There are a ton of Android smartphones on the market from many different manufacturers. The Meizu 17 is the latest from Chinese maker Meizu. We have reviewed the company’s Android smartphones a few times before, and they have always been excellent. This time around, we are only bringing you a quick hands-on and first impressions review. The Meizu 17 is not sold in the United States, so this initial look will be quick and really meant for our overseas readers. The device may come to the US in the future.
This is not a full review of the Meizu 17, as we only have a short time with it, but it should be enough to give most users an idea of what to expect. So let’s take a quick look at the Meizu 17 and see if we’re still fans of what the company generally does with its devices.
Specifications
The Meizu 17 has the following features and specifications:
- Display:
- 6.6″ Super AMOLED HDR10+
- 86.6% screen-to-body ratio
- 1080 x 2340 resolution
- 390ppi
- Always-on display
- Brightness 700 nits
- OS: Android 10, Flyme 8.1
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865
- CPU: Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 585)
- GPU: Adeno 650
- Memory:
- Internal – 128GB/256GB
- External – No card slot
- RAM: 8GB
- Cameras:
- Quad Main:
- 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm, PDAF
- 12 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, PDAF
- 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 118˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm
- 5 MP, f/1.9, (macro)
- Front Facing:
- 20 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 0.8µm | HDR
- Quad Main:
- Audio: Stereo speakers
- Features: Under-display fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
- Battery: 4,500 mAh with QuickCharge 3.0
- Colors: Green, Gray, Aurora White
- Dimensions: 160 x 77.2 x 8.5 mm (6.30 x 3.04 x 0.33 in)
- Weight: 199 g (7.02 oz)
Design
It may be shocking at first, but Meizu makes some really solid, well designed, and well-built smartphones. The past few years the design language has generally remained the same and the Meizu 17 doesn’t deviate from that at all.
Like many other flagship smartphones, the Meizu 17 is made up of glass and aluminum. Two slabs of glass with a shiny aluminum frame hold the entire package together.
Along the right side are the volume rocker and power button. The power button is placed in the perfect spot, at least for my hand, and the volume rocker is easily manipulated. The tactile feedback of both buttons is fantastic and responsive. There is nothing along the left side of the Meizu 17, and the top only contains a microphone.
The bottom houses the USB-C charging port, the SIM tray, and the bottom speaker. The front is where your 6.6″ AMOLED display lives along with the front facing camera and second speaker. The camera is a punch-hole style but Meizu has managed to shrink this down to near pin-hole size. It’s hardly noticeable and looks pretty good.
The back of the Meizu 17 houses the camera array and flash along with the Meizu branding.
The entire phone feels very nice and balanced in the hand and also feels very premium to the touch. While the bezels aren’t edge-to-edge, I like that Meizu chose to leave some bezel in place. Many times my hand can trigger the display on other phones that have no bezels. Still, even with some bezels, the display looks amazing and those bezels aren’t super thick. They’re just enough to look good and not be obnoxious.
One of my favorite things about the Meizu 17 sent to us is the color. We received the green version and that green is beautiful. In bright conditions the green lights up and sparkles and in lower light it gets dark and nearly black. It’s a really great look which I think Meizu nailed.
Overall, Meizu just makes some amazing phones and the 17 is no exception. It is a well-designed phone made with amazing high-end materials.
Performance
Since this phone does not support many US LTE bands we did not test this phone on our US networks. Using chat apps and video chat apps on Wi-Fi was great though. Performance in sound and reception is great and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both work really well.
The display on the Meizu 17 is beautiful. It’s a good size and the resolution is great. It being an AMOLED display with HDR also gives it some great color depth and deep blacks. This is a slightly better than HD display but not 4K and that is perfectly fine. These 1080 x 2340 resolution displays are actually really nice and they save battery. I think they are the perfect display for smartphones.
I didn’t have a lot of time with the cameras but they seem to perform fairly well. Like most of Meizu’s phones, they do really well in bright and well-lit conditions but they do struggle a bit in low-light and dark conditions. That’s pretty normal for most cameras anyway. I think most users are going to be happy with the cameras on the Meizu 17.
One area in which I think Meizu is doing amazing things and even beating bigger smartphone makers is the in-screen fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner on this thing is accurate and fast. And the placement lower on the screen is better than others who have chosen to go higher up on the screen.
Battery life is top notch as all of the other Meizu phones I’ve reviewed. Battery life is one of Meizu’s top features, they do it well and they do it right.
As far as using the phone daily, everything works fast and smooth here. Web browsing, email, messages, social media, games, everything runs smoothly and I did not experience any stuttering at all. Scrolling and gestures all worked really well. The Meizu 17 is running Android 10 with Flyme OS on top, which is Meizu’s skin.
Overall, during our short time with this phone, everything worked flawlessly and as expected. Meizu really does an outstanding job of churning out phones that perform well, have great battery life and good picture quality.
Wrap Up
The Meizu 17 is a really great device that continues to showcase the company’s commitment to churning out well-designed, premium, and performance-minded devices that don’t break the bank. For those outside the United States, I highly recommend the Meizu 17 as an alternative to more expensive flagship phones. You’ll get an amazing design, well-built device, premium materials, and great performer for little money. For more info and pricing in your country check out the company’s website. That wraps up our hands-on first impressions of the Meizu 17.
What do you think of the Meizu 17? Have you picked one up yet? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
