The super-affordable Meizu M5 is official

Meizu is one of those Chinese manufacturers worth keeping an eye on. The company is best known for offering well-built devices with an excellent price–performance ratio, following the same basic recipe that made several other Chinese OEMs into household names. Meizu is already quite successful on its home turf but so far hasn’t been able to make a real impact in North America or in Europe.

The latest device to try to change that is called the Meizu M5. Recently unveiled in China, the M5 is targeted at budget conscious consumers looking for a decent mid-range device. It features a 5.2-inch 1,280 x 720 pixel display covered in 2.5D glass and is powered by a MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz.

You’ll have the option of choosing between two versions of the device, one with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage and the other with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. Thankfully, there’s also a microSD slot present, which also doubles as a second SIM slot.

The Meizu M5 has a 13 MP camera at the back with phase detection autofocus and a dual LED flash, while the front-facing selfie camera has a 5 MP sensor. The M5 also comes with an mTouch 2.1 fingerprint reader that unlocks the device in just 0.2 seconds, a non-removable 3,070 mAh battery, and Meizu’s FlyMe user interface on top.

The M5, available in Matte Black, Mint Green, Blue, Champagne Gold, and White, is already available in China for ¥699 (2 GB/16 GB) and ¥899 (3 GB/32 GB), which converts to around $103 and $132 dollars respectively. When the Meizu M5 comes to western markets, it will run on Android but likely also carry a higher price tag than in its native China.

What do you think of the Meizu M5? Do you think Meizu will crack Western markets?

Up next: Meizu M3 Note review