortably to view content. At the same time, the image is very saturated, although you can change the calibration “from the factory”.

Performance

The novelty comes with the SC9832E chip from Spreadtrum. Its 4 Cortex-A53 cores are clocked at 1.3GHz. 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 3000 mAh battery. 100% charge is enough for several days of gadget operation.

Interface

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

Sound and communication

The novelty is quite high-quality speaker type multimedia. Its maximum volume is enough to hear a call or SMS in almost any environment. The earpiece, although 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. The device supports dual sim type "Nano", 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, there is autofocus. It makes no sense to hope for miracles with this camera. She does her job well in good conditions. But, if we talk about how he photographs at night, then it is worth noting that with a lack of lighting, photos instantly lose their cuteness.

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

Advantages and disadvantages

• Comfortable shell made of plastic materials with a corrugated texture;
• Large screen of good quality;
• Removable back panel with powerful battery;
• "Naked" Android without unnecessary third-party interfaces;
• Face unlock smartphone.

• Pretty uncomplicated design;
• Not the most powerful processor
• There is no fingerprint sensor.

How much does 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, as well as a rather rare chipset from Spreadtrum. The demonstration of the gadget took place in mid-October this year.

Equipment

• Smartphone;
• Long USB cable;
• User instruction;
• Guarantee;
• Charger.

Design and ergonomics

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

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

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

1. Black;
2. Gold.

Dimensions are 146.2 x 71.2 x 9.7 mm and 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 have been 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 ratio is 1000:1. The glass is rounded and curved, giving a 2.5D effect. It is worth noting that the display here is very good for a device of this category, for which the company is a huge plus in the piggy bank. The phone, by the way, does not claim to be "frameless", the screen takes up only 73.87% of the front of the device.

Performance

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

AnTuTu testing gives this processor a score of 5,000, which is completely insufficient for the current degree of technology sophistication. 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 with the chips of the culprits of this review. Spreadtrum's processors have not been on sale for a long time, but their extremely low cost and their incredible amount in "China storage" force manufacturers of low-cost devices to buy them. By the way, another "modern" ultra-budget was awarded this "hardware" - Archos Access 57 from France.

The memory capacity of the novelty is such that it equates it 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 brand had some kind of own scheme in this regard.

The memory operates in single-channel mode, and its type is LPDDR3. The internal memory has acquired support for eMMC 5.0 technology. Such a “zest” 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. Type of battery - lithium-ion. The gadget is not suitable for active games, but if the owner uses it exclusively for “working” tasks, this power will be enough for him for a day. The novelty does not support fast charging. Output power adapter - 5V / 1A.

Interface

"From the factory" installed OS Android 8.0. It will not be superfluous to say that there are no well-known interfaces that are found in most innovative phones. In testing AnTuTu, 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 function well.

It is impossible to note that the speed of the device is very high, but it cannot be called slow either. It is worth noting 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 rear 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 comfortably talk 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 of the novelty 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 the "older" phones: there is a double LED type flash, support for geotagging, panoramic shooting, face detection, 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 value of the optics is 2.0, which is even higher when compared with the rear camera sensor.

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

Advantages and disadvantages

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

• The rear camera takes weak pictures;
• Not the most productive chipset;
• There is 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” link in the title. To evaluate 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.

First, 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 “brainchildren” of Meizu Corporation and Alcatel, we can see that the former saved only on the chipset, but everything is fine with other parameters of the phone.Alcatel 1 is powered by MediaTek's MT6739 processor based on 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.3GHz.

The AnTuTu test rated this processor at 35,460 points, which is many times higher than that of the SC9832E from Spreadtrum. The chip is the only factor in which Alcatel 1 outperforms rivals from Meizu.

As for the cameras, it is worth saying the following, Alcatel 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 Meizu) battery - 2,000 mAh. The most obvious drawback of the Alcatel model is that it has only one SIM tray.

Conclusion

C9 is the most budget phone from a well-known brand from China, which has a frameless display and a high-quality battery. If there is a desire, the owner can change the battery, since the panel of the device is removable. The advantages of the device include the presence of "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 your hand.