Tag Archives: Mlais

Mlais M7 Plus Seeks to Set Things Straight

Posted on by
Mlais M7 Plus 02

The original M7 turned out to be a letdown due to some major issues that affected the device’s main functionality, so Mlais decided to right some wrongs by launching the M7 Plus.

To learn more about the drawbacks of the original model, please check out the Mlais M7 hands-on review I wrote last week. To jump right into it, there aren’t any noticeable changes in terms of design between the M7 and the M7 Plus, so most of the differences come from under the hood. First and foremost, the M7 Plus is based on a newer (yet inferior) chipset, the 64-bit MT6753. Even though this one operates at a lower frequency than the MT6752 (1.5Ghz, compared to 1.7Ghz), and has an inferior GPU (Mali T720, as opposed to MT6752’s T760), it is considered better by the manufacturer.

There is some truth behind that statement, as the CorePilot technology of the MT6753 offers better battery performance. Secondly, this SoC has support for an additional band, which means that it can be used in 4G networks in the US.

The second major change is the OneTouch fingerprint scanner, which unlike M7’s, is capable of waking up the phone. That’s definitely a neat feature, even though double tapping the screen to wake up the device wasn’t that difficult of a task.

Furthermore, the M7 Plus packs a 13MP Sony IMX214 sensor, which is capable to record videos at 4K, among other things. Hopefully, Mlais will take advantage of that feature.

The battery was one of the most disappointing aspects of the M7, so it’s great to see that Mlais will equip the M7 Plus with a 2800mAh battery. Combined with the HD screen and the power-efficient MT6753, the increase in battery life should be noticeable.

In terms of software, the M7 Plus will run Android 5.1 Lollipop. It surely seems easier to launch a new phone that sports an up-to-date OS than updating older device. Some users are doubting that Mlais is ever going to update the M52 or the M7 to Android 5.1.

Not at last, the M7 Plus will feature a notification LED, something that was particularly useful in the M52. All of these functional features will come at a price that has yet to be announced. One thing is certain, though: Mlais M7 Plus will cost less than $189.99, which was the previous model’s MSRP.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Mlais M7 hands-on review, or the Mlais MX Base.

Mlais M7 Smartphone Wraps Lollipop in a Compact Body

Posted on by
Mlais M7

The M7 is the most feature-rich phablet coming from Mlais, and could have been an extraordinary phone, if it weren’t for certain issues.

1. Contents of the Box
2. Accessories
3. Design and Build Quality
4. Technical Specs
5. Connectivity
6. Software
7. Performance Assessment
7.1. Benchmarks
7.2. Sound Quality and Reception
7.3. Image Quality
7.4. Battery Life
8. Price and Availability
9. Conclusions

Back in April, when I first wrote about the M7, it surely seemed like Mlais was on a winning streak with its affordable, yet fine performing products. Using it for a bit over 3 weeks revealed that this smartphone has several issues that could turn consumers away from it.

Contents of the Box

Mlais M7 comes in the same turquoise box as the M52 and the M4. Since this is the most feature rich smartphone made by this company, I definitely would have wished to see some more special packaging. Differentiating the products is essential in any business, and using the same packaging for all the line can lead to confusions.

Furthermore, the contents of the box are the same as in the case of the other two smartphones. Besides the device itself, there’s also a USB to microUSB cable, a 5V/1A charger, and a user’s guide.

These are the standard contents for all Mlais smartphones, so a bit of differentiation wouldn’t have hurt here, either. The phone maker could partner up with an earphone manufacturer in order to provide a decent solution for listening to music. That would be fit of the flagship the M7 wants to be.

Accessories

When it comes to the number of accessories, the manufacturer only supplies two: a flip cover similar to the one for the M52, and tempered glass to better protect the display.

Click to view slideshow.

As seen above, you can buy flip covers (which is purchased separately) that match the phone in terms of color (just in case you don’t want your phone to look like a harlequin).

Click to view slideshow.

The functionality of the flip cover has been preserved from the previous phones, which means that the small window can be used for displaying the clock (either in digital or analog formats), or for music playback.

The plastic case the tempered glass comes in also includes dry, as well as wet wipes for cleaning the display prior to applying the glass. Bear in mind that the phone comes with a screen protector pre-applied, so you will have to remove that one before installing the tempered glass.

Design and Build Quality

The M4 already had a metal frame, but the M7 took things even further. The entire phone feels solid, and the buttons are no longer flimsy, as they were in the case of Mlais’ previous phablet. The front features all the usual suspects: the display has at the bottom the three capacitive buttons you’ve come to expect in an Android smartphone, but only Home is contoured. The other two become visible when touched, due to the white backlight.

There are no buttons on the right side of the phone, which can only mean one thing.

Both the volume rocker and the Power button are placed on the left side of the phone, which is a bit weird. The manufacturer explained that Lenovo and Huawei also did this, so Mlais is not the first one to move them all to one side. However, I found this to be very uncomfortable, especially when taking screenshots.

At the bottom you can only see the microphone.

The microUSB port that’s used for charging and data transfers can be found at the top, along with the 3.5mm audio jack.

The back side of the phone sports the main camera, a single LED flash, and the fingerprint scanner, which is something I’m not a huge fan of, even though I cannot deny its usefulness. Under the hood you can also see the 2600mAh battery.

Here’s a closer look to the aforementioned details, along with the two SIM card slots and the microSD slot.

Below you can see the external speaker, along with the LTE antenna.

Overall, I’d say that the M7 is very well built, not to mention that at 149.5*76.8*8.6mm it is more compact than most of its competitors. That’s right, Elephone P7000, I’m looking at you! On top of that, Mlais’ latest phablet does not bend like the P7000 does.

Technical Specs

Mlais has decided to use the same Mediatek chipset that powers the M52, namely the 64-bit MT6752, which includes an octa-core CPU clocked at 1.7Ghz and a Mali T760 M2 GPU running at 600Mhz. Even though the M7 has 3GB of RAM (which is 1GB more than the M52), there are not that many situations when this much RAM comes in handy. The more memory there is, the more apps you can run at the same time, but it wouldn’t hurt to also take battery consumption into consideration. As for storage, the M7 is equipped with 16GB of ROM that can be expanded by up to 64GB using a microSD card.

The sensors Mlais used for the cameras are a 13MP Sony IMX135 on the back and an OmniVision 5648 in the front. In other words, the quality of the pictures taken with the main camera will be superior to M52 and M4’s main camera, while selfies won’t differ at all, since it’s the same sensor at play there.

Connectivity

Apart from NFC (or HotKnot) and Wi-Fi ac, the M7 has everything you could need in terms of connectivity: 4G LTE in the B1/3/7/20 (800/1800/2100/2600) bands, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS and A-GPS. I found most of them to work satisfactory, apart from the Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi, which either took a long time to connect, or dropped the connection every so often.

GPS accuracy could have been better, as 4 meters (12 feet) can make the difference between driving on the road and jumping into a lake. Still, I supposed that drivers are able to correlate their visual input with what they’re getting from the navigation software.

Software

Mlais M7 is running a vanilla version of Android 5.0 Lollipop with just a couple of differences that pertain to some specific characteristics. Below you can see the home screen and the app drawer as they looked like after the first boot.

The first difference is represented by off-screen gestures, whose settings look as below. Besides the predefined gestures, users can also customize their own, so that drawing a certain letter launches a certain app.

The second difference is represented by the fingerprint scanner settings. Users can save up to 5 different fingerprints, and even though the set up takes a while, I am extremely impressed with how fast and how accurate the press touch ID scanner is. Mlais really did a great job in this department, and I hope they won’t make any changes in their future smartphones.

Assuming that your skin has no problems and that you want your phone to be secure, using a fingerprint for the lock screen is as good as it gets.

Performance Assessment

To see how the M7 performs, I ran a set of benchmarks, whose results you can see below. Besides that, I used the phone as my daily driver for more than 3 weeks, and reached to the conclusion that despite its better looks, it provides poorer performance than its brother, the M52.

Benchmarks

With an AnTuTu score of 47265, the M7 isn’t bad at all, but some users even got 49K with the M52, which makes you wonder if the extra GB of RAM matters at all. Had the resolution been higher, as in Meizu M1 Note’s case, for example, the AnTuTu score would’ve been much lower, so I can see why Mlais sticks with this resolution. On the downside, the resolution may be the exact reason some users pick a phablet over another one.

I ran the Epic Citadel benchmark on the M7 using all three settings: High Performance, High Quality, and Ultra High Quality, and you can see the results below.



Below are the results for the GFX OpenGL benchmark.

Mediatek chipsets are known to have GPUs that pale in comparison to the ones included in Qualcomm SoCs, yet 3DMark Ice Storm Ultimate still thinks that M7’s GPU is impressive.

NenaMark 2, on the other hand, is an outdated benchmark that shows very similar results for a bunch of smartphones, so I wouldn’t take it very seriously.

At first, I thought that the M7 gets overheated only when running GPU-intensive tasks, but I soon discovered that it also does that when playing videos, and even during 20-minute calls. That’s a major drawback, and the fact that the manufacturer was aware of it and still decided to launch the device will cause some people to raise an eye brow.

Sound Quality and Reception

The external speaker of the M7 is decent, even though I found it to lack bass and depth. The earpiece, on the other hand, is a completely different story. During phone calls at maximum volume, I could hear sound crackling coming out of it. Considering that taking and placing calls is one of the most basic things to do on a phone, be it a smartphone or a feature phone, facing such a problem could be a deal breaker. Other than that, it is loud enough to understand what the other person is saying.

Image Quality

The 13MP Sony IMX135 sensor that M7’s rear camera is based on represents a major step forward from the M52 and M4’s IMX219, especially since the resolution is no longer interpolated. That means that you get to shoot photos using the camera’s native resolution.

Click to view slideshow.

Battery Life

The first time I ran the GeekBench 3 battery test, I did it with no SIM card installed, and with all wireless connections turned off. Prior to that, I charged the M7 using a Xiaomi 16000mAh power bank, and I measured the capacity with one of these gadgets. The meter indicated a capacity of a bit above 2500mAh, with the mention that charging stopped at 95% and didn’t go up. The second time I did that, the battery charged up to 97%, again with the phone turned off. With the phone turned on, the battery usually charges fully, which makes me think that either there is a hardware problem that prevents the battery from charging to 100% when the phone is turned off, or the battery is poorly calibrated. Under the previous conditions, I obtained 4h55m of screen-on time in GeekBench 3. After installing a SIM card and several apps (which included Battery Doctor), I obtained 5h25m, which is slightly better, but still very disappointing.

Price and Availability

When it was first announced, Mlais M7 had a MSRP of $189.99, but over time, various resellers offered the phablet for $159.99 during flash sales and activities. Considering the specs, this is definitely a smartphone worth buying, but before placing an order, there are a few things you should consider.

Conclusions

Mlais M7 could have been a great Android smartphone, if it weren’t for the overheating, sound crackling, Wi-Fi instability and poor battery life. These are issues that affect even basic functionality, which means that the manufacturer should improve quality control, to make sure that devices such as the one that I reviewed don’t end up to the end consumers. Mlais has made good products that provided excellent value for money, and it’s disappointing to see that their most feature-rich smartphone ended up like this.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Mlais M52 hands-on review, or the Mlais MX Base launch date.

Mlais MX with IR, Massive Battery, Approaches Launch Date

Posted on by
MX-1

To provide a certain degree of diversity, most smartphone makers also include devices with great battery life in their portfolios. In Mlais’ case, it’s the MX Base, an Android phone with a gigantic 4800mAh battery.

Mlais MX Base’s battery capacity is by no means record breaking, and neither is the performance of the chipset, but 4300mAh is far more than what most manufacturers are offering nowadays. Coupled with some decent specs, the MX is capable of ensuring an impressive battery life, without sacrificing performance too much. In fact, Mlais promises that the removable battery will keep the device running through 3 days of normal use or a week of stand-by. On top of that, the smartphone will also double as a power bank, enabling you to charge the iPhones of your wall-hugging friends.

Unlike many other smartphones powered by MediaTek’s 64-bit MT6735 chipset with World Mode 4G, the MX Base packs the p variant, which includes a CPU clocked at 1.3Ghz. It should be noted that the i version has the processor running at 1.0Ghz. Other than that, the smartphone features all the usual suspects: 2GB of RAM, 16GB of ROM (expandable with the help of a microSD card), a 5″ HD display, an 8MP snapper on the back and a 5MP one in the front. It should be noted that the MX Base comes with Android 5.1 out of the box, so you don’t have to worry about updating the phone or flashing the ROM manually.

The MX Base also features a built-in infrared emitter. In other words, the smartphone sports remote control functionality. With such a device at your side, you won’t have to worry about where the kids or your significant other placed the zapper.

Batteries with a capacity as large as MX Base’s tend to be very thick, so potential users might be worried about the smartphone’s design. However, at its thickest point, the Mlais MX measures 9.9mm. That’s 1mm thinner than the Asus Zenfone 2, but all other comparisons between the two phones end there.

The pre-sale of the Mlais MX Base will end on June 30, and the orders will be shipped by Mlais’ 11 partners soon after that. Available in black, white, or green, the MX Base is sold by GearBest for $139.99, or $128.79 with the coupon code RMNTGB.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more the first announcement of the Mlais MX Base, or the Mlais M7 Android flagship.

Mlais M52 Red Note Makes Performance Affordable

Posted on by
Mlais M52 Android Lollipop

Many Android smartphone manufacturers claim to have created Xiaomi Redmi Note killers, but Mlais’ M52 Red Note really has the specs to prove it.

1. Contents of the Box
2. Accessories
3. Design and Build Quality
4. Technical Specs
5. Connectivity
6. Software
7. Performance Assessment
7.1. Benchmarks
7.2. Image Quality
7.3. Battery Life
8. Price and Availability
9. Conclusions

Contents of the Box

The M52 comes in a very compact turquoise cardboard box that protects the phone and the included accessories from any damage that might occur during transportation. The pastel color of the box makes it difficult for the camera to focus, and this also seems to be the case with some of the back covers.

One can only appreciate the simplicity of this box, with only the name and the logo of the company in the front, and the specs of the smartphone on the back. Take note (this seems to have also become Mlais’ slogan) that in some of the pictures the blur is caused by the depth of field, as they were taken in macro mode.

Click to view slideshow.

Besides the phone itself, there’s not much else in the box. Mlais provides a manual that is entirely in English (sign that the device is meant for the international market, and not just for China), an EU charger rated at 5V and 1000 mA, and a USB to microUSB cable that can be used both for charging the phone and for transferring data from or to a computer.

Back to top

Accessories

Even though there are four back covers available for the M52 Red Note (black, white, baby blue and peach red), buyers can only choose one when purchasing the device, and the M52 will come equipped with it. The others will be sold separately.

Depicted below is the flip cover case (actually called a Fashion Cover by the manufacturer), which is available separately for $4.42.

This particular flip case has S-Cover functionality, meaning that it can display either a digital or analog clock, depending on what you choose. The setup is found under Settings > Display > S-Cover Settings. In addition, swiping from right to left when the flip is on unveils a simplistic interface for the default media player. If you decide to use another player, such as PowerAmp (my personal favorite) or PlayerPro Music Player, the playback controls will stop the music in the app, and the default player will be launched instead. The entire process is seamless, but I wish it was possible to select the player we wish to control in Window mode, as there may be differences in sound determined by different EQ settings.

Tempered glass screen protectors for Mlais M52 can be purchased for $4.02, while replacement batteries cost $4.42. As if there weren’t plenty of accessories already, PU leather flip cases were also made, in various shapes and colors.

Back to top

Design and Build Quality

Overall, the M52 Red Note follows the general design of Android smartphones, with the volume rocker to the left of the screen, the power button on the right, a 3.5mm port for headphones at the top and a microphone on the bottom. The only exception from the rule seems to be the microUSB port that’s located at the top, instead of the bottom.

There’s no metal chassis, but the plastic chosen by Mlais for the M52 is of high quality, and the phablet feels very sturdy in hand. Even the shiny back cover looks very durable, and I’m pretty sure that users won’t fear breaking it while taking it off.

Back to top

Technical Specs

At 78 x 152 x 8.2 mm and 158 grams, Mlais M52 is a sleek phablet. In the front, the smartphone has a 5.5-inch IPS display (that comes with a screen protector film pre-applied) that’s bright and sharp, yet somewhat inferior to IPS panels made by JDI, and to Samsung’s AMOLED screens. The 1280×720 resolution resulting in a 267ppi pixel density doesn’t as huge of an impact on the battery as a higher resolution would have had. Still, it’s nearly impossible to see individual pixels, so there’s no reason for complaints here.

Regarding the bits that make this device tick, the M52 is based on Mediatek’s MT6752 64-bit chipset that includes a Cortex-A53 octa-core CPU running at 1.7Ghz and a Mali T760 GPU. Multitasking capabilities are sustained by 2GB of RAM, while the internal storage is of 16GB. In case that’s not enough (we all know how large music libraries can get these days), you can expand that by using a microSD card of up to 64GB.

Back to top

Connectivity

Considering the price, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the M52 doesn’t feature NFC (or Mediatek’s similar, but less popular Hot Knot). Other than that, M52 excels in connectivity options that range from 4G LTE (in the 800/1800/2100/2600Mhz bands) and dual-band Wi-Fi ac to Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. It should be noted that when one band is used in 4G, the other one works in 2G. Besides that, the SIMs are not active simultaneously, so you might want to use one exclusively for data and the other one for calls.

Mlais could’ve chosen a better GPS sensor, as this one has a 4 meters accuracy, at best. Other than that, the other connectivity options perform as advertised.

Back to top

Software

The phone was launched with a vanilla AOSP Android 4.4.4 KitKat, but the manufacturer promised that it would update it to Lollipop on April 10. On the day before the scheduled update, a video was uploaded to Mlais’ YouTube channel, showcasing the M52 running Android 5.0. On April 10, Mlais posted a picture on their Facebook page, saying that the update had been pushed back 5 days in order to perfect it. Some server issues led to further delays, but on April 17 Mlais released the first build based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Since that first build had many bugs and lacked unified storage, the manufacturer asked users to provide feedback, and soon launched another build, which also had several problems. To prove their professionalism and just how much they strive to satisfy the customers, Mlais took all the bug reports into account and released a third Lollipop build that solved most app crashes and functionality issues. On top of that, the manufacturer enabled users to pick the size of the OS partition (2/4/5GB), depending on their needs.

Check the above images to see the KitKat home screen and the app drawer as they were at the moment of the first boot. For comparison, below are the Lollipop home screen and app drawer.

The only downside is that for the time being, the Lollipop update is not offered OTA, and users have to flash the newest build manually, after rooting KitKat. Fortunately, Kingo Root can take care of that problem in a few simple steps.

Mlais posted a video on their YouTube channel detailing the steps required for manually flashing the device.

One of the aspects that sets the M52 apart from some of its competitors is the presence of off-screen gestures. The following screenshots include the settings for such gestures, and it should be noted that they are the same for both Android 4.4 KitKat and 5.0 Lollipop.

There are a few predefined gestures, but users can also establish what actions should occur when a certain letter is drawn onto the display.

Back to top

Performance Assessment

Over the four weeks I used the M52 as my daily driver, I noticed that it is very responsive in menus, apps and games. In fact, the M52 seemed faster than more expensive devices based on the same chipset. The following benchmarks confirm that the phablet can offer performance without forcing users to spend insane amounts of money.

Back to top

Benchmarks

First, I ran Antutu Benchmark in KitKat, and the score of 44,610 points was already impressive, in comparison to Xiaomi Mi4, Samsung Galaxy S5, Huawei Mate 7 or HTC ONE X M8.

After updating to Android 5.0, the M52 really showed its muscles, obtaining 47,126 points in Antutu. Some users even reported getting scores as high as 49K, but even with my score, Mlais’ device outranks the OnePlus One.

I ran the other benchmarks under KitKat, but the results in Lollipop should be even better. In GeekBench 3, the chipset proved to have lower performance in single-core tests than its counterparts, whereas in the multi-core tests it ranked higher than all of them.

Back to top

Image Quality

The cameras seem to be one of the weakest points of the M52, as the phablet features an 8MP Sony IMX219 on the back and a 5MP OmniVision 5648 in the front. The manufacturer claimed that the resolutions are 13 and 8MP, respectively, but these were obtained by using interpolation.

In daylight, M52’s rear camera produces decent photos, even though some details look burnt and over-exposed if shot in strong sunlight. Sharpness could’ve been better, too. On the other hand. in poor light conditions, the amount of noise is very noticeable.

I have no complaints regarding how fast the rear camera focuses, but I truly hope that Mlais will use better sensors in their future devices.

Back to top

Battery Life

The GeekBench 3 battery test revealed that M52’s battery can provide 5h 57m of screen-on time, indicating that the capacity might actually be smaller than 3200mAh.

The fact that there are many unnecessary processes running in the background also has a major impact on the battery life, but this aspect can be changed by installing Battery Doctor or a similar app.

Back to top

Price and Availability

The MSRP of the Mlais M52 Red Note is $159.99, but during the pre-sale some resellers offered it for as low as $129 with coupons applied during checkout. Now, most China stores sell it for $149.99, and considering that the price also includes free worldwide shipping in most cases, this is quite a bargain.

Back to top

Conclusions

Touted as the world’s cheapest Android device running on Mediatek’s 64-bit MT6752 chipset, the M52 Red Note is quite possibly the best smartphone you could get for around $140. The build quality and the performance make this phablet a tough competitor. With some proper software, either in the form of a custom ROM or a very optimized vanilla Android, Mlais M52 could become a force to be reckoned with.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Kingzone Z1, or the Lenovo K3 Note.

Mlais MX Packs a Monstrous 4800mAh Battery

Posted on by
Mlais MX 01

Not all of us are that interested in extreme performance, and some would definitely sacrifice a bit of that for some extra battery life. Mlais MX complements the mid-range 64-bit chipset with a Quick Charge-enabled 4,800mAh battery.

More and more Chinese smartphone makers are including in their portfolio devices with huge battery capacities, and it’s great to see that they acknowledge this demand. Mlais is among the latest to offer a phone whose battery will last for days, and even though MX’s capacity of 4800mAh is not the largest out there, it is still a lot more than what others have to offer.

At 9.9mm in thickness (the other dimensions being 145.8 x 71.5), Mlais MX won’t win any slimness contests, but that’s yet another aspect that gets sacrificed when including a high-capacity battery. That’s not to say that the phablet doesn’t look good. On the contrary, Mlais designed it to have round corners, a metallic frame and some lines that attract through their simplicity.

As mentioned before, Mlais MX isn’t exactly powered by the best-performing 64-bit chipset out there. However, Mediatek’s MT6735 (which puts together a quad-core CPU running at 1.3Ghz and the Mali T760GPU) is famous for featuring World Mode 4G, meaning that it will work without any problems in the US. For multitasking enthusiasts, Mlais included 2GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM (plus up to 64GB more via a microSD card, should you need more storage). The CPU’s lower frequency, compared to the one in the MT6752 translates into a longer battery life. The device runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, which really goes hand-in-hand with the 64-bit processor.

Another aspect that influences the battery life is the display, and the 5″ IPS display with HD resolution surely represents an energy-efficient solution. I’m glad that Mlais has decided to create smaller devices, as the M4, M52 and M7 all have 5.5″ HD displays. A smaller diagonal also means that the pixel density is higher.

For the cameras, Mlais chose the same sensors that can be seen in its 64-bit phablets: a 13MP Sony IMX214 for the rear and a 5MP Omnivision for the front. As long as the software for the sensor will be properly optimized, there’s nothing to criticize here.

In terms of connectivity, besides World Mode 4G, Mlais MX also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS/Glonass/A-GPS.

The price and launch date of the Mlais MX have yet to be made public by the manufacturer, but knowing how tight of a schedule this company has, we shouldn’t have to wait that long. For the sake of variety, Mlais will offer the MX in black, white, and marine green, and each and everyone of them looks great in the above promotional images.

UPDATE: Mlais announced on May 7 that the MX is available on pre-sale for $139.99 at the 11 resellers it has partnered up with. The pre-sale will end on May 31, and after that date, the device is supposed to have a MSRP of $149.99.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Bluboo X550 with a 5300mAh battery, or the UMi Hammer Android smartphone.

Mlais M7 Steps Into Flagship Territory

Posted on by
Mlais M7 01

Whereas Mlais’ M52 was in direct competition with Xiaomi’s Redmi Note and Meizu’s M1 Note, their upcoming M7 plays in an entirely different league, as it comes with some top-of-the-range features.

Mlais have proved now and again that they know how to attract attention. First of all, they launched the M9, a competitively-priced low-end (by today’s standards) device sporting one of the best 32-bit chipsets made by Mediatek. Then, the company unveiled the M52, the most affordable Android smartphone powered by the MT6752 64-bit chipset, and the M4 Note, a fashionable mid-ranger. Now, Mlais have announced the M7, which brings to the table the same excellent 64-bit SoC, along with biometric authentication and a flagship-worthy design.

For starters, the MT6752 chip packs an octa-core 64-bit CPU running at 1.7Ghz, and a Mali T760 GPU. All this processing power is translated for the user into great performance, especially since the M7 comes with 3GB of RAM for extreme multi-tasking. As for the storage, Mlais included a 16GB ROM that can be furthermore extended by using a microUSB card of up to 64GB.

Mlais have decided to keep using the same diagonal and resolution as in their previous 64-bit devices, so the M7 sports a 5.5″ 1280×720 IPS display (crammed into a 149.5 x 76.8 x 8.9mm body) that’s not very demanding on the 2600mAh battery. For the optics, Mlais have opted for a 13MP AF camera with True LED Flash on the back and an 8MP 88-degree wide-angle camera in the front, for some great selfies.

In terms of connectivity, this dual SIM 4G Android phablet features GPS, USB OTG, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and FDD-LTE in the following bands: B1/3/7/20 (800/1800/2100/2600).

One of the most interesting aspects about the Mlais M7 is the fingerprint scanner it comes with. Privacy is playing a vital role in our lives, and being able to protect our personal data has become essential. Biometric authentification in the form of a fingerprint scanner ensures that no one is able to access our phone without our knowledge. The solution implemented by Mlais in the M7 resembles the press touch ID seen in iPhones and several other Android flagships. It combines a convenient location with great accuracy in order to make sure that the use of the fingerprint scanner doesn’t disrupt typical use.

Overall, the M7 is a flagship worth waiting for, and I’m fairly sure that it will perform great in real life scenarios, as well.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Mlais M52 Red Note, or the ECOO E04 Plus.

Mlais M52 Keeps Redmi Note and M1 Note in Check

Posted on by
Mlais M52 Red Note 02

Just when you thought that Chinese smartphones couldn’t possible be any more affordable, Mlais launched the M52 Red Note, a 64-bit 4G LTE Android smartphone that’s inspired by (and competes against) Xiaomi’s Redmi Note and Meizu’s M1 Note.

Mlais is a fairly new player on the Chinese smartphone market, having launched the sub-$100 octacore M9 not long ago. However, this company is very ambitious, as it wants to go against Xiaomi and Meizu, which are literal giants in the local industry. To do so, it launched the M52 Red Note, the most affordable 4G Android smartphone sporting Mediatek’s latest octacore 64-bit MT6752 SoC.

The 64-bit Cortex-A53 (ARMv8-A) CPU and the Mali-T760 GPU are paired with 2GB of RAM to deliver great performance on a 5.5-inch 1280×720 IPS display. Considering how high of a resolution modern smartphones have today, this might not sound like much, but the pixel density of 267 ppi is more than enough, especially considering that the human eye can’t discern anything higher than 300 ppi. Besides, HD displays are more forgiving on the battery, whereas their high-res counterparts often lead to shorter battery lives. Add to that the fact that the MT6752 is more power-efficient than Mediatek’s older chipsets, and you should get a lot of playtime out of the 3,200mAh battery the M52 Red Note comes with.

With an advertised Antutu score of 42,000, Mlais M52 is on par with the Meizu M1 Note and well above any version of Xiaomi Redmi Note, but we’ll have to wait until this phablet is available in order to see how it stacks against those two in real-life scenarios.

One aspect most people are concerned about is the software support. The Mlais M52 Note will get Android 5.0 Lollipop as an over-the-air update at first, and then it will come with this version out of the box, with the hope to get more OTA updates as they become available. Regardless if the phablet will come with vanilla Android or a custom ROM, it won’t be able to compete against Xiaomi’s MIUI or Meizu’s FlyMe OS, at least in the beginning, but assuming that Mlais will have a considering following that provides feedback constantly, the Android version might improve in time.

For the sake of diversity, the M52 Red Note will be available in four different colors: black, white, peach red and blue. While the overall build quality can only be assessed after the phablet is officially launch, one can’t help but notice how the design follows similar lines to the Xiaomi Redmi Note, while the color options could make one think of the Meizu M1 Note.

Mlais M52 Red Note can be pre-ordered on GearBest for $136 with the coupon code GBM52. The pre-sale will end on March 29 and orders will be shipped soon after. It should be noted that several other Chinese stores are running a pre-sale for this Android smartphone, but it’s nowhere as affordable as at this one.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Xiaomi smartwatch or the Xiaomi Yi action camera.