Meizu Pro 6 Plus review: imPROved

Final words

Meizu Pro 6 Plus is everything that the original Pro 6 model should have been - a worthy phablet upgrade over the Pro 5. It has a striking high-res AMOLED screen, the latest generation Exynos chip, a better OIS-enabled camera, an improved mTouch key, and a bigger battery - all of these wrapped into a redesigned aluminum body.

The Pro 6 Plus easily aced our review tests and proved itself worthy to be called a flagship. It did great in our display and battery test routines, it had great performance, superb camera skills, and commendable audio quality. The only con we could find was the somewhat quiet loudspeaker.

Meizu did everything in its power to make its fans happy and the Pro 6 Plus delivers all over the place. We couldn't wish for more really. Well, it could have been waterproof, but it's a great phone even as it is.

Meizu Pro 6 Plus key test findings

• The refined design of an all-metal unibody, stylish antenna strips, and subtly curved sides make the Pro 6 Plus one of the better-looking smartphones in the market.
• The mTouch home button is a very smart set-up: it does fingerprint scanning, heart-rate measuring, and responds to both presses and taps. The heart-rate measuring didn't work on our unit, possibly due to the lack of Meizu's Health app, which is China only for now; The fingerprint scanner is about as fast and accurate as the Samsung S7 series, which means there are better and faster readers out there.
• The 5.7" Super AMOLED display is great with high brightness, excellent contrast, and accurate enough color rendering. Its sunlight legibility is excellent, too. The pressure sensitivity called 3D Press works as advertised but its functionality is as limited as it is on the iPhone.
• The battery endurance rating of 96h is excellent.
• Flyme OS is fluid and responsive, unlocking gestures are versatile, the mTouch button has some great added functionality (closing apps, going a step back). There are great theming options. One-hand operation is possible thanks to the SmartTouch floating control.
• The Exynos 8890 chipset is a flagship performer and quite enough for a Quad HD screen. The 64GB model has fewer GPU cores, which is rather unexpected and may cost you a few frames in heavy games in the long run. For now, everything runs just fine.
• Solid audio output quality through the headphone jack with great loudness and very good quality;
• The loudspeaker loudness is Below average.
• The camera performance is great - photos have lots of detail, wide dynamic range, accurate colors, and high contrast. The optical stabilization helps a lot in low-light shots and you can capture some very nice shots hassle-free even at night, no tripod needed. Panoramic images are average, and so is the selfie image quality.
• The 2160p videos have OK levels of detail and great contrast, colors, and dynamic range. The stabilization really helps when you are shooting handheld. The audio capturing is mono. The HEVC/H.265 codec brings all sorts of compatibility issues with YouTube and common video players.

OnePlus 3T is one of the most memorable phablets throughout 2016 and has much wider availability. It's slightly better equipped than the Meizu Pro 6 Plus, sans the display, and its clean Oxygen OS and fast updates are cherished by many. It's even less expensive than the Meizu Pro 6 Plus so it's worth a consideration.

OnePlus 3T

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and Mi 5s Plus have the same spotty availability outside the few official Xiaomi markets as the Meizu Pro 6 Plus. They may lack the top-notch Quad HD resolution, but both share the latest Snapdragon 821 chip and pack the same 5.7" screen area as the Pro 6 Plus.

The Mi Note 2 is an all-glass device with a dual-curved AMOLED screen and a big 22.5MP main camera. Then there is the Mi 5s Plus with a conventional IPS screen but a creative dual-camera setup borrowed from the Huawei P9 series - a monochrome and a color 13MP sensors.

If the curves of the Note 2, or the mono cam on the 5s Plus are your thing, you may want to take a closer look at those two.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 • Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus

The ZTE Axon 7 matches the high-res AMOLED screen of the Pro 6 Plus, it comes with a high-end Snapdragon 820 chip and has a very capable 20MP OIS-enabled camera of its own. It shines with the loud stereo speakers capable of Dolby Atmos sound effects, which may tip the scales for the audio fans, which have the multimedia content to appreciate them. The Axon 7 is currently priced very reasonably and costs less than the Pro 6 Plus.

ZTE Axon 7

Huawei's P9 Plus and Mate 9 are among the most interesting phablets on the market. The 5.5" AMOLED screen on the P9 Plus, its beautiful body, and impressive Leica-powered dual-camera (2x 12MP) made the phablet an enticing device. The Mate 9 did bring an even better chip, a bigger screen, and, of course, the second-gen Leica camera (20MP+12MP, OIS). Those two are more expensive than the Meizu Pro 6 Plus, but if you are after the best camera experience, you can't go shopping without taking a peek at those two.

Huawei P9 Plus • Huawei Mate 9

The LG V20 has a high-res display, a secondary screen, flagship chipset, excellent camera skills with both the regular (16MP and wide-angle (8MP) snappers, pro-grade audio chip and microphones, replaceable battery, memory expansion, and shock-proof body. The V20 may not be that pretty, but it's a beast worth having around.

LG V20

We enjoyed the Meizu Pro 5 when it came out, and we had a blast with the Pro 6 Plus as well. However, we look at the Pro 6 Plus - we see a winner. Meizu fans will find everything they are looking for in the face of the Pro 6 Plus. Even if you are not a particular fan of the brand, it's a high-end phone that's certainly worth a consideration.