Introduction

Do we have a good one for you today – the Meizu MX4 Pro goes up against the new Sony Xperia Z4.  The MX4 Pro comes with a full metal frame for strength and a plastic back that steals the LG design of adding a metallic look and feel.  The Xperia Z4 is, like its predecessors, made from Glass with a metal band around the sides holding it together.  Both are beautiful looking devices with a premium feel and comfort in your hand.

Even though these two devices seem like they would not even pair up with one another, they do have several things in common.  Both devices are very similar in size, with the MX4 Pro slightly larger, but then it also has a slightly larger display (5.5-inches vs 5.2-inches).  Both use the IPS LCD display technology, although they are different resolutions.  Both devices offer 3GB of RAM, both have a 32GB and 64GB model, but the Xperia Z4 offers an expansion option.  The MX4 Pro and the Xperia Z4 both use the same Sony 20.7MP sensor for their main camera with autofocus, LED Flash (dual-tone with MX4 Pro) and no OIS on either device.  Even the front-facing cameras (FFC) are close with the MX4 Pro sporting a 5MP and the Xperia Z4 using a 5.1MP.

Both devices have the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.0 in MX4 Pro and 4.1 in Xperia Z4), GPS, NFC, active noise cancelation and a MicroUSB port for charging and data transfer and they both have non-removable batteries as well.

Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details.  After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons.  From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.

Specifications

Meizu MX4 Pro

Meizu designed the new MX4 Pro to look as though it is an all aluminum device – possibly paying homage to the HTC One M9, Xperia Z4 or LG G4.  It does have an all-metal frame, but what looks like an aluminum back with rounded sides, is actually a great metallic paint job over plastic, however, it feels solid and well built.  Its small bezels allowing the 5.5-inch display to fit in a rather normal sized body…almost as small as the 5.2-inch display on the Xperia Z4.

The MX4 Pro comes with a 5:3 aspect ratio on a 5.5-inch IPS LCD QXGA display with a resolution of 2560 x 1536 pixels and 546 pixels-per-inch (PPI) – the Xperia Z4 uses the standard 16:9 ratio with a FHD display and only 424 PPI.  The MX4 Pro uses a Samsung built 32-bit Exynos 5 Octa-Core 5430 processor – the first one to use 20nm processing technology – versus Qualcomm’s newest 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon found in the Xperia Z4.  The MX4 Pro uses 3GB of RAM as does the Xperia Z4 and offers a 16GB, 32GB or 64GB models with no means to expand.  The Sony Xperia Z4 offers a 32GB model only, but includes a microSD card slot to add additional storage.

The Meizu MX4 Pro uses a Sony 20.7MP sensor, auto-focus and a dual-tone LED flash for the main shooter, the same sensor found on the Xperia Z4.  It is packing a 5MP front-facing camera (FFC) for social media selfies, which is very close to the 5.1MP found on the Xperia Z4, although neither main camera uses OIS.  The 3350mAh battery is quite a bit larger than the 2930mAh in the Xperia Z4, but either device should easily give you a full day of use.

The MX4 Pro also sports a fingerprint scanner that the Xperia Z4, still has not embraced.  It comes in three colors – white, gray and gold – however, only the gray is available at this time.  It is running Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Meizu’s Flyme 4.1 user interface, but should receive 5.0 Lollipop very soon.  It will cost you about $441 for the 32GB model on at OppoMart online – and of course, these are off-contract prices.  The MX4 Pro runs in the US on FDD-LTE bands 1, 3 and 7 – 1800/2100/2600MHz, so be sure to check with your carrier and Meizu to make sure it will work on your network.

Sony Xperia Z4

We read about many leaks regarding the new Sony Xperia Z4 before it was officially announced and what we ended up with is very much like its predecessor, the Xperia Z3.  The basic Xperia Z series structure is retained with the beautiful metal and glass construction, although there a few welcomed minor changes around the outside edges of the device.  The charging port was moved from the side to the bottom of the device, and even though it is still waterproof, it no longer needs a sealed cover.  The magnetic charging pins on the side are gone and the SIM card and microSD card slots are now consolidated into one port.  These were small, but convenient changes that help to refine the device.

The Xperia Z4 sports a 5.2-inch IPS LCD FHD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 424 PPI, compared to the 546 PPI found on the MX4 Pro.  They both have 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory, but the Xperia Z4 offers expandable storage via a microSD card.  The MX4 Pro comes in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB options, but no expansion is possible.  Sony made a good choice and went with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 64-bit 810 octa-core processor to power the smartphone and an Adreno 430 GPU for graphics.  It goes up against the MX4 Pro’s very good 32-bit octa-core processor from Samsung.

The 20.7MP main camera on the Xperia Z4 is a carryover from the Xperia Z3 and is a great camera, but still lacks OIS. The MX4 Pro knows a good thing when it sees it, so they too use the same 20.7MP sensor from Sony in their camera. The FFC on the Xperia Z4 went from a 2.2MP on the Xperia Z3 to a robust 5.1MP with a 25mm wide-angle lens for better group selfies and video chatting.  This competes very nicely with the 5MP FFC found on the MX4 Pro.

The new Xperia Z4 will come in Black, White, Copper and Aqua Green and will be running the latest Lollipop.  It should be released in May or June and will cost you about $630 off-contract.

…And The Winner Is…

Summary

This one is tough to call, but I am giving the nod to the Meizu MX4 Pro as the winner in this comparison, when normally, the newer device has the edge.  The Xperia Z4 does have the 64-bit octa-core processor going for it, but still uses the FHD display technology and refuses to include a fingerprint scanner, which will become increasingly important.  It is as if Sony slapped in a new processor and sent the Xperia on its way and that is just not enough in the competitive smartphone industry.

The MX4 Pro has a better display (QXGA with 546 PPI vs FHD and 424 PPI), offers a much larger battery (3350mAh vs 2930mAh), offers a fingerprint scanner, and although it is only 32-bit, it offers octa-core processing as well.  Its cameras match up with the Xperia Z4, even using Sony sensors and while it does not have dual front-facing stereo speakers, it will give you great sound from its large bottom speaker.  It does not have a microSD card slot for expansion, but offers up a 64GB model.  The MX4 Pro should receive its 5.0 Lollipop in short order and will actually cost you less than the Xperia Z4.  The Meizu MX4 Pro is a lot of smartphone for the money and the winner in this comparison.