Meizu 16TH: The Good, the Bad, and the X factor

The Good

Classy looks

Aesthetically, the M16th is a well built classy looking smartphone, making it simply look beautiful. The premium looking device comes with rounded edges and super thin bezels running along the edges.

The symmetrical design of the device makes it look attractive and could be a good alternative for people who prefer classy single tone designs over the dazzling two colored phones that are trending in the smartphone space.

Impressive screen

The Meizu 16th sports a 6-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels and 402ppi pixel density. The screen is bright and well lit, and you will hardly any pixelated images or videos on this display. It makes for a comfortable viewing experience.

Snappy in-display sensor

The smartphone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor, which we tested during our short time with the unit. And, it's really swift. The company claims that the sensor is capable of unlocking the device within 0.25 seconds, which is something to be appreciated about.

Stereo speakers

The Meizu 16th has a stereo-like audio output. It has an earpiece on the top bezel that also doubles as a secondary speaker. The audio performance is quite impressive and you won't be missing a lot of nodes from your favorite tunes.

The Bad

No expandable memory

The Meizu 16th has 128GB of internal storage but unfortunately misses out on the expandable memory functionality. Although the internal memory would enough for many but could be a deal breaker for users who need additional space on their devices.

Limited camera settings

The M16th also sports a combination camera of 12MP and 20MP dual imaging system on the rear, while the front camera is a 20MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture, and support for 1080p video recording.

The device packs a decent set of cameras, it offers features like Portrait, panorama, pro, time-lapse, slo-mo, and QR scanner. We noticed that the setting are somewhat limited and do not offer deep customization. But, we will pass our final judgment when we spend enough time testing out these cameras.

Dated Android OS

The smartphone runs on the dated Android 8.0 Oreo, which is a setback given that Android 9 Pie is already out and has been available on many phones. Android 8 is still one of the best OS you can get on a smartphone, but the company could have attracted more users if the shipped the device with the latest software.

Also, the software comes with a lot of bloatware, which is not something we appreciate.

The X factor

The company has stacked this phone with the latest and competitive specifications. The Meizu 16TH is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. The octa-core CPU packs four 2.8GHz Kryo 385 Gold cores and four 1.7GHz Kryo 385 silver cores.

It runs smoothly and we hardly noticed any lag or stutter while switching between the apps or using any other features. The processor is backed by an Adreno 630 GPU which makes for a good gaming experience.

In our opinion, the smooth and zippy performance of the device is the biggest USP of the device which could make it stand out in the much-crowded smartphone market.

Hit or a miss?

With the latest Meizu 16TH. the Chinese firm has proved that it means business. Its comeback in the Indian market couldn't have been stronger.

But, despite bringing top-notch features to the table with its flagship, the company might have played a wrong card in terms of pricing. The device has been priced at Rs 39,999, which is something close to what OnePlus is offering its 6T.

But going against the already dominant major brands could prove disappointing for Meizu, given the fact that OnePlus has garnered immense popularity in the Indian market, and bringing a product with similar pricing seems like a bad move from Meizu. The Meizu is by no means a bad product, but it the device would have been priced at say 3-4k less, it would've been a great value for money.