Meizu 17 series go official with 6.6” AMOLED displays, quad cameras and Snapdragon 865

08 May 2020
Meizu's first 5G flagships pair a clean design with powerful hardware.

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Nicolas F, 08 May 2020Meizu 17 Pro has wireless charging, although it's not that ... moreStrange as I also noticed the lack of OIS in their latest flagships. Maybe we are missing something.

My Meizu 16th (Meizu 16 in China) has OIS and takes pretty stable pictures. In Meizu flagships with ring flash the OIS hardware is in the middle of the ring. The 6 LED configuration within the ring flash is unique to Meizu. Quite a novel idea that looks stunning as well as functional and produces bright light. But then Meizu is known for their unique design & built quality.

    Still No IP68 and usb 2.0 on a 2020 flagship phone :(

      Whackcar, 08 May 2020I like what I'm seeing here. The design is simple, and i do... moreMeizu 17 Pro has wireless charging, although it's not that "must have" of a feature (unlike missing OIS and autofocus).

        Anonymous, 08 May 2020"why not 1440p display"? For same reason xiaomi and apple ... moreApple has custom designed 458 ppi display, specifically to deal with PenTile OLED being lees sharp than IPS on same pixel density, but not having too much ppi.
        And Xiaomi can just put bigger battery, like they did on Black Shark 3 Pro (which has 1440p+ display). Plus, again, SD865 is more energy-efficient than older chipsets, so it's that of a problem.

        But isn't boke effect achievable with telephoto camera?

          I like what I'm seeing here. The design is simple, and i don't mind the camera layout. Specs are good. It has all the essentials covered. IP certification & wireless charging would've been nice, but it's fine as it is considering the price.

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            • Droider
            • xHH
            • 08 May 2020

            Thank you Meizu. Meizu was my first Android phone back in the day, and I am glad to see they are fully back in action. As long as it has Global rom, this will be my next buy. Price/value ratio is excellent :)

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              • Anonymous
              • LQw
              • 08 May 2020

              Nicolas F, 08 May 2020Pros: - flat screen (what kind of world do we live in if w... more"why not 1440p display"? For same reason xiaomi and apple do not have. It is cheaper and uses less power.

              "Why is there a tof camera? " because brands are obssessed with dumb bokeh despite even with tof still has same flaws like cutting people.

                Berserker, 08 May 2020That about the fact that iphones have the biggest fat a** n... more..which are easy to forget about :P

                  Nicolas F, 08 May 2020Pros: - flat screen (what kind of world do we live in if w... moreThat about the fact that iphones have the biggest fat a** notches on the market and one of the biggest side bezzels? :D

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                    • Anonymous
                    • LQw
                    • 08 May 2020

                    Meizu 16T = 1/2.8" front cam
                    Meizu 17 = 1/3.4" front cam

                    This means the ugly hole was choice, not need because front cam is worse smaller sensor.

                      Pros:
                      - flat screen (what kind of world do we live in if we have to be happy that the screen is flat and not curved?..);
                      - high-performing chipset, duh;
                      - big battery;
                      - 17 Pro has all three useful types of cameras (and fair 3.04x zoom);
                      - 17 Pro has latest RAM and storage standards;
                      - should have really good haptic engine;

                      Cons:
                      - hole-punch selfie camera; front panel appearance of Meizu 16s Pro was better;
                      - 17 has two useless cameras, and very little difference to the 17 Pro, so why does it exist?
                      - why not 1440p display? SD865 should be capable enough, it's not SD835 after all;
                      - what about aptX codecs?
                      - no USB 3.0, is it so expensive or what?
                      - no OIS on telephoto camera;
                      - no autofocus on ultrawide camera;
                      - why is there a TOF camera?
                      - can Meizu guarantee decent Global Version and global support for these phones?

                      Just a fun fact: they have biggest bezels symmetry among Android phones - 89% (modern iPhones have 100%, tho).

                        Betch, 08 May 2020Quite disappointed with the camera cutout design. Still, it... moreRegarding rear cameras of Meizu 17 & 17 Pro, I believe having so many image sensors are unnecessary. It is just to satisfy those customers who grade a smartphone camera performance by the number of sensors at the back. And also Meizu to have a marketing edge. This will not fool me though.

                        My Meizu 16th (Meizu 16 in China) had one of the best rear camera hardware of 2018 flagships. Period. Where it lacked was in computational photography embedded in camera software which is the new talk of the town.

                        Google with its Pixel lineup have shown the power of computational photography and what can be done with just one image sensor of the Pixel. And now every major manufacturer are heavily investing on this new tech to have great photos & videos. Unfortunately Meizu currently does not even have the financial strength of LG, Vivo, Oppo let alone the top three: Apple, Samsung & Huawei. That is why you I get decent photos on broad daylight on Meizu 16th, but under artificial light where computational photography comes in its own, the 16th falls back.

                        A great example will be the camera comparison between my Vivo NEX (Vivo NEX S in China) & Meizu 16th. The NEX main camera uses the 12 MP, Sony IMX363 where as 16th uses the superior 12 MP, Sony IMX380. Hardware wise Meizu has the upper hand, but every time I take a photo the NEX wins be it sunlight or moonlight. The difference is even more evident after the recent camera software updates on my NEX. The new updates on Vivo have much superior computational photography algorithm than Meizu, resulting in overall better pictures. With the financial might of BBK Electronics at the back Vivo, Oppo, Realme, iQOO & OnePlus thay all have started investing heavily on computational photography and are now reaping the benefits.

                        Saying all this, at $240 my Meizu 16th shoots exceptional photography for its price. No complains for the price I paid. However I would have not said the same if I had bought the 16th during its launch at $570 in India. Meizu flagships become sweet deals after an year. Just wait and watch drop.

                          RishiGuru, 08 May 2020I was right, Meizu 17 & 17 Pro does not have a 3.5 mm a... moreThe best behind a real ceramic back :P

                            These are again only China exclusive??? If you buy it from gearbest no Google services?

                              NotAnOpinion, 08 May 2020Finally! The day is here. 3 to 5 more post-release articles... moreReally, no brand clone? They invest millions of dollars into their custom Samsung displays, in order to reduce the bezels or cutouts - this Meizu 17 cutout looks like the smallest, least obtrusive implementation of any smartphone. Their home button gestures were later copied by other main brands, including Motorola on their Z series.

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                                • SteveFOX
                                • ntk
                                • 08 May 2020

                                Few things though:
                                No OIS mentioned for any of the modules in the Chinese presentation.
                                Same poor 20mp selfie sensor from the 16S, in fact, they showed some reviews and the 17 Pro's front camera had horrible dynamic range in videos compared to the 16s Pro one.
                                Most of all, the Pro is too heavy - 220 grams!
                                I am rocking a Vivo X30 and that's heavy at 198g!
                                5G, 90Hz refresh and wireless charging have suddenly added a whopping 50-70g to the weight!
                                Good news is that all recent models with Chinese firmware will receive 8.1 based on Android 10!

                                  I was right, Meizu 17 & 17 Pro does not have a 3.5 mm audio jack. But that was quite understandable as their audio dongle business will go out of business if they included one. They need to suck more money from the consumers in the God forsaken Apple ways.

                                  Now every owner of 17 & 17 Pro need to separately buy a USB to 3.5 mm audio dongle. Also to note on previous Meizu flagships 16s & 16s Pro the audio output through USB was pure digital signal. In one way that is good as your dongle/adapter will have complete control on audio quality but bad in the sense as now the dongle will now be expensive as digital to analog conversion & its hardware needs to be done in the dongle.

                                  The last Meizu flagship that had our beloved 3.5 mm audio jack was Meizu 16th (Meizu 16 in China) back in 2018 with SD845. Having bought one in 2019 @ $240 extremely happy with price performance ratio and the built quality. Audio on my 16th through audio jack is great, far superior than anything Samsung & Huawei have done till date. Only LG can beat Meizu in audio department. The dual stereo speakers on 16th is great I hope in 17 it is even better.

                                  The Meizu 17 Pro will have the same ceramic looking back as that of my Meizu 16th. It gives great looks and my 16th ceramic black is the best black a phone can have.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • fI{
                                    • 08 May 2020

                                    A bit expensive but not as expensive as Xiaomi's flagship which was not the case last year. It would be interesting to see if those speakers actually deliver.

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • PZa
                                      • 08 May 2020

                                      It's just 6.6 inches, I hope it'll have decent battery life. If the Snapdragon 865 wasn't the fastest platform, I'll tell people not to buy a flagship Android phone this year. That discrete modem is too much of a battery hog.

                                        Finally! The day is here. 3 to 5 more post-release articles for this no-brand clone and that should be it for this thing.

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