For Meizu fans, 2023 can be considered a year worth celebrating.
From the quiet 2022 to the emergence of new products in 2023, from lagging behind other competitors by a full three months to being among the first to release the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen3, Meizu has finally gotten on the right track, even standing on the same starting line as "Huami OV."
As an old Meizu fan who has been a fan since the Meizu Blue era, Xiaolei also had a great time last year. He even rushed to do the first review of the Meizu 21, despite its clear strengths and weaknesses. The standout feature of this product is its self-consistency, making it a flagship that truly embodies the essence of Meizu.
(Source: Lei Technology)
However, for many Meizu fans, there are still some regrets about Meizu's product line.
If we look at last year's Meizu 20 series, at least there was a decent flagship model to serve as a large cup. But this year's Meizu 21 series only has the most basic two models, not even a large cup. For Meizu fans with diverse needs, the options provided by Meizu seem a bit lacking.
But perhaps sincerity pays off, as Meizu has recently announced news of a new device.
Recently, Weibo blogger @Digital Chat Station revealed on Weibo that Meizu's upcoming product is expected to be named Meizu 21 Note. This device is positioned slightly below the Meizu 21/Meizu 21 Pro and will compete with Redmi K70 and OnePlus Ace 3 in terms of gaming and performance experience. It will be promoted as an "AI performance flagship" upon its release.
(Source: Weibo)
Calculating by the fingers, it has been exactly two and a half years since the Meizu 18X was announced.
After practicing for two and a half years, Meizu is finally returning to the mid-range market that may suit them best in the spring of 2024.
The Note series is making a comeback!
Speaking of this Note series, it does have some history.
On December 23, 2014, Meizu unveiled the first Meizu Blue Note phone at the Beijing National Convention Center, marking the beginning of the Meizu Note series. Over the following years, the reputation of the Meizu Note series bounced back and forth between Meizu and Meizu Blue until the brief hiatus with the Meizu Note9 in 2019.
(Source: Meizu)
So what's the connection between the brand new Meizu 21 Note and the Meizu Note series?
The answer is: absolutely none. The Star Era Meizu just used this name, and of course, the Meizu Note series itself doesn't have any noteworthy family design language.
In terms of appearance, currently, there are mainly two leaked directions for the Meizu 21 Note, one of which is the back cover images gradually exposed on CoolApk these days.
(Source: Meizu)
For this back cover design, for readers who pay a little more attention to the digital circle, I dare say it may not be very familiar, but at least nine out of ten would find it somewhat recognizable.
Could it be that my "Little Samsung from Zhuhai" has truly turned into a "Little Apple from Wuhan"?
Listen to me, don't rush.
In fact, most of the renderings that surface on various social media platforms are often unreliable. Just take a look and don't take them too seriously.
From more reliable sources, it is highly likely that the Meizu 21 Note will follow the design approach of the Meizu 20 standard version, featuring a dual rear camera with a ring flash, a colorful glossy/matte metal frame, and a relatively lightweight body design. It may not bring much innovation, but the quality seems to be decent.
(Source: Meizu)
Of course, there are differences as well.
Firstly, on the front of the device, there are reports suggesting that the Meizu 21 Note may come in a version with a white panel. The pure white design, combined with a square screen, has become a signature of Meizu phones.
As for the screen, it is rumored that the Meizu 21 Note will feature a 6.8-inch flat screen.
However, this time, it won't be the OLED screen with the "little yellow duck" arrangement like the Meizu 20. Instead, it is said to be using a BOE Q9 material, with a 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, as well as a more aggressive dimming strategy and higher peak brightness.
At least from the specs, everything seems to be in order.
(From: Weibo)
When it comes to the processor, the Meizu 21 Note is definitely using the Snapdragon 8 Gen2.
Although competitors have mostly adopted the Snapdragon 8s Gen3/Snapdragon 7+ Gen3 for mid-range devices this year, offering slightly better CPU performance than the Snapdragon 8 Gen2, the Snapdragon 8 Gen2 still holds the advantage in GPU, ISP, and other peripheral configurations. With proper optimization and tuning, the performance of the Meizu 21 Note could potentially be among the best in its class.
However, the issue lies in the optimization itself.
According to feedback from users on Coolapk, as of today, the Meizu 21 series still struggles to maintain stability in 120Hz mode while playing "League of Legends: Wild Rift." Many popular game developers have not yet optimized their games for this device, resulting in a situation where the hardware capabilities remain underutilized.
(Source: CoolApk)
Ah, perhaps this is the dilemma of niche manufacturers.
Mid-range market, also embracing AI?
Just looking at the specs, based on the parameters exposed so far, this should be Meizu's most powerful product in the same price range in recent years.
1.5K OLED domestic screen, Snapdragon 8 Gen2 processor, glass back cover, metal mid-frame, dual speakers, full-function NFC, and even the imaging module part that Star Meizu has been repeatedly criticized for, at this price point, is not a critical parameter affecting user experience.
Suppressing a bunch of cost-effective mid-range phones released this month, benchmarking against Redmi K70, iQOO Neo9, and OnePlus Ace3, should not be a problem.
(Source: Redmi)
However, if the specifications are similar, it can be quite challenging for Meizu.
After all, online reputation and offline services are at stake here. With few offline stores and limited after-sales support, relying solely on hardware with similar specifications will definitely not outperform competitors.
Therefore, in this product, Meizu will undoubtedly emphasize the selling point of "AI" functionality.
(Source: Meizu)
It is foreseeable that the Flyme AI features promised on the Meizu 21 will likely be fully transferred to the Meizu 21 Note, allowing users to utilize Aicy for AI image search, AI photo editing, AI text generation, and interactions with large models.
The challenge lies in the fact that these AI features are not uncommon on smartphones from other manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO, and vivo, all of which have their own large model capabilities and have even been pioneers in introducing applications like AI image enhancement and AI ISP.
As for the promise of open access to all large models on the Meizu 21 Pro, along with custom on-device large model functionality, there is currently no sign of these features being implemented.
(Source: Meizu)
In my opinion, the success of this product will largely depend on Meizu's final pricing.
For reference, the Redmi K70 is currently priced at 2387 yuan for the 12+256GB version, the OnePlus Ace 3 is priced at 2486 yuan for the 12+256GB version, and the previous flagship Meizu 20 Classic is currently priced at 2277 yuan for the top configuration of 16+512GB, which presents a good value proposition.
I speculate that the starting price of the Meizu 21 Note should be below 2000 yuan; otherwise, this product may struggle to compete in terms of cost-effectiveness compared to its predecessors.
After honing their skills for two and a half years, does Meizu still have a chance to quietly impress the mid-range market?
As a Meizu fan, I am eagerly looking forward to it.
