Today Meizu launched the new M6s, successor to last year’s M5s. The new M6s brings significant upgrades for the entry-level smartphone as it upgrades the SoC, screen and camera.

The M6s is among one of the first smartphones in its price category to include a SoC with an ARM big core. The Exynos 5 (Mid-range series) 7872 is Samsung’s first SoC below the high-end to adopt Cortex A73 cores alongside the usual A53 cores. The new 2x A73 4x A53 configuration runs at respectively 2.0 and 1.6GHz, resulting in expected performance far ahead of the M5s’ MT6753 which only had A53 cores up to 1.3GHz. The GPU is a new Mali G71MP1 running up to a very high 1.2GHz, likely to compensate for the fact that it only has a single core. The SoC is also manufactured on a 14nm process so we should expect overall large efficiency and battery life gains.

Technical Specifications
  Meizu M6s Meizu M5s
SoC Exynos 5 7872

4x Cortex A53 @ 1.6GHz
2x Cortex A73 @ 2.0GHz

Mali G71MP1 @ 1.2GHz

14nm
MediaTek MT6753

4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.0GHz
4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.3GHz

Mali-T720MP2 @ 546MHz

28nm
RAM 3GB LPDDR3 3GB LPDDR3
NAND 32 / 64GB (eMMC 5.1)
+ microSD
16GB / 32GB (eMMC 5.1)
+ microSD
Display 5.7-inch 1440 x 720
IPS LCD (18:9)
5.2-inch 1280 x 720
IPS LCD
Dimensions 148.2 x 72.8 x 8.3 mm (TBC)
143 grams (TBC)
148.2 x 72.5 x 8.4 mm
143 grams
Modem Exynos (Integrated)
2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 7)

FDD-LTE / TD-LTE / TD-SCDMA / WCDMA / CDMA / GSM
MediaTek (Integrated)
2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 4)

FDD-LTE / TD-LTE / TD-SCDMA / WCDMA / CDMA / GSM
SIM Size 2x NanoSIM (dual standby) 2x NanoSIM (dual standby)
Front Camera 8MP 5MP, f/2.0
Rear Camera 16MP Samsung,
f/2.0

dual-tone LED flash
13MP, 1/3.06" OmniVision OV13853, 1.12µm pixels, f/2.2, PDAF,

dual-tone LED flash
Battery 3070 mAh 3000mAh
Connectivity 802.11b/g/n, BT 5.0,
GPS/GNSS, BeiDou, Galileo

microUSB 2.0
802.11b/g/n, BT 4.0 LE,
GPS/GNSS,

microUSB 2.0
Launch OS Meizu Flyme OS 6
Android 7.0
Meizu Flyme OS 5.1
Android 5.1
Launch Price
(No Contract)
¥999 / ¥1199 RMB
$155 / $189 USD
127€ / 152€ EUR
¥799 / ¥999 RMB
$120 / $150 USD
101€ / 127€ EUR

This is also the first time we’ve seen an Exynos SoC released with integrated CDMA capability, confirming the rumours that SLSI is finally transitioning towards a world-modem and properly competing against other SoC vendors in CDMA markets such as China and the US. The SoC is also a fully integrated connectivity platform as it also integrates WiFi up to 802.11n, Bluetooth 5 and FM radio without having to rely on external combo-chips.

The M6’s screen keeps the rather low-end 720p resolution of the M5s but transitions to a 18:9 aspect ratio, thus increasing the vertical resolution to 1440 pixels.

The cameras have seen an upgrade as the main shooter now includes a higher resolution 16MP Samsung sensor with an f/2.0 lens system as well as an unspecified 8MP front camera.

The transition to a edge-to-edge display and removal of the front-facing physical home button in the M6s has obliged Meizu to move the fingerprint sensor to the side of the device near the power button. To replace the lack of the multi-function home button that Meizu devices usually ship with, Meizu has reintroduced a software Halo button for navigation which is also pressure sensitive on the screen.

The M6s comes in black, blue, gold and silver in 32 and 64GB variants for respectively ¥999 / ¥1199 RMB or equivalent $155 / $189 USD, making the phone a very attractive proposition and value for money.

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  • lilmoe - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    720p is great. iPhone 8 users aren't complaining. The SoC should also be a major upgrade from previous 4xA53 and 8xA53 phones. Battery life should also be significantly better.

    Not sure what you really need from a $150 phone. It's definitely great value. If bought later in the year for half the price, it would be killer value.
  • jjj - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    720p at that size is a ppi appropriate for a 600CNY device and not at all for a 1000CNY device, so low end not mid. The resolution is absolutely bellow it's price point and offers a rather poor experience with a ppi well bellow 300.
  • Wardrive86 - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    If they upped the res they would have had to upped the GPU, single core g71...clearly they didn't want to spend money on this SoC. I just can't see why you get a really descent CPU with that lowly gpu
  • jjj - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    The truth is that they made a choice to go 18:9 and that required a downgrade to 720p from 1080p, to keep costs in check. The choice would have been valid if they had much smaller upper and lower bezels but , as it is, it's just for the sake of going 18:9 as that's "cool" now.
  • jjj - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    no edit...
    to avoid any confusion , i mean 18:9 720p vs the traditional AR 16:9 and 1080p
  • ZolaIII - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    Because two A73's are still tiny compared to single MALI G71 cluster, still GPU performance will be 35~40% better than previous generation T720 MP2. It's basically economy/business class SoC...
  • lilmoe - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    I missed the part that it was a 5.7" screen. I agree, the resolution is a bit low for that size. But like others said, the GPU is too underpowered for a 1080p screen, and wouldn't be nearly as power efficient.. Wonder why they needed to go above 5.2" for the upgraded model.
  • lilmoe - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link

    Oh wait. Dammit, that 18:9 aspect ratio really gets you. I take that back, the resolution on that screen IS great. The screen is at the same width of ~64.7mm just like the older model.
    It comes out to be around 282ppi which is fantastic for ANY mid-range device IMHO.
  • sonny73n - Thursday, January 18, 2018 - link

    I agree. 282ppi is great for a midrange. Plus the whole specs are pretty good imo. I hope Meizu have retailers here in the US. I really like their Pro series.
  • sonny73n - Thursday, January 18, 2018 - link

    @jjj

    Name one value phone in 2016 that could beat this one.

    720p display is weak but the bezels and everything else are perfect for a phone under 300 USD.

    Only annoying things are you and the iPhone which Apple charges ~4x the price they spent to make and its performance will be deliberately slowed down after every firmware update.

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