SHANGHAI, April 24 ― Chinese manufacturer Meizu has launched not one, not two, but three new smartphones for it's fifteenth series: the Meizu 15, 15 Plus and M15. The launch brings more competition to the mid-range phone market.
With its new series, Meizu said yes to the jack port and no to the notch ― all three models have an undisturbed rectangular screen as well as supporting traditional wired headphones. It's an approach likely to please those not particularly fond of the latest design changes made by other manufacturers, such as Apple, Huawei and LG.
The Meizu 15 Plus, the larger of the three, has a display of 5.95-inches, putting it between the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the S9 Plus in terms of size. It's also worth noting that the mere 1.175 bezel is now the narrowest in the world.
The other two Meizu models, the 15 and the M15, sport a 5.46-inch display, more or less the same size as the latest “plus” phones from Apple. Like the iPhones, they also share a home button with a fingerprint reader.
The two top models both come with Samsung-made Super AMOLED displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio; the 15 Plus has a resolution of 1440p, whereas the others have 1080p. All three share a six-LED dual tone ring flash, which may prove useful for portraits.
Given the importance of quality photos and selfies these days, it was a good move by the brand to equip the 15 Plus and 15 with dual cameras. On the back there's a 12MP and 20MP setup, which the Meizu claims is its best yet and will handle up to 3x “lossless” optical zoom.
As for the chipsets, the two smaller models come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon; Meizu 15 has the mid-range Snapdragon 660 while M15 has the 626. Interestingly, the Plus comes with the Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa, the same chipset used in the Samsung flagship last year, the Galaxy S8.
The 15 Plus will of course come with a bit more RAM, 6GB (with an option of 64GB or 128GB of extra storage) and a battery capacity of 3,500 mAh.
As for design, the company calls it “ingenious,” as they are using a special manufacturing process to combine stainless steel and an aluminium alloy for a solid yet lightweight feel.
