Although the global smartphone market has been under an innovation-hindering OS duopoly for several years now,
which Windows Mobile no longer seems capable of pressuring, a host of smaller platforms continue to walk the fine line between complete oblivion and relative relevance.
One of these is Ubuntu, developed by UK-based Canonical Ltd. on the same Linux roots as Android, and while its mainstream popularity remains paltry, high-profile hardware partners like Meizu refuse to throw in the towel.
Unfortunately, the Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition is a little late to the actual availability party, launching commercially a full six months on the heels of the Android-powered variant. A PRO 6 with Androidhas even seen daylight in the meantime, though it’s not technically up for grabs yet.
The palatable $370 unlocked price tag also works in favor of the Ubuntu-running Meizu PRO 5, but on the not so bright side of things, gold is the only flavor currently available on JD.com, with 32GB internal storage space and 3GB RAM on deck.
Still, the bang for buck is decent at the very least when you consider the 5.7-incher’s Full HD AMOLED display, premium metal execution, octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, 21MP rear-facing camera, 3,050 mAh battery, USB Type-C connectivity, and LTE Cat.6 support on plenty of “international” bands.
The million-dollar $370 question is why would you experiment with a platform that’s yet to take off and may never do so, risking poor software support down the line, when you can go the beaten Android path, and… hope for an eventual Marshmallow update? Well, there you go.
-PB.
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