Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge takes on the new Meizu Pro 6 in a battle of specifications. The Galaxy S7 Edge is made from a solid metal frame that holds two pieces of Gorilla Glass 4 together and in between are some top-notch specs. The Meizu Pro 6 uses an all-metal design, which will remind you of an iPhone. Both devices have a well-built and solid design – however, with that sexy dual curved display, the ‘edge’ has to go to the Galaxy S7 Edge. Just how well do these two flagships stand up to one another? Let’s look at some of the similarities between these two devices before we discuss their differences.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and the Meizu Pro 6 could not be more different in design, but we can still find a few things they have in common – starting with the physical size, although the S7 Edge is slightly larger, it weighs 3 grams less. Both devices use a Super AMOLED display, but they are different sizes and resolutions. Both devices pack 4GB of RAM and both offer a version with 32GB of internal memory – the S7 Edge also adds external memory expansion up to 200GB, whereas the Pro 6 offers a 64GB model…neither Meizu model provides expansion. They both use a 5MP front-facing camera (FFC) for selfies and video chatting. Both devices have Hi-Fi audio for listening through earphones and both are packing a fingerprint sensor. Both have non-removable batteries with a quick charge feature built-in. The usual suspects are there – WiFi, Bluetooth (v4.2 in the S7 Edge and v4.1 in the Pro 6), GPS, NFC, and a USB port (microUSB v2.0 in the S7 Edge and the newer v3.1 Type-C reversible connector on the Pro 6.)
Please take a careful 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 device in greater depth 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
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge looks very similar to last year’s S6 Edge Plus – Samsung did away with the two ‘Edge’ models (S6/7 Edge and S6/7 Edge Plus) and is now only offering the larger model, naming it the S7 Edge. This ‘same-look’ did take away some of the excitement from the new Galaxy S7 Edge’s arrival, but Samsung made enough changes inside to make it a worthy contender. Let’s take a closer look at the new Galaxy S7 Edge and see if it has enough of the ‘right stuff’ to take care of the Meizu Pro 6.
The Galaxy S7 Edge has a beautiful and sexy 5.5-inch display with its dual-curved edges and QHD Super AMOLED ‘always-on’ display that gives you 577 pixels-per-inch (PPI). Samsung uses two different processors in the Galaxy S7 Edge – if you live in the US, you will get the newest Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor with dual cores clocked at 1.6GHz and dual cores clocked at 2.15GHz. Any other country, you will get Samsung’s Exynos 8890 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.6GHz and four cores clocked at 2.3GHz. The 820 processor uses an Adreno 530 GPU and the Exynos 8890 is matched to a Mali-T880 MP4 GPU – both can handle the toughest graphics you can through at them. The Galaxy S7 Edge packs 4GB of faster DDR4 RAM, offers 32GB of faster UFS 2.0 memory, and allows room for expansion up to 200GB via a microSD card.
The Galaxy S6 Edge had such a great camera, we were all sure that Samsung might up the pixels on the S7 series to maybe 20MP – they fooled us all by replacing it with a new Dual Pixel 12MP sensor. This was a grave concern for potential customers, but the new sensor is actually larger than the older 16MP and allows it to take in more light and information for the sensor to process. They made other improvements by increasing the aperture to f/1.7, included faster phase detection autofocus (PDAF), auto HDR and retained the OIS. The new S7 Edge is cited by DxOMark as one of the best mobile cameras currently available with a score of 88. The Galaxy S7 Edge uses a 5MP wide-angle lens with a larger f/1.7 aperture and Live HDR for its FFC allowing for excellent low-light selfies and video chatting. The S7 Edge includes a larger 3600mAh non-removable battery and comes with both Quick Charge 2.0 and quick wireless charging.
What features distinguishes the Galaxy S7 Edge from the Meizu Pro 6? The S7 Edge incorporates an always-on display to help conserve battery life and has dual curved edges that do provide some functionality. The Galaxy S7 Edge is IP68 certified water and dust resistance – great if you live by the pool or the beach. You also have the option of using Samsung Pay to make mobile purchases just about anywhere you can swipe a credit or debit card. The S7 Edge packs a heart rate monitor, oxygen saturation sensor, and quick wireless charging. The S7 Edge measures 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm, weighs in at 157 grams and is available in Black, White, Gold, and Silver, costing about $790, although many carriers offering BOGO specials.
Meizu Pro 6
Meizu makes no excuses with their devices – they look a lot like an iPhone and the Pro 6 is no exception. It is an all-metal device and even has the same antenna lines like an iPhone, although they are a little smaller and less noticeable. This design issue is not to criticize them – it is merely an observation. It does make for a beautiful looking smartphone and has a nice feel to it with its thinness and gently rounded corners and edges. As part of its desirable nature, the Meizu Pro 6 is priced competitively, but when you can sell a device at a lower price, there have to be some things missing, but not everybody wants a heart rate monitor, oxygen sensor, or QHD display. Let’s see just how this new Meizu Pro 6 stacks up against the Galaxy S7 Edge.
The Meizu Pro 6 sports a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED FHD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 423 PPI. The display uses Meizu’s mPress – their version of 3D Touch. Meizu chose a MediaTek processor for the Pro 6 and used their deca-core MT6797T Helio X25 processor. It comes with a dual-core Cortex-A72 clocked at 2.5GHz, a quad-core A-53 clocked at 2GHz, and another quad-core A53 clocked at 1.4GHz. Coupled to that is the excellent Mali-T880 MP4 GPU to handle the graphics. It packs 4GB of slower DDR3 RAM with an option of either 32GB or 64GB of internal memory with no expansion.
The Pro 6 has a great primary camera – a 21MP shooter with an aperture of f/2.2, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and laser autofocus – and it does focus very quickly. It also has an unusual 10x dual tone ‘Ring flash’ that encircles the lens. For taking selfies and video chatting, they included a 5MP FFC with a f/2.0 aperture and large 1.4 µm pixel size that can film 1080p. It packs a 2560mAh non-removable battery with rapid charging that will give you 26-percent of battery in only 10 minutes and 100-percent charge in 60 minutes.
The Meizu Pro 6, like the Galaxy S7 Edge, has a special sound circuit for great listening over earphones. The Pro 6’s display uses mPress – their version of 3D Touch. It uses the newer reversible Type-C plug for charging and much faster data transfer. It measures 147.7 x 70.8 x 7.3mm and weighs in at 160 grams. It comes out-of-the-box running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Meizu’s Flyme 5.6 UI on top. It will come in Gray, Gold, or Silver and costs about $390 for the 32GB model and $435 for the 64GB model – with no means to expand. It should be noted that since the Meizu Pro 6 is not sold in the US, it will cost you considerably more than that to ship it to the US.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
Even though the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge will cost you more money – it definitely has the better specifications and better looks and I am crowning it the winner of this comparison. Starting with the QHD dual curved display, we can see that even with a larger display it has much better resolution. Either the Snapdragon 820 or the Exynos 8890 are much better than the MediaTek. The S7 Edge has faster RAM and internal memory and is expandable. Both cameras are better than those found in the Pro 6.
Some of the extra features of the Galaxy S7 Edge are desirable and some you may never use – IP68 water and dust resistant, always on display, wireless charging, the features provided by the curved edge display, the heart monitor, oxygen saturation sensor, and Samsung Pay.
The Meizu Pro 6 is a solid device – just remember, it can be used on AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. It does have a decent camera, but its processor is lacking when compared to the Galaxy S7 Edge and the RAM and non-expandable memory are much slower. The display is still stunning at 423 PPI, but it is only Full HD, not the QHD. However, you can save yourself some money by buying this iPhone look alike, but for this comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has the better looks and specs.
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