Review Meizu MIX Smart Watch (MZWA1S)

The Chinese company Meizu decided to please its fans (hardly anyone else will know about such an accessory) partially smart watch with simple name Meizu MIX. The accessory is a classic round quartz watch with a steel case and a strap with a sapphire crystal that protects the dial. As for Smart-functions, they are presented quite modestly: inside are a Bluetooth-module, an accelerometer, a magnetometer and a gyroscope. Together with the special “Meizu Watch” application we get a simple fitness tracker with tracking of steps, distance, kilocalories and other functions.

Meizu MIX watches are available in several modifications: a metal bracelet / case of silver and black colors, a strap of Italian leather, brown and black. On the global market there is still a version with a textile strap made of nylon.

The price Meizu MIX with a steel strap is $230, with a leather strap – $200.

Meizu MIX: Packaging

The watch is packed in a cardboard box in black (and its color does not depend on the color of the watch). After removing the upper protective casing, you will find a cute little envelope cube made of eco-leather, inside of which is a watch covered with a protective film. In addition, the package includes a warranty card and instructions in several languages (there are the parameters and time settings).

Meizu MIX: Design

If you do not go into the details of the design, then you have a classic round watch, which on the shelves of stores a huge number for every taste and color. Therefore, intelligent Chinese decided to “take” the buyer not so much by appearance, as by materials. Judge for yourself: the watch case and the bracelet are made of 316L jewelery steel, and the dial is protected by a solid sapphire glass of hardness 9 according to the Mohs mineralogical scale – the steeper is only a diamond, it has a hardness of 10. The 316L tells us about the high anti-corrosion properties (chromium oxide layer) Thanks to which it does not react with sweat of the person and does not cause allergy, moreover, such steel is resistant to sun and sea water, chemical (presence of molybdenum) or mechanical damage.

The diameter of the watch is 42 mm, and the thickness is 12 mm – quite typical dimensions of a quartz or mechanical watch. Weight – no less than about 130 grams, they are well felt on the arm, but those who are accustomed to wearing light accessories will have to get used to or buy a version with a leather strap.

Meizu MIX watches look good, they fit both style of Casual (casual style of clothing with emphasis on convenience and practicality) and business style. I am sure that no one will have any claims to Meizu MIX appearance: there are no pretentious elements here, everything is simple, relatively strict and stylish.

Since the bracelet was too long for my wrist, I had to remove a couple of links. After that, the watch was comfortable to sit on the wrist, however, a slight backlash was still preserved.

The clasp is classic: at the beginning one part of the bracelet is attached, then the other. For opening it is necessary to simultaneously press from two sides on two ledges on the sides. Fastening reliable, for a month of use nothing terrible has happened.

The manufacturer claims that the watch is protected from splashing water (class 2, minimum degree of water protection – 3 atmospheres). However, before taking a shower or swimming in the open ocean, Meizu MIX must still be removed.

The dial consists of hour, minute and second hands of silvery color. On the big dial, minutes are indicated by Arabic numerals (05, 10, 15 … 50, 55, 60), on small – the days of the week in Latin and the load norm for the day from 0 to 100.

With a black clock there are two unpleasant nuances. The first is that, if the level of illumination is insufficient, both dials are either poorly visible or not visible at all. That is, at night most likely it is necessary to select such an angle of inclination of the clock so that the arrows “catch” the reflection of light. In this respect, the white watches behave perfectly. The second – on the black background of the dial is strongly visible fingerprints and fatty stains on the glass.

Quite frankly, I have a purely attitude to the clock: even if I wear them, I almost never watch the time, the main thing is that I like the design of the clock and they were comfortable. So I chose Meizu MIX black: although the time is not very comfortable depending on the lighting, but Meizu looks great.

I completely forgot about the two mechanical buttons on the right side of the clock. The upper (small size) is responsible for switching modes: one click – and on the small dial, the second hand indicates the day of the week, two presses – the percentage of the load norm in the application. The button below serves only to search for the phone (the watch vibrates once, and the phone squeaks until you find it and unlock it). Pressing the buttons is very tight, the course is average. For a month of using the clock functions described above, almost no yuzal.

By the way, yes, in Meizu MIX there is a vibrator and an indicator (on top under the inscription “Swiss movt” flashes in red). Vibro is very weak, so I heard the vibration on the phone better than I felt on my hand from the clock. When walking, the motor can not be felt anyway. Well, about the indicator generally silent.

Meizu MIX: Watch mechanism

On Meizu MIX dial at the top, the “Swiss movt” marking is indicated. In general, the word Swiss translates as “Swiss”, that is, some element had to be manufactured in this country. There are certain additions to this marking: for example, the word “movt” (movement) means that the mechanism is completely Swiss. Judging by the specifications, the company Meizu uses the mechanism of the company Ronda. The history of the brand begins in 1946, when William Mosseth (the inventor) founded the Ronda plant.

The name Ronda was born from the French term “arrondir” – “rounded hinge”. At first the company made scales and moving parts for the watch. In the 60’s, after a long “battle” with the Swiss authorities, which protected the watch industry at the legislative level, Ronda received the right to manufacture Roskopf pallets and mechanical parts. Currently, Ronda has more than 2,000 employees in Thailand, Hong Kong, Switzerland. Business indicators of the family enterprise were not disclosed.

The main advantage of the Ronda mechanisms is unification, not only between different modifications of the same caliber, but also between different calibers.

Also inside is Bluetooth module version 4.0 (LE), triaxial gyroscope, accelerometer and geomagnetic sensor.

Under the metal watch cover there is a CR2430 battery, which should last for 6 to 8 months. For a month with a little in my case, the battery in the settings of the program wrote – “Full”.

Meizu MIX: Application

The program can be found on Google Play and the AppStore. I will talk about the application for Android OS.

When you first turn on the “Meizu Watch” you need to connect them and enter your account information. For a long time the program worked extremely unstable, later there was an add-on that corrected everything.

The main screen shows the steps taken, mileage and calories burned. A little below the goal is set and comparative information is given regarding yesterday’s result. Tap on the “steps” leads you to the expanded information. Here are the steps relative to hours, days, weeks and months, and just below – decoding: the number of steps, the spent energy, duration and distance.

In the section “My watch” you can set the reminder functions: incoming call, messages and three any applications. I chose Telegram, WhatsApp and the mail client.

Everything is quite clear.

Meizu MIX: Conclusion

Once again I would like to repeat that for me the watch is first and foremost an accessory, and not a means for obtaining information about time. I almost did not use the smart function, as the number of steps by default is my main device Huawei P9 Plus, and the vibrating alert with the indicator does not carry a payload (the indicator is not visible, and the vibrator is too weak).

As an accessory Meizu MIX is uniquely good at the expense of the use of steel and sapphire glass. Itself would take a black clock: look slightly more original than white – like typical chronometers.

Price, of course, biting – $200 and $230. Surely Meizu MIX will be interesting to fans of Meizu, the rest will most likely take either standard smart fitness trackers, or mechanical or quartz non-smart watches of more famous brands.

The closest competitor is Withings Activite. Cost from $170, look even more minimalist compared to Meizu MIX. Also used steel 316L, glass – sapphire.

Source: meizu