Google and Apple dominate the smartphone market with Android and iOS. According to a May 2015 report [1] by the global market intelligence firm IDC, just under 80 percent of all smartphones sold are Android. Apple has 16 percent market share but, even so, the company takes in 90 percent of the profits, thanks to enormous margins. Microsoft is limping very far behind with just over 3 percent of the market share. The remaining manufacturers, including the one-time market leader Blackberry, share a very slim one percent.

Mozilla, Nokia, and Tizen rank among the also rans. Mozilla has its own Firefox OS [2], ex-Nokia people have developed Sailfish OS [3], and Tizen [4] is supported by the Linux Foundation. Thanks to a series of cooperative efforts and low-priced devices, Mozilla has already enjoyed some success. Currently, it has more than 10 percent market share in emerging economies like Brazil and Venezuela [5]. Canonical is in fourth place in open source offerings with Ubuntu Touch and Ubuntu Phone [6].

Ubuntu Touch

Unlike competing products, Ubuntu Touch comes without any additional buttons on the cellphone. Instead of buttons, a series of gestures must be committed to memory and they are a little different from what users might be familiar with from Android or iOS. Depending on which side of the screen is used to initiate the gesture, you will open the user menu, messages, and fast settings, or you will switch from one active app to another. The phone reacts differently to gestures initiated from the left or the right depending on whether you swipe quickly or whether you drag across the center of the display screen.

Canonical is seeking to pull ahead of its competition with functionality they have christened convergence. Once connected to a large monitor, the cellphone can be operated via the Ubuntu desktop environment. On a tablet, you can seamlessly switch between the mobile interface and the Ubuntu desktop. This means Canonical would have succeeded where no other manufacturer has, namely complete porting of an operating system across devices with interchangeable user interfaces. A cellphone or a tablet can be turned into a highly portable PC which, with all of the data stored on it, can be put into your pocket. To date, Ubuntu cellphones have been too weak to achieve convergence, so the function has only been available as demoware [7].

Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition

With BQ being the first, Meizu is the second company to bring a smartphone to market with Ubuntu as the operating system. Unlike the previous two Ubuntu smartphones, the MX4 Ubuntu Edition [8] is ahead of the times with eight cores, 2GB of working memory, a high-resolution display screen, and a high-performance camera (Table 1).

Table 1

Comparing Ubuntu Phones

Phone	Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition	BQ E4.5 Aquaris Ubuntu Edition	BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition
Technical Data
CPU Type	MediaTek Cortex A7 and A17, Octa-Core	MediaTek Cortex A7, Quad-Core	MediaTek Cortex A7, Quad-Core
CPU Frequency (max.)	4x2.2 GHz, 4x1.7 GHz	1.3 GHz	1.3 GHz
GPU	PowerVR G6200, Quad-Core, 600 MHz	Mali 400, 500 MHz	Mali 400, 500 MHz
Memory	16GB internal, 2GB RAM	8GB internal, 1GB RAM	16 GB internal, 1GB RAM
Display	5.36 inches, IPS, Gorilla Glass 3	4.5 inches, IPS, Dragontail Glass	5.0 inches, Dragontail Glass
Resolution	1920x1152, 417 ppi	960x540, qHD, 240 ppi	1280x720, HD720, 294 ppi
Battery	3100 mAh, built in	2150 mAh, built in	2500 mAh, built in
Connectivity
Data (max.)	4G LTE	3G HSPA+	3G HSPA+
WiFi	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	4.0 (BLE supported)	4.0	4.0
Cameras
Rear	20.7 Mpx, f/2.2, Sony IMX220 Exmor	5 Mpx, f/2.4	13 Mpx, f/2.2
Front	2 Mpx, f/2.2, Sony IMX208	5 Mpx	8 Mpx, f/2.4
Size and Weight
Dimensions	144x75.2x8.9 mm	137x67x9 mm	142x71x8.65 mm
Weight	147g	123g	134g
Special Features
SIM Slot	Micro-SIM	Dual-Micro-SIM	Dual-Micro-SIM
SD Slot	Not available	SDHC, Micro-SD	SDHC, Micro-SD
Other	Micro-USB-OTG	Micro-USB-OTG	Micro-USB-OTG
Price
Price	299 Euro	169.90 Euro	199.90 Euro

To get one of these sought-after devices, potential customers initially had to play a game on the manufacturer's website. The game consisted of a so-called origami wall with tiny hotspots that the aspiring customer had to hit with a mouse click. A random number algorithm was used to determine whether the aspirant merely received information about the smartphone or whether he or she was lucky enough to enter an email address on the site. The manufacturer's online shop then became accessible for these email addresses.

Customer reaction to the inconvenience of this ordering process was already observed with the flash sales conducted for the Aquaris E4.5. Limited numbers of this product were made available for purchase during tightly prescribed periods of time. Some customers perceived the flash sales as a good way to slow the initial stampede to purchase a new product. Others thought that a simple waiting list would have made much more sense. According to comments left on Facebook, the online game required to purchasing an MX4 appears to have made some people angry. In any case, once an invitation was extended, the aspiring purchaser had 72 hours to buy the phone provided it had not already sold out before the time was up.

In the meantime, the MX4 has become regularly available in the manufacturer's online shop, and it can be purchased in the normal fashion for 299 Euro [9]. There are no added delivery costs. The Android version of the Meizu MX4 comes in black, white/silver, and white/gold. The Ubuntu version only comes with a white front and a silver or gold rear panel (Figure 1). There is likewise no choice with respect to memory for the phone. The user must be satisfied with 16GB. In contrast to the BQ Ubuntu cell phone, the MX4 does not have an SD card slot for memory upgrades.

Figure 1: The Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition only comes in white with a silver or gold rear panel.

The Technology

Operations inside the phone are performed on an octa-core processor from MediaTek. One set of four Cortex A17 processor cores runs at up to 2.2Ghz. The other set of Cortex A7 cores only runs at up to 1.7GHz. This technology has been dubbed "big.LITTLE" and is an attempt to distribute compute-intensive tasks to the higher performance cores and to relegate the background activities to the weaker, battery-saving CPU. The graphics processor consists of the PowerVR G6200 from Imagination Technologies, formerly VideoLogic. This processor also works with four cores and offers generous amounts of computing power. Consequently, the technology behind the MX4 offers significantly more performance than the two Aquaris siblings from BQ. However, it would be a mistake to assume that Ubuntu runs more fluidly on the Meizu phone. The animations are stuttery in spite of the powerful processors. The cause is said to be the graphics card driver. Hopefully, Canonical and Meizu can get this issue under control for the future. Overall, there is some quirkiness to this phone in spite of the excellent technical data. This prevents user enjoyment of what should be a smooth-running Ubuntu phone (see the "Update to OTA-5" box for more info.)

There is a 2GB working memory and a battery with a capacity of 3100mAh. The battery is clearly visible under the removable plate but – wonder of wonders – the battery itself cannot be removed and exchanged (Figure 2). The large battery capacity becomes noticeable in everyday use. It lasts quite a bit longer than the battery for the Aquaris E4.5 in spite of the bright, high-resolution, 5-inch display with 1920x1152 pixels. With average use, the device we tested was plugged in to an electrical outlet about every two nights. The Aquaris on the other hand gave out after one day.

Figure 2: Although appearances would suggest otherwise, the battery for the Meizu MX4 cannot be removed.

Great Sound, Dim Camera

With the help of high-end, over-ear headphones, the phone impresses with powerful and flawless sound. The speech quality is also excellent during calls. Reactions to the camera, however, are mixed. The 20.7 megapixels look good on paper, but the images are definitely muddy. Photos can only be taken with 2560x1440 pixel resolution. There is no option for setting the resolution higher or lower. The hardware supports video with 4K, but again there is a fixed setting for 1920x1440 resolution even in the most recent version.

The delivery contents include a charger cable and an adapter and, in our case, also an adapter for the UK. Earphones are not included, although a space has been delegated for them in the packaging. This appears for now to be a place holder. The packaging, the directions, and all other documentation all still refer to Meizu's Android Flyme OS. Meizu sends a note along to apologize for the ongoing delay in changing everything over to the Ubuntu Edition of the Meizu MX4.

Slim and Sharp

The device makes a good impression in the workmanship department. It is clear that the Meizu MX has adopted style elements of the iPhone. The front consists of robust Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The frame is made from metal. The back plate is made from plastic, which comes across as a bit chintzy when compared with the Aquaris E4.5. It is easy, for example, to make an indentation in the back panel of the Mx4 with relatively little pressure. The capacitive switch under the display screen hosts the notification light. The button also functions as the home button, moves currently executing applications into the background, and displays the application overview.

After using the phone for a while, we found the narrow frame around the phone somewhat impractical (Figure 3). Although frequently criticized, the wider and less visually appealing frame around the Aquaris E4.5 display screen is actually advantageous for the Ubuntu phone operating system. This is because swipe gestures are heavily used in operating the phone. Swiping from the edge of the Meizu MX4 screen feels like you are swiping your fingers across a dull knife blade. Once a protective film is placed over the screen, operating the MX4 becomes a game of patience.

Figure 3: The extremely small screen edge makes operating the device with Ubuntu touch gestures difficult.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that purchasers of the Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition get a solid, well-performing device for just under 300 Euro. The optics alone make a good impression. Nonetheless, some details cast a shadow over what is otherwise a bright picture. These include the battery lid, which is easily dented; the camera, which takes noisy pictures; the camera resolution, which can't be utilized due to inadequate software support; and the badly supported graphics processor, which exhibits noticeable stutter in spite of the enormous compute power.

Let's hope that the software will soon catch up with the hardware. Right now, the decision by Meizu to release the Ubuntu phones appears to have been somewhat hasty. Perhaps Canonical and Meizu simply wanted to gain entry into the marketplace. If so, then they are following the well-known banana principle – namely, software ripens once the customer gets it.

Some customers will find consolation in the fact that the Meizu MX4 at first glance has the look and feel of an iPhone. Additionally, the purchaser can be proud to have the best and fastest Ubuntu cellphone to date, at least according to the data sheet. The phone is definitely usable, even though the user experience is not very smooth, especially in light of expectations raised by the technical data.