Meizu 16 Announced
Meizu announced the Meizu 16 flagship smartphone last week. Is this the new Android flagship to beat?
Meizu, the Chinese smartphone company, announced their new flagship series last week.
The latest flagship smartphone by Meizu, the Meizu 16, boasts face recognition, an under screen fingerprint reader, gesture UI and a near bezelless design.
The spec sheet is what you would expect of a 2018 flagship smartphone:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset
- 6GB RAM with 64GB storage or 8GB RAM with 128GB storage (no microSD option)
- 6 inch 18:9 aspect ratio super AMOLED display (2160x1080)
- 12MP + 20MP dual rear camera with OIS and 6-LED ring flash
- 20MP selfie camera
- under screen fingerprint reader
- Flyme 7 OS (Android based)
- 3010 mAh battery
The under screen fingerprint reader sounds really cool and potentially one of the best ways to enable industrial designers to reduce smartphone bezels on devices.
Here at Tech Travel Geeks we haven't been able to get our hands on a device yet, but hope to be able to do so soon and make another of those impressive Lukasz directed, filmed and edited videos again.
The Meizu 16 will be available in most markets globally soon, but we have no details on pricing or availability in Europe at the moment.
This Week in Mobile - Meizu 15 in China
This Week In Mobile is a bit late this week because Matteo has been in China at the Meizu 15 launch event. Lukasz has managed to show us what is in his bag too…
Welcome to This Week in Mobile (TWiM), Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
A rainy Wuzhen, Zhejiang, China. Shot on Meizu 15 #ShotOnMeizu15 #Meizu15
This Week in Mobile is a bit late this week (again) because I was travelling in China while Lukasz is still on his epic journey around the world with a very densely packed bag.
Motorola G Series Launch in Brazil
Motorola, also known as Lenovorola, have refreshed their popular G Series of Android powered devices, announcing the Moto G 6 Play, the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Plus. I haven't had enough time to look at these devices in depth or follow the launch closely, but luckily our friends at Android Central have and did a great breakdown of the announcement and launch over on their site. Below you can find Daniel Bader's excellent explanation on video too.
Meizu 15 Announcement in Wuzhen, China
The Meizu 15 Launch stage, as shot on a Meizu 15...
As Chief Pixel Density Enthusiast at Coolsmartphone, I was a guest of Chinese technology company Meizu for their Meizu 15 launch event in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, China. You can catch all coverage of the event and the products on Coolsmartphone.com.
The Meizu 15 series, which is comprised of the Meizu 15, Meizu 15 Plus and Meizu M15 is a delightful range of devices. Hardware is well built, has excellent specifications and good ergonomics. Meizu's new version of their Android-based operating system, Flyme 7, has been refined and improved. Overall the Meizu 15 is a pleasure to use and I'm enjoying using it as one of my main devices.
China is on the path to being the first cashless society from what I can see, and AliPay and WeChat are the most used forms of payment. The occasional outlet also accepts UnionPay, but Mastercard and Visa as accepted forms of payment are a rarity in my most recent experience. We had to try hard, but finally found a place for dinner which accepted MasterCard (my Monzo card) in Shanghai. We set to order a quick meal before heading to the airport. Thanks to a misunderstanding using Google Translate we even managed to over-order dim sum, but it was definitely worth it.
We also managed to catch a Maglev train from Shanghai to the airport. I would definitely recommend doing it if you happen to be heading from Shanghai to Pu Dong Airport (PVG).
What's in Lukasz's bag?
Lukasz has finally published his "What's In My Bag" for his round the world trip he is currently on. As expected there is plenty of tech. He is a Tech Travel Geek after all... We look forward to getting more updates from him #soon.
That's all for... last week. I'll try and get back into the weekly TWiM rhythm from Sunday onwards. Safe travels everyone!
This Week in Mobile - droidcon Dubai 2018
This week Matteo and Lukasz have been in Dubai, attended droidcon Dubai and avoided melting or catching fire...
Welcome to This Week in Mobile (TWiM), Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
Arjaan by Rotana Dubai lobby #dubai #uae #hotel #lobby
If last week was relatively quiet on TWiM, this week is quite busy. I was busy at work and then travelled to Dubai (on KLM of course...) to represent my employer Skyscanner at droidcon Dubai 2018.
Some of the heroes who made droidcon Dubai 2018 possible at in5 Dubai. #droidconae
I really enjoyed droidcon Dubai 2018. Not only did I get to meet lots of new awesome people, all much more talented developers than I will ever be, but also managed to catch up with many of the veterans of droidcon Dubai. It is clear that Kotlin is now the preferred language for future of Android development, as well as other platforms as well. As a recovering Test Engineer, it was also a pleasure to see how much emphasis was put on tools and practices for delivering quality software in many of the talks.
Lukasz at droidcon Dubai 2018. #droidconae #ShotOnPixel2XL
Lukasz, our very own Chief Aperture Officer, also managed to attend a few sessions of droidcon Dubai 2018. He was in the UAE at the beginning of his epic 6 week trip around the world. Not only did he help me discover that two gin lemonades can be extremely expensive, he also assisted with my final preparations for both talks at droidcon Dubai 2018. While I was arriving home in Edinburgh, Lukasz went skydiving in Dubai today. I'm sure you will all enjoy the impressive video of his experience below.
Now, I mentioned I delivered two talks at droidcon Dubai 2018, and as well as my long-planned official talk I delivered one on behalf of Tech Travel Geeks in my capacity as Chief Mobile Opinionist. "The State of Mockodile in 2018" is a tongue in cheek talk about customisation on Android. Video below.
My travel to and from Dubai was on my favourite airline KLM. As usual their excellent service was enjoyed. My most used device while there was the Huawei P20 Pro. In the first week I had some reservations about the device overall but now I'm being won over by it.
While Lukasz and I were travelling to Dubai the world didn't stand still (how inconsiderate). There were no major announcements during the week, but the buzz around some upcoming Android smartphone launches is getting much louder. The OnePlus 5T is sold out across Europe, and this is a clear indicator that the One Plus 6 will be announced soon. I reported on Coolsmartphone of how Meizu has acquired patents for in-screen fingerprint readers. It is unlikely we will see the functionality in the upcoming launch of the Meizu 15 range, but this is exciting for their device launches of Q4 2018.
That's all for This Week in Mobile for now. We'll have more content for you soon.