The Chinese smartphone brand Meizu has been known for manufacturing powerful phones at a comparatively lower price point. Their latest innovation is Meizu 21. This flagship killer was released in China on 30 November 2023. Does the phone live up to the mark? Let’s look at the features, pros, cons, and price of Meizu 21 in Bangladesh.
Key Features and Specs of Meizu 21
Design
The Meizu 21 smartphone features a 156.7 mm by 75.3 mm by 7.9 mm middle frame crafted from new aviation-grade aluminum. Its assembly utilizes advanced CNC machining, akin to techniques used in aviation, ensuring high precision. This design makes the device resistant to falls and pressure, enhancing durability.
With a slim profile of 7.9mm and weighing 198g, the Meizu 21 comes in four attractive colors: Unbounded Black, Meizu White, Ruiyi Cyan, and Smart Purple. The rear camera module adopts a borderless narrow-edge lens design with a black-coated lens ring. In contrast, the camera lens surface showcases a fine nano-etching process, creating a distinctive CD pattern.
Read more: Motorola Moto G54 Review: Can It Hold the Legacy?
The Meizu 21 introduces the "Aicy Smart Ring" to elevate user interaction with its multi-scenario interactive ring light system. Additionally, its "Unbounded Antenna System 2.0" enhances signal performance by 30% compared to its predecessor, supported by mSmart Net technology for comprehensive network optimization. The screen’s bezel has been reduced to 1.74mm which is certainly praiseworthy.
Display
The Meizu 21 bears a 6.55-inch FHD+ Samsung OLED Display with a resolution of 2340 by 1080 pixels. This display offers vivid colors and sharp details, providing an immersive viewing experience. With a refresh rate of 120Hz, interactions with the device are smooth and responsive. The display's brightness reaches up to 1800 nits, ensuring clear visibility even in bright sunlight, and it employs 1920Hz PWM technology for enhanced brightness control.
The screen-to-body ratio is approximately 89.3%, offering a large viewing area. The symmetrical bezels are incredibly slim, measuring just 1.74mm.
Read more: Honor X7b Review: Budget-friendly Phone with Powerful Battery
Performance and Hardware
The Meizu 21 is equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 4nm chipset, featuring an octa-core CPU with a unique architecture of Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720, Cortex-A520, and Cortex-A720 cores, delivering high-performance capabilities. The chipset is fabricated using a 4nm process. Its Adreno 750 GPU enhances graphic rendering for smooth gaming and multimedia experiences.
Meizu 21 runs on Android 13 with the Flyme 10.5 interface. The device sports 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS4.0 flash memory, offering ample storage and efficient multitasking. Performance tests reveal improved CPU and GPU performance compared to its predecessor, with enhanced gaming capabilities and lower power consumption. The device features a large heat dissipation area, maintaining stable performance during heavy gaming sessions.
Camera
The Meizu 21 features a triple rear camera setup, headlined by a 200MP (f/1.7) primary lens, accompanied by a 13MP (f/2.4) ultra-wide lens and a 5MP (f/2.4) wide-angle lens. The main camera supports features like Ring-LED flash, panorama, and HDR, with video recording capabilities of up to 8K resolution with gyro-EIS.
Read more: vivo iQOO 12 Review: Flagship Killer or a Flagship Itself?
It has a 32 MP (f/2.4) selfie camera with HDR support on the front side, offering various filters and effects. The camera software supports dynamic range and manages colors and contrast effectively.
The device's native camera app provides several modes and filters, allowing users to make the most of the secondary lenses for improved photography. While low-light performance is commendable with reduced noise, night mode enhances color vibrancy.
The rear camera can shoot 8K footage at maximum with gyro-EIS. However, the quality of videos is comparatively lower than the other competitors in its price ranges.
Read more: realme GT5 Review: A gaming phone with high capability
Battery and Charger
The Meizu 21 is powered by a built-in 4800 mAh battery. It supports rapid 80W fast charging, allowing a full charge in just 40 minutes, as per Meizu's claims. This device incorporates Meizu Ice World cooling technology and OneMind 10.5, along with a large heat dissipation stack area of 37345mm², ensuring a balanced performance and battery life. With NFC and infrared remote control support, it's versatile in connectivity.
The Meizu 21 runs on Flyme 10.5, featuring Aicy AI and Flyme AR. Users can enjoy up to 5+ hours of screen time on a single-round charge, along with approximately three hours of gameplay and additional hours of content streaming.
With 80W wired charging, convenience meets efficiency in powering up the Meizu 21. However, modern features like reverse and wireless charging could make it a better deal.
Read more: Infinix Note 40 Pro Review: A Mid-Range Phone with 108P sensor, MagSafe Charging
The Price of Meizu 21 in Bangladesh
Meizu 21 phone’s 12/256GB ROM version is currently available in Bangladesh at around BDT 62,000. However, the price may vary depending on the sellers.
Pros and Cons of Meizu 21
Pros
- Impressive Display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1800 nit brightness
- Powerful Snapdragon chipset for high-performance capabilities
- Versatile and dynamic camera system
- Large battery with fast charging
- Elegant design with slim bezels and four attractive color options
- Advanced features, including Flyme 10.5 OS
- Ultrasonic Finger Reader and Dual Stereo Speakers.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy A35 Review: Does It Offer Value for Money?
Cons
- Average camera software
- Outdated Android interface
- No support for reverse or wireless charging
- Uses an older version of the Type-C port
- Lacks a microSD card slot
- Lacks the audio jack
- No gorilla glass protection.
Conclusion
The Meizu 21 offers users a good experience with its impressive performance, stunning display, and long-lasting battery life. However, it's essential to acknowledge its shortcomings, such as the lack of gorilla glass protection on display, lack of wireless and reverse charging support, average camera software, outdated Android interface, etc.
Despite these drawbacks, the Meizu 21 remains a standout choice for those seeking a blend of sophistication and functionality. People who need a reliable phone for gaming and heavy tasks can go for Meizu 21.