Meizu made quite a splash yesterday when it unveiled not one but three new products. Well, two and a half to be precise, as one is just a different variant. That variant is the new Meilan m1 Note for China Telecom, this time bearing a Snapdragon 615 instead of a MediaTek. Completely new, however, is its smaller sibling, the Meilan m1, with a 5-inch screen instead of the larger 5.5. And last but not the least, Meizu is expanding into your homes with a new LifeKit platform for smart appliances.
The variant of the Meilan m1 note is meant only for China Telecom subscribers. If you are one of those, you will get a model that bears a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 inside. All the rest, however, will get a 64-bit octa core MediaTek MT6752 instead. Everything else remains the same and it all boils down to processor brand preference and carrier loyalties.
The star of Meizu's show, however, is the totally new Meilan m1, which is, for all intents and purposes a smaller and unfortunately less powerful version of the colorful Meilan m1 note. Compared to the phablet, the Meilan m1 sports a 5-inch 1280x768 screen, also made by AUO, a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6732 CPU and 1 GB of RAM. It has only 8 GB of storage but can be augmented by a 128 GB microSD card. The cameras, however, are practically the same, with a 13 megapixel rear camera by Samsung and a 5 megapixel front shooter by OV.
Those specs might seem like a step down from the Meilan m1 Note, but it's for a good cause, at least for Meizu. The Meilan m1 is meant to compete with the new Xiaomi Redmi 2, which bears somewhat weaker specs in some areas compared to Meizu's device. The two will be locking heads at the entry-level category, which is why Meizu is giving the Meilan m1 a low 699 RMB price tag, roughly $110. Availability starts February 5.
Not content with smartphones, Meizu is expanding its influence right into your living rooms. It's new LifeKit platform will undoubtedly call to mind Apple's almost similarly named product. Like any smart home hub, LifeKit attempts to connect and communicate with different smart appliances, and Meizu has already partnered with quite a few. For lighting, it has partnered with X-Light Plus to bring support for its smart lamps. These bulbs can change their brightness to emulate natural light and Meizu LifeKit allows you to also set the color that they emit to fit your mood. RyFit's smart physical analyzer scales are also supported, giving LifeKit access to body information like weight, fat percentage, basal metabolic rate, and a more in order to come up with a holistic health plan for the user. These two smart appliances will soon be available for purchase directly from Meizu's online store.
SOURCE: Meizu (Meilan m1 Note), (Meilan m1), (LifeKit)