Meizu MX6 review: Six of a kind

Performance in benchmarks

The Meizu MX6 is powered by the MediaTek Helio X20 chipset. It's a pretty impressive chipset and it's almost identical to the Helio X25, which has been featured in higher-priced phones such as the Meizu Pro 6. The two chipsets share the architecture but the X25 has slightly higher clockspeeds.

The Helio X20 is comprised of a tri-cluster processor: a couple of Cortex-A72 (2.3GHz), a quad-core Cortex-A53 (1.9GHz) and a low-power, quad-core Cortex-A53 (1.4GHz). The sheer number of cores sounds impressive and we hope the GPU - a Mali-T880 MP4 GPU - will be able to keep up the pace.

Let's kick things off with the impressive CPU setup and see how it fares against the competition. In terms of single-core performance, the Cortex-A72 isn't too far off compared to the Kryo CPU in the OnePlus 3 (Snapdragon 820).

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  1719
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1551
• Meizu MX6
  1550
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1546

GeekBench 3 (single-core)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  2383
• Meizu Pro 6
  1905
• Huawei P9 Plus
  1892
• Meizu MX6
  1724
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1596
• Meizu Pro 5
  1545
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  1543
• Meizu m3 note
  807

We are beginning to doubt how the multi-core GeekBench test works, as those results are far from what we'd expected from a 10-core processor. There is a good chance the app works only with the two A72 cores, which will explain the results below. And if we are right, then the score means the Helio X20 has a monstrous processor.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  4456
• OnePlus 3
  4045
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3885
• Meizu MX6
  3070

GeekBench 3 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Huawei P9 Plus
  6660
• Meizu Pro 6
  6427
• Meizu Pro 5
  5578
• OnePlus 3
  5520
• Meizu MX6
  5215
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5166
• Meizu MX5
  5110
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  4537
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  3695
• Meizu m3 note
  3028

AnTuTu is a compound benchmark, which takes into account storage performance, RAM and GPU prowess. The Snapdragon 820 inside the OnePlus 3 is the only one to overpower the Meizu MX6 because of its far superior GPU. The Qualcomm's custom Kryo cores probably helped, too.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  141764
• Meizu Pro 6
  99195
• Huawei P9 Plus
  97392
• Meizu MX6
  92377
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  85162
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  77442
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  76186
• Meizu Pro 5
  67531
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  45474
• Meizu m3 note
  44898

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Meizu Pro 5
  74655
• Meizu MX6
  69595
• Meizu MX5
  48915
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  47816
• Meizu m3 note
  41838

The other compound test - the BaseMark OS II 2.0 - ranks the MX6 below most of the Redmis, including the Redmi Pro with the same chipset. The Flyme launcher and some under the hood optimizations are probably at fault.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  2677
• Huawei P9 Plus
  2155
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  1914
• Meizu Pro 5
  1733
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1648
• Meizu Pro 6
  1446
• Meizu MX6
  1203
• Meizu MX5
  1163
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  956
• Meizu m3 note
  930

The Helio X20 chipset uses a Mali-T880 MP4 GPU, the same GPU as in the Kirin 955 that powers the Huawei P9 Plus flagship and the more affordable Honor 8. Qualcomm put a solid GPU in the S650 and the Redmi Note 3 remains quite competitive, while the Helio X10 leaves plenty to be desired.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  31
• Meizu Pro 5
  14
• Meizu MX6
  11
• Meizu Pro 6
  11
• Huawei Honor 8
  10
• Huawei P9 Plus
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Meizu MX5
  4.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  4
• Meizu m3 note
  2.5

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  30
• Meizu Pro 5
  14
• Meizu MX6
  11
• Huawei Honor 8
  11
• Meizu Pro 6
  11
• Huawei P9 Plus
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Meizu MX5
  4.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  3.9
• Meizu m3 note
  2.5

GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  18
• Meizu Pro 6
  6.4
• Huawei Honor 8
  6.3
• Huawei P9 Plus
  6.2
• Meizu MX6
  6
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  5.3

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  18
• Huawei Honor 8
  6.9
• Huawei P9 Plus
  6.8
• Meizu Pro 6
  6.4
• Meizu MX6
  6
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  5.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  5.4

Basemark X

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  32715
• Meizu Pro 5
  20038
• Huawei Honor 8
  16592
• Meizu Pro 6
  15209
• Huawei P9 Plus
  15058
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14717
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  13666
• Meizu MX6
  12621
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  12190
• Meizu MX5
  10403
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  8540
• Meizu m3 note
  4567

We are quite happy with the performance the Meizu MX6 offers in a €300 package, though we'll establish later there are superior contenders for equal or less cash and that could hurt the MX6 down the road. The unconventional CPU has a lot to offer, especially when pushed to the max. You should be aware though the MX6 may get a bit warmer than the comfortable temperature, but we guess that's the price to pay for such a beast.

Meizu MX6 is a good upgrade over its predecessor and offers adequate performance for the class. It isn't a benchmark topper, but the MX6 is nicely balanced for multi-tasking and gaming performance, while there is a monstrous processing potential to tap into when needed.