Meizu's launch of the M3 Note in China has increased the level of competition in the budget smartphone space, forcing consumers to reevaluate their decisions to buy a new phone. Rivals like Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, LeEco Le 1s and Lenovo K4 Note offer compelling features, making it difficult for shoppers to find a suitable handset.
In order to lessen the confusion that buyers might have, here's a comparison of Meizu M3 Note with LeEco Le 1s and Lenovo K4 Note on a spec-by-spec basis.
Design
The all-new Meizu M3 Note smartphone comes with a premium metal body made of 6000 series aluminium alloy. It's display has a 2.5D glass and made of LTPS (Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon) and MiraVision 2.0 display technology. It measures 153.6 x 75.5 x 8.2 mm and weighs 163gram.
Lenovo K4 Note, which is already in the market and sold impressively in the initial flash sales, features a metal frame for sturdiness and a curved polycarbonate back cover that offers better grip. The K4 Note smartphone has front facing speakers and a removable back cover, which is not found in any of its rivals. It measures 153.6 x 76.5 x 9.15-3.8 mm and weighs 150gram.
LeEco Le 1s sports a premium full-metal sealed unibody without any visible screws that gives it a seamless look. The handset is made of aircraft-grade aluminium and has smooth finishes around the edges and the sides. Le 1s has speakers at the bottom alongside a USB Type-C port. Le 1s measures 151.1 x 74.2 x 7.6mm and weighs 169gram.
Display
All three smartphones have 5.5-inch displays with same Full HD resolution.
Lenovo K4 Note offers 178-degree viewing angles with 441ppi, while Le 1s sports a Floating Glass 2.0 display and a peak brightness of 500nits. Meizu M3 Note packs 403ppi in its 1080p display.
Camera
Meizu M3 Note offers a 13MP primary camera with PDAF, dual tone LED flash, 5-element lens setup and f/2.2 aperture. The camera lens is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield.
Lenovo K4 Note sports a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with dual-colour LED flash and PDAF. LeEco Le 1s has a 13-megapixel rear-facing ISOCELL 5P Lens camera with Blue Glass IR filter, f/2.0 aperture, 0.09 second ultra-fast focus speed, PDAF and LED flash.
All three phones have a standard 5-megapixel front facing shooter. Le 1s has a wide-angle lens to cover more area while taking a selfie with f/2.0 aperture lens. Meizu M3 Note's front camera lens has an f/2.0 aperture, 4-element lens and FotoNation 2.0.
Performance (Processor, RAM, storage, software, UI)
Meizu M3 Note features a 64-bit class MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core processor, which is backed by either 2GB or 3GB RAM depending on the model. There are two storage options, 16GB and 32GB, which get 2GB and 3GB RAM, respectively.
Lenovo K4 Note is powered by a 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor, Mali T720 GPU and 3GB DDR3 RAM, while LeEco Le 1s is powered by a 2.2GHz 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor and 3GB RAM. Lenovo K4 Note has 16GB onboard memory with a microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB. LeEco Le 1s has 32GB fixed storage.
All three phones are based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, but have different UIs. Le 1s features eUi, Lenovo K4 Note got its own Vibe UI and the M3 Note is based on FlymeOS.
Battery
Meizu M3 Note has a 4100mAh unit, which is the biggest of them all. Lenovo K4 Note trails with its 3,300mAh battery, which the company claims to last 22 hours on 3G talk time. LeEco Le 1s has a 3,000mAh battery, but it is equipped with fast charging technology that gives 3.5 hours of talk time with just 5 minutes of charge. Le 1s is also the only smartphone to offer USB Type-C port for quick charging and fast data transfer.
Fingerprint scanner
All three phones have an integrated fingerprint scanner for enhanced security. Le 1s is touted to feature world's first mirror-surfaced fingerprint scanner that prevents scratches and unlocks device in 0.15seconds with 99.3 percent accuracy and is placed on the rear, same as the Lenovo K4 Note. Meizu M3 Note takes advantage of its physical home button to integrate the fingerprint scanner within.
Price and availability
LeEco Le 1s is priced at Rs. 10,999 for the 32GB model while Lenovo K4 Note costs Rs. 11,999 for 16Gb.
Meizu M3 Note is currently available only in China for ¥799 (around $123/€108/Rs. 8,215) for 16GB and ¥999 (around $154/€136/Rs. 10,272) for 32GB models. The handset is expected to arrive in India as soon as next month, but a fixed date hasn't been revealed yet.
