Meizu unveils new MX4 smartphone, drops the price to take on Xiaomi

Chinese phone-maker Meizu today unveiled its newest flagship smartphone, the MX4. After years of pricing its flagship at around the US$400 mark, Meizu is this time slashing the price-tag in an apparent attempt to compete with Xiaomi.

The new MX4, featuring a 5.36-inch screen and an octa-core processor, starts at only RMB 1,799, which is US$292 for the 16GB model. The 32GB version is just a few bucks more at RMB 1,999 (US$325). That makes it cheaper than the new Xiaomi Mi4, which starts at RMB 1,999 (US$325).

Here are the MX4 specs:

• 5.36-inch at 1080p HD resolution
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen
• Mediatek MTK6595 octa-core processor
• 2GB RAM
• 20.7MP rear camera, but just 2MP front-facing
• Two versions support TD-SCDMA and FDD-LTE 4G
• 3100 mAh battery
• 147g in weight
• Flyme 4.0 UI based on Android 4.4

The Meizu MX4 is now up for pre-order in China on the company’s homepage, but it’s not clear when it’ll ship.

Though a number of gadget fans will welcome the new MX4 (and especially its lower price), the fact is that Meizu will not sell anything like the number of phones that Xiaomi will shift this year – an anticipated 60 million. While Xiaomi is focusing on Asia for sales outside China, Meizu says it’s prepping a launch soon in the US.

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