The Meizu MX4 Pro Review
by Andrei Frumusanu on February 16, 2015 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Exynos
- Mobile
- Meizu
GPU Performance
The Exynos 5430's Mali T628MP6 at 600MHz should be a predictable test candidate now that we have scores from Note 4's Exynos 5433 and Huawei's Kirin 920 devices. The MX4 Pro should perform slightly worse than the 5433. Meizu maintains the ALU load percentage based scaling logic that I've covered in the Note 4 Exynos review, meaning that ALU heavy loads allow the GPU to scale up to 600MHz while more traditional loads will limit the GPU to 550MHz.
In the 3DMark Unlimited Graphics test we see how the Mali lands more or less where we expected it, worse than the Note 4 and better than the Huawei units. The physics score is still a strongly CPU-bound test and the weaker A7 cores of the 5430 are what is used during most 3D loads.
As we move on to BaseMark X, we're getting into more pure 3D loads that are not as affected by CPU speeds. Here we see the Mali T628MP6 outperform the Kirin 920 by much more than what we would expect from 50% more cores on the MP4 configuration. I've mentioned in the Note 4 review that Samsung has dedicated and added a lot of cache in the Mali's in the 543X Exynos SoCs, and this delta might very well be a result of the modified implementation. The MX4 Pro is on the heels of Adreno 330 devices.
The higher-than-QHD resolution of the MX4 Pro drags down the on-screen scores by a significant amount. There seems to be a bandwidth bottleneck here as the device doesn't manage to outperform the Kirin devices.
The Manhattan and T-Rex off-screen scores again put the Exynos 5430 at the level of the Adreno 330.
The onscreen scores again reverse the scores and put the Mali at a greater disadvantage. It seems while the Exynos 5430 is able to properly keep up at 1080p resolution, the performance degradation when switching to 1560p is quite large.
GPU Power
The Note 4 review started something that I hope to continue in the future whenever a device allows me to do a full power analysis. The MX4 Pro is luckily one of those devices, and I was able to measure some interesting figures that I'll be getting into more in the battery life section. For now, I present some isolated GPU power figures employing the same methodology that I've used for the Exynos 5433, meaning the system is limited to the little cores and the device's screen power is subtracted from the off-screen tests of GFXBench.
While the MX4 Pro and the Galaxy Alpha both employ the same SoC, the rather massive difference between the two comes from the fact that my Alpha test unit had the second-worst chip bin possible, having much higher voltages than what the MX4 Pro is running on its Exynos 5430. My Meizu unit has a median-tier bin, which is something that a larger amount of people should be able to enjoy. On average we see a 62.5mV voltage drop throughout all the GPU frequencies.
The end result is that the MX4 Pro roughly consumes a full 1W less than the Alpha. Shaving off 25% of power consumption just by having a different chip bin demonstrates how volatile device benchmarking can be, as the review units we receive can be very different to what another site tests, not to mention user devices. As I continue to collect more data I hope that we can do a full competitive analysis of the SoC market in the future.
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aryonoco - Monday, February 16, 2015 - link
As much as I appreciate your in-depth analysis of SoC, power usage and displays Andrei, your taste in UI really baffles me.That is the most hideous, disjointed, inexplicably redundant UI I have ever seen on an Android device, and you seem to like it. I'm simply astounded that you like this everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach that many Chinese OEMs employ in regards to their ROMs. Brian and Anand knew that every additional UI feature comes with a cost, and it's a matter of finding the sweet spot. This point seems to be totally lost on you.
As an occasional Android developer, I would hate to think what Play Store reviews would look like if phones like this, with their ability to revoke permissions from apps and for users to break apps without realising that they have done so, would look like. Thankfully, no OEM which actually provides customer care support is going to implement this in a Western country, as the support cost is going to be enormous.
I really don't mean to sound disrespectful, but I'd love for Andrei to limit himself to hardware discussion in future Android devices (in which he is extremely skilled), and leave the UX review for someone with a bit more, shall I say, taste
Andrei Frumusanu - Monday, February 16, 2015 - link
I'm reviewing for the user, not for the OEM. In my opinion Android suffers a lot from Adware and misbehaving apps that such permission managers are a pure benefit to the user as already commented by some others here.I have experience in software UI design and user interaction, so while you might disagree with me I see plenty of other people who find Meizu's new UI equally attractive.
overseer - Monday, February 23, 2015 - link
To me Flyme OS has a homescreen with icons ugly as Quasimodo's face and so 2010, but the rest of interfaces (settings, notifications, etc) look strangely okay and taste somewhat close to Lollipop. This is a huge disparity in design practices and keeps me wondering if Meizu's UI designers hold a paranoiac love over that homescreen or they kind of hit a temporary ceilling in their professional competency. I would've taken the plunge for MX4 months ago had I not seen their everlasting homescreen. *_*samflorin - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
@aryonoco cm11S for One+ called, would like a word on the built in permission manager.ffsmaster - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
It is a pity that this review does not include the audio system: ES9018K2M+OPA1612.Andrei Frumusanu - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
I just didn't have anything to write about it. It sounds good? Without proper equipment as in the iPhone 6 review audio testing has become futile.vanguardkl - Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - link
This. I'm coming back here in Sept 2016 just to say this. This phone is 1.5 years old - has a 2k screen. HD HiFi audio DAC - most people have to spend $100 just to buy this separately - among the best specs seen on any phone - and costs $150 now. I'm buying one as soon as I can - there's nothing that comes close to this value. This phone is a diamond in the rough, and once people know about its gonna be snapped up.. Hopefully this comment stays in the dirt. I have a Meizu M1 Note which I got for $125 and its next to perfect with 1080p screen and all. They provide MONTHLY updates to the OS and improvements all the time. Amazing I'm so happy with Meizu and hopefully they remain buried under the news headlines and I can pick up these phones for cheap.loimlo - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Nice job! Well-written review!! How about other Chinese vendors like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo ?I've been using Redmi for a year and am very fond of it. Solid HW/SW given its humble pricing.
Hrushi - Thursday, August 6, 2015 - link
It is surprising to see that anandtech have missed on detailed audio quality analysis even when device have boasted this feature.inguru - Thursday, July 21, 2016 - link
Brother if you are really considering this to buy please be sure. Coz if something happens you cant fix this one. They have this digital security locked to its mainboard which you will not able to overwrite. No flashtool no ADB no fastboot what ever you try it will never be fixed & they are very dictating by saying send the phone to them but at the time you will b out of warranty and no place you will be able to go to bring it back. Its a dictatorship company. Be aware... you will never want to be in this situation