Over the course of the past few days, we came to notice that quite a lot of people have been looking for the Meizu Pro 7. That's why we decided to take a quick look at it and let you know just how much it's worth is money - or how much it doesn't!
So, without any further ado, let's get right into it!
Design
If there's one thing that the Meizu Pro 7 can offer, then that's definitely going to be the design.
At the back of both the Pro 7 and the Pro 7 Plus, you’ll find a secondary always-on display. You can use it for multiple things, such as easily checking out the time, notifications, weather, while also making adjustments on the phone itself.
You can also use it as a regular display if you wish to, but we don’t see the point in that. In fact, we can hardly see the usefulness of having a secondary display such as this one at all.
Other devices, such as the Nubia X take advantage of their secondary display to get rid of the selfie camera.
This is something that makes a full-screen display possible while also using the superior rear camera as a selfie shooter as well. And while you can kind of do that with the Meizu Pro 7, the experience is not the same and you still get the thick bezels at the front of the phone.
Display and Battery
Not to mention that the main display is AMOLED anyway – which means that you can use AOD without a secondary display. Speaking of the display, it uses a resolution of 1080 x 1920 with a 16:9 ratio.
Frankly, any phone with an AMOLED screen is going to produce some very beautiful results. However, it’s worth noting that the bezels are rather thick – especially by 2020 standards.
The battery sits at 3,000 mAh – which is not bad. But at the same price point, or even lower, you can find numerous devices with 4,000 to 4,500 mAh batteries.
And while we get 24W fast charging, the Meizu Pro 7 is having a rough time competing with other smartphones in terms of battery life. Not to mention that the secondary display is quite possibly making things even worse – if only for a little.
Chipset
Let’s start by saying that the phone comes with Android Nougat out of the box and there is no chance for it to get Android 10. Most experienced Android users are going to naturally think that a custom ROM is a logical solution to that. However, do keep in mind that the Mediatek MT6757T/MT6799 is going to make the search a very tough task.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that the phone comes in two versions with slightly different chipsets (High edition uses the same chipset with the Plus variant). So, that makes things both more confusing and harder for finding a suitable custom ROM – if you ever find something that ticks all the boxes.
Oh, and don’t forget that it doesn’t support all the US carriers in terms of bands/frequencies. As far as we know, only AT&T isn’t supported. But make your own research – just to be safe.
Meizu Pro 7: Performance and Cameras
In terms of performance, the Meizu Pro 7 will struggle to compete with current mid-rangers or even some budget-oriented options such as the Redmi Note 8 Pro. But that’s to be expected from a 3-year-old device.
As far as cameras are concerned, the 16MP selfie shooter isn’t anything to write home about. But the main 12MP Sony sensor is pretty decent. The setup is kind of outdated compared to modern devices, though.
Don’t expect to find an ultra-wide lens, optical zoom, or anything like that. It only uses the main shooter along with a depth sensor and that’s about it.
Meizu Pro 7: Availability and Storage
The Pro 7 has been out since the summer of 2017 – which is one of the main reasons that we were surprised to see that people are still interested in it. However, Meizu seems to have kind of given up on it. So, finding one can be a tough task.
Originally, the phone was available with both 64 and 128 gigs of storage and 4 gigs of RAM. But the only one that we managed to find now was the 64-gig variant.
Do keep in mind that this is plenty enough for now. Even our Redmi Note 5 Pro with 3 gigs of RAM didn’t have any issues running Android Pie. However, do keep in mind that these are still not future-proof options – not by a long shot.
Value
As far as value is concerned, you can generally find the Pro 7 brand-new for about 370-380 bucks. The only problem is that the same price point, or even lower, you’ll also be able to find superior devices such as the Pocophone, Mi 9T/K20, Redmi Note 8 Pro, P30 Lite, Mate 20 Lite, and more.
Overall, at the end of the day, we’re having a rough time recommending this device to, well, anyone. Maybe if you absolutely need the rear camera for selfies and maybe if you feel like the secondary display is worth that money for any reason.
Meizu Pro 7 Review: Wrapping Up
That’s all for now. To wrap everything up, here are all the pros and cons in a nutshell:
Pros:
- Unique design
- The secondary display is a good addition for taking some great selfies with the main shooter
- Relatively lightweight
- Decent main camera
- AMOLED display
Cons:
- Bad value for money
- Thick bezels
- Outdated OS + Tough to install Custom ROMs
- Camera setup is weak compared to the competition
- You need to install Play Services on your own – which can be a pain
Again, we’re having a rough time recommending this device to most people. But if you absolutely want it, well, nobody is going to stop you.
Check out the Meizu Pro 7 on Amazon
Alternative picks:
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