Aside from Xiaomi, Meizu is looking to capture the midrange market with a great mix of features at pricing that’s hard to beat. Their latest midranger, the Meizu M5 is hoping to challenge its competitors with a 5.2 inch HD screen, 1.5GHz MT6750 octa-core processor, and a starting price tag of 699 yuan (about Php5k after straight conversion) for the 2GB/16GB version and just 899 yuan (about Php6.4k) for the 3GB/32GB model. Of course, if the M5 ever does actually get here, expect to pay a higher price tag as per usual.
There are a few nice features that give the Meizu M5 some added value. The screen is covered in 2.5D glass as a nice aesthetic touch, and there’s their mTouch 2.1 fingerprint sensor that can unlock the phone is as quick as 0.2 seconds. The 13mp camera may be ho-hum, but it’s equipped with phase detection autofocus, which is much faster at focusing versus the more common contrast detection found in most smartphones.
At the moment, it’s up to our gray market sellers to bring the Meizu M5 to the Philippines as the only official distributor in the past has mysteriously closed up shop. Unfortunately, that means a huge hike in pricing. How much more would you guys be willing to pay before it gets too expensive? Let me know in the comments below.
Meizu M5 Specs
- 5.2″ HD IPS display (720 x 1280 resolution, 282ppi) with 2.5D curved glass
- 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor
- Mali 860 GPU
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
- 2GB RAM/16GB internal storage or 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage variants
- 13mp rear-facing camera with phase detection autofocus and dual-LED flash, f/2.2 aperture
- 5mp front camera, f/2.0 aperture
- 4G/LTE, 3G/HSPA+, 2G/GSM
- WiFi a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
- 3,070mAh battery
- Price: 699 yuan (about Php5k) for 2GB/16GB version, and 899 yuan (about Php6.4k) for 3GB/32GB model
