Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition review: The Meizu PRO 5 might be almost a year old now, but it is still a gorgeous and exquisite flagship device. The only real question is, could Meizu have possibly made it better by ditching the tried and true Android and by taking a shot on Ubuntu - a rarity on the smartphone scene to say the least. But, we won't dive into that quite yet.
First up, lets quickly recall what the Meizu Pro 5 offers users and what made it stand out from the otherwise excellent MX5 model. The Pro moniker usually stands for a bigger screen, flagship chipset and greater camera, and the Meizu Pro 5 bumps exactly those features over the MX5. Plus, we get the trending 2.5D screen glass to complete the aluminum unibody, which is very welcome.But besides its gorgeous appearance, the Meizu Pro 5 also offers flagship 2015 specs. It has a phablet-sized 5.7-inch, 1080p AMOLED display. Power is also ample in the Pro 5 even by today's standards, thanks to the Samsung-made Exynos 7420 SoC, that went into the Galaxy S6 lineup as well, plus 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a Sony IMX230 camera sensor.
Hardware
Speaking of dimensions, the slick metal body of the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition is directly borrowed from its Android counterpart and still measures 156.7 x 78 x 7.5 mm. It also weigh in exactly the same at 168g, which is also natural, since the pair share the same internals as well - the only real difference being software.Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition looks a lot like the beautiful MX5, though the manufacturer refined the design with minor, but notable tweaks. The result is a polished and well build flagship, capable of getting the crown in any smartphone beauty pageant.
The Pro 5's whole shell, just like the MX5, is made out of brushed aluminum. The only plastic elements are the rear antenna bands around the top and bottom, which are still a mandatory requirement for proper signal strength.
The build quality is excellent, as expected and so is handling. The grip is very good thanks to the brushed aluminum and the only issue some might have is with it is that it tend to pick up fingerprints.
Display
As you could have probably guessed it, 5.7-inch AMOLED panel on the Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition is also identical to the one in its Android sibling. This means a resolution of 1080p, which might not sound all that impressive, now that QHD is quickly gaining popularity, but in reality, 386ppi is plenty for crystal clear, sharp images even on this diagonal.
While the contrast is as good as an AMOLED screen can offer, the brightness isn't on par with what the Galaxy Note series offers for instance. AMOLED units aren't known to be very bright to begin with, but the Pro 5 is around average.
Battery life
Just like its Android counterpart, the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition is equipped with a 3,050 mAh battery. Also, considering both utilize the same Exynos 7420 SoC, one could only expect that the pair will excel equally in the battery department. Sadly, that is not the case.
Whereas the original Pro 5 scored a very respectable 95 hours of endurance rating in our tests, the Ubuntu-powered variant managed only 43 hours and even less with two active SIM cards installed. This is definitely one of many areas in which the still young mobile OS falls short in terms of optimization. This is especially true when it comes to standby battery draw. Our unit drained a whopping 24% over a period of just 17 hours, doing nothing more than sitting around with its display off and connected to the cell network and office the wireless access point.
The rest of the tests, including browser, call and video playback all proved more draining on Ubuntu Touch than Flyme OS, but the difference wasn't quite as severe. Hopefully, this can be patched in future OS updates and through app optimization, as we know for a fact that the Meizu Pro 5 is capable of a lot longer endurance times.
Powerful 21MP camera
The camera setup is yet another thing the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition inherits directly from its Android sibling. This is definitely a good thing, as the hardware, powering the main shooter, is the Sony IMX 230 sensor with 21MP resolution - a flagship-grade offer from 2015. It is capable of impressive 5312x3984px snaps in 4:3 aspect. The auto focus uses a hybrid system, incorporating phase detect auto focus in addition to the regular contrast detect system. The camera also features a laser-assisted auto-focus, which should help the sensor take snapshots in the dark.
There's also a dual-tone LED flash, which should produce more natural flash photos.
FInal Words
Overall, if we have to evaluate the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition as a smartphone in its current state - it will undoubtedly be a major disappointment for casual users out there. However, as a prospective development platform for somebody that is truly invested in Linux and wants to work at its improvement and bright future on mobile devices, there is probably no better place to look at the moment. And, we are confident that to the right person, the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition will appeal even in its crude state as an ideal and powerful blank slate for experimenting with new ideas.
As far as most other users are concerned, however, a good analogy for the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition would be being handed a katana to use around the kitchen. You probably know about it and how powerful it is, you know true masters can do amazing things with it, yet, all you want to do is cut some salad and you really don't feel like loosing a hand with an unwieldy tool that looks great but it's not easy to handle.
At the moment, Ubuntu Touch is a cool and exciting concept and we do sincerely hope it realizes its potential at some point in the future. Currently, it's hardly suited as a daily driver on your mobile device, unless you really know what you are getting into. As for the Meizu Pro 5 - it is still a gorgeous and powerful device on its own, just be sure to opt for the Flyme OS version or don't say we didn't warn you.
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