With the new Meizu C9, the company aims to take on the budget smartphone market, which is dominated by devices like the Xiaomi Redmi 6A. Meizu C9 is priced at Rs 5,999 and features a basic plastic body design, which we see on most similarly priced smartphones in India.
Let’s find out if the new Meizu C9 is the budget smartphone you should get, or is it better to look at other alternatives.
Meizu C9 specifications: 5.45-inch HD+ 1440 x 720 resolution display | Unisoc SC9832E quad-core processor | 2GB RAM +16GB internal storage | expandable memory via dedicated microSD card slot (up to 128GB) | 13MP primary camera | 8MP secondary camera | 3,000mAh battery | Stock Android 8.1 Oreo
Meizu C9 price in India: Rs 5,999
Meizu C9 review
Meizu C9 doesn’t look very different compared to other smartphones in the similar price bracket. It has an 18:9 aspect ratio display with thin side bezels, a Unisoc processor, 13MP camera on the back, a 3.5mm audio jack along with a microUSB port on the bottom edge.
Meizu C9 comes with dual-SIM card capabilities and a separate slot for the microSD card, all of which are hidden under the removable back panel.
It is very light even with the battery installed thanks to its plastic build, which some might like and others might not. However, at this point, plastic builds are what all manufacturers provide.
Meizu C9 Review: What’s good?
Meizu sports a decent build quality; the device doesn’t flex on applying pressure and feels like it can survive most accidental drops. Due to its small form factor, it is very easy to use single handedly
One good thing about the design that has a removable back panel and a swappable battery. This is a thing that I most miss about older phones, which is the ability to replace a battery yourself.
The HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display of the Meizu C9 is one of the best display, one can get on a budget smartphone. It has good colour reproduction, sharpness and brightness. While being used directly under the sun, the display is quite easily legible and while being used in a pitch dark room, the brightness can be dialled down quite a notch to stop it from hurting your eyes. Additionally, Meizu bundles the device with a pre-applied screen guard, which is a nice gesture.
Meizu C9 runs Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo operating system in its stock avatar, which according to me is a really good thing, considering the device does not have a lot of power to handle a heavy skin. The device does not come with a lot of bloatware, keeping things nice and clean.
In terms of the camera performance, Meizu C9 performed well in conditions with good lighting. The shots came out with good details and vibrant colours considering the price of the device. Meizu has added an HDR mode to the camera, which helps in bringing out more details than normal and isn’t a feature that is available in most budget smartphones.
The camera was even able to take decent shots in low-light conditions as the images had detail and were able to represent the colours well. However, there was a bit of grain in the images, but that is expected in most budget smartphones.
Battery life is one of the things that I ended up liking the most in this budget smartphone. I was able to easily get out a day and a half worth’s of usage on a single charge with around 20 per cent battery left. It took approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to charge from 20 per cent to 100 per cent, with the help of the 5W charger supplied inside of the retail packaging box.
Meizu C9 Review: What’s not so good
One of my major disappointments with the Meizu C9 is that it started lagging and stuttering as soon as I added a few apps that I wanted to test out on it. I wasn’t expecting flagship performance out of the device, however, I was expecting that it will be able to handle apps like MXPlayer, Amazon, etc.
The device isn’t smooth and even when I deleted a few apps off of it, I still found myself encountering problems. Performance is a serious let down on this device.
Meizu C9 when it comes to taking selfies does not perform up to my expectations. The images taken with Meizu C9’s front camera come out washed up, colour inaccurate and not at all sharp, blurring out most of the details. The device isn’t able to focus on subjects properly and does not consist of the tap to focus feature. Low light shots taken with it have very less detail and a lot of noise.
The auto brightness feature is a hit or a miss situation, spoiler, most of the times it is a miss. During the time I had this smartphone, I mostly ended up adjusting the brightness manually.
Meizu C9 Review: Verdict
Meizu C9 is a budget smartphone with a lot of good features going for it and is pitted as a budget smartphone running stock Android for Rs 5,999. At the price, it has decent specifications, a compact form factor, good battery and a good primary camera. However, the phone has one major issue, which is its performance.
For under Rs 6,000 this is not a bad option, though there are many devices like the Xiaomi Redmi 6A and the Realme C1 (2018), which provide the users with much more bang for the buck compared to this.
