Meizu tipped to launch ultra-affordable m4 with metal body: Price, specs leak online

Meizu is focusing on slowly expanding its product portfolio. Following the recent release of Meizu MX6 and M3 Max, the Chinese smartphone maker is now eyeing the budget segment.

Meizu is reportedly working on introducing a new smartphone in its Blue Charm series, which is most likely to be called Meizu m4, succeeding the m3, m3e and m3s models from earlier this year. The information about this new device came to light after a Weibo user spotted a Meizu device on TENAA and shared screenshots on the social networking site.

Based on shared photos of the device, it is clear that Meizu m4 will sport a metal body. But the leakster said the device will have some plastic parts and no fingerprint scanner, which seems odd considering most Meizu phones have the biometric sensor integrated within the physical home button, and the m4 sports the mBack button as most phones.

According to GizmoChina, the price of the handset is ¥899, which is roughly about Rs 8,950 or $134. This would make m4 costlier than m3s, which was launched starting at ¥699 (around Rs 7,200) along with the fingerprint scanning technology. If the pricing is right, then m4 should have better features than its predecessor.

Meizu m3s sports a metal unibody, a 5-inch HD display with 2.5D curved glass, 1.5GHz MediaTek octa-core processor, 2GB/3GB RAM and 16GB/32GB storage option with hybrid microSD card slot. On the camera side, there is a 13MP primary shooter with PDAF, f/2.2 aperture and dual LED flash and a 5MP front snapper. Meizu will need to outbid these specs to justify the higher price tag.

Nothing about this new device is official and the company hasn't revealed any concrete plans to launch a new phone anytime soon. Even if it does get launched, m4, like other Meizu smartphones, will be released in China before India.