The budget smartphone market is simply full of all kinds of Chinese brands, and not only of the A class, but also of beginners. The competition here is unrealistic and everyone is trying to make their device unlike the others.
The key goal in this whole business is an attempt to repeat the success of two companies that have long been leading the confrontation - Meizu and Xiaomi. They began their history at different times, but today they are key representatives of the Celestial Empire in the market of budget devices and not only. Which is better - "Xiaomi" or "Meizu" is hard to say. Both those and others have their pros and cons, but what they appear in is to be figured out.
Story
Before starting, I would like to briefly talk about the history of the two companies. So to speak, where it all began.
Meise
Meizu was founded back in 1998. The name can be translated as “a group of geeks.” “Mei” - is translated from Chinese - “a man in trend”, and “Zu” - a group of people. Hence the "group of geeks." They started initially with the production of portable audio players, which quickly gained popularity in China. The desire to produce smartphones appeared in 2007 and the reason for this was a drop in demand for portable players.
So, in 2007, the development of the first Meizu M8 device began. It was officially introduced in 2008. Windows CE version 6 was used as the operating system. 0. A distinctive feature was the significantly redesigned design, which was clearly different from the traditional one. As for the appearance, it resembled the then iPhone. Apparently, the love of Apple at the “Maze” has remained to this day, since their designs are very similar to the American manufacturer.
Today, Meizu phones occupy a significant part of the market, and not only in the Middle Kingdom. The company has several dozens of released devices, including smartphones, players, smart watches and headphones.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi smartphones began to be born in 2011. The first was the Xiaomi MI1 model , which offered for relatively little money, a pretty good filling at the time, like many well-known brands. The result was unexpected for everyone, because thanks to a carefully planned advertising campaign, only in the first week it was possible to sell a huge batch.
Further it was only better. “Xiaomi” began to produce more and more new devices, which were bought up instantly and brought incredible profits to the company. After only a few years, Xiaomi has become one of the leading companies in China for the production of smartphones and other equipment and continues to maintain this status to this day.
As for the name Xiaomi, it translates from Chinese as "millet".
Comparison
I would like to start a comparison of Meizu and Xiaomi with a list of pluses, because in most cases they are the key factors that influence the acquisition of a particular device.
5 pluses of Meise
The first will be a review of the Meise. Although, probably, this can not be called a full review, but rather a listing of the main advantages of the company's smartphones.
Design and ergonomics
The design of the Meizu phones has always been one of the greatest strengths, even though the appearance of most devices resembles an iPhone. The build quality is excellent, the arrangement of all elements is thought out, so using Meizu devices is very convenient.
Sound
Since Meizu has been developing and manufacturing portable players for a long time, listening to your favorite music with headphones on the company's smartphones is much more pleasant than using Xiaomi. Of course, it is impossible to say that the sound is perfect, but it is clearly better than most Chinese counterparts.
Branded button
M-touch is a proprietary button that has been installed on all Meizu devices for many years. It acts as a back button, and when pressed, returns to the main screen. In addition, a fingerprint scanner is built into the button, which is much more convenient to use due to the location. On Xiaomi smartphones, the scanner is located on the back side, which is not very comfortable. Another great advantage of the m-touch button is the ability to set certain functions on it, for example, double-clicking is responsible for starting the camera.
Shell
If you choose which is better - “Xiaomi” or “Meizu” in terms of shell, then opinions differ, but in terms of optimization Flyme still wins a little. Flyme is not just an external shell for the android system, but, one might say, a completely redesigned android. Appearance changed beyond recognition. Added many additional smart gestures and their applications. Separately, I want to highlight the excellent optimization. Even on the cheapest and not too cool hardware devices from Meizu, Flyme shows gorgeous smoothness and stable operation, without any brakes or freezes.
Price
Well, the price is becoming the final plus in the Meise review. Of course, a lot depends on the smartphone itself, because models that go in the middle price segment and high are correspondingly more expensive, but still this is lower than that of most famous brands. Speaking specifically about how much Meizu is worth, the price tag for low-end models starts at 5,500 rubles, which is quite acceptable, though you can forget about the metal case and good hardware.
5 Pros of Xiaomi
Now you can go to the Xiaomi review. The smartphones of this manufacturer also have something to answer, and at some points - these are really weighty arguments.
Iron
Like it or not, but in terms of filling, the Xiaomi smartphones look much more interesting. And the point is not the amount of RAM or internal memory, but the processor and video accelerators. For most of its devices, Xiaomi uses Snapdragon processors, which are much more productive than those of Mediatek, which are used in Meizu. Plus, almost always Xiaomi puts Adreno video accelerators on its devices, and Mali on Meizu.
Price
Smartphones from Xiaomi, as a rule, cost a couple of thousand cheaper than similar devices from Meizu, which, of course, is only a plus. Why overpay for what you can buy cheaper?
Infrared port
Xiaomi gets another tick for having an infrared port on some devices, thanks to which you can turn the phone into a control panel for the TV. Very comfortably. Few manufacturers, including Meizu, generally install infrared ports on their phones.
Big choice
Variety is perhaps the most important plus. Xiaomi smartphones are sold in several versions, and not only the amount of RAM differs, but also the manufacturer of the processor, the quality of materials, etc. While Xiaomi releases one new product in three to four different variations, Meise has only one and then in two versions.
MIUI
Well, the last one is the MIUI shell. She, like Flyme, completely changes the look of the classic android and allows you to customize everything as you wish. It is worth noting that MIUI has a huge fan base around the world and is one of the most popular custom firmware for a huge number of smartphones from various manufacturers.
If you summarize the pros and say that it is better - “Xiaomi” or “Meizu”, then it is hardly possible to single out a favorite. Both there and there are their interesting chips.
disadvantages
Continuing, comparing Meizu and Xiaomi, I would like to say a few words about the cons, and there are those on both sides.
The main complaints to the Maze:
- Using Mediatek processors.
- Defective buttons and display.
- Battery life.
- A mediocre camera.
- Small selection of models.
And now the Xiaomi:
- The camera is average in quality.
- The sound in the headphones.
- The risk of running into marriage.
- Cheat prices.
- The problem with the firmware.
As a result, 5 comes out on the one hand and 5 on the other. And, probably, in general, this can be called a draw, because companies have approximately the same cameras, there are defects on both sides. “Meizu” initially upsets prices, but cunning sellers try to make more money on “Xiaomi” and pull the cost of devices almost to the level of competitors. The bad sound in the headphones can be compensated for by fine tuning the equalizer, so there are no special problems here either.
As for the firmware, they do not go to Meiza as often as we would like, but at least there are no problems installing new firmware. But with Xiaomi, the opposite is true. New firmware appear more often, however, in order to install it, you first have to tinker with the bootloader.
Finally
So which is better - Xiaomi or Meizu? There is no definite answer to this question, and it is unlikely that it will ever appear. Both the one and the other company have very good products, with a lot of advantages and minor flaws. Everyone should choose for himself, because, as they say, "there are no friends for the taste and color."