Review Flyme 3
Greetings to you, Habralyudi! We have already prepared an overview of our Meizu MX3 smartphone, and now we want to tell you about the proprietary Flyme 3 interface, which is one of the main features of the Meizu MX3. In the third version of Flyme, a lot of changes have appeared, both visual and in terms of new features, let's see what exactly has changed in the interface.
First of all, it is worth noting that the Flyme 3 interface has become flat. Someone will probably say with a grin that Meizu once again tried to copy Apple along with their iOS 7, but this is not so, because the Flyme 3.0 screenshots leaked back in April, when they didn’t even hear about iOS 7.
In the Flyme launcher on the desktops, all the programs you installed are located, there is no separate application menu. Thanks to this, you can quickly remove the program or find the desired application in one or two “swipe” between the screens. The launcher supports third-party themes, they can be downloaded through the built-in Meizu store. Hereinafter, in some situations, screenshots of both versions of Flyme will be given - the second (left) and the third (right),
In comparison with Flyme 2.x, three key changes are worth noting: firstly, the application grid has become a bit larger (4x4 versus 4x4 in Flyme 2.x for Meizu MX2), secondly, now you can change all the shortcuts in the bottom panel, the built-in browser has ceased to be attached to this place. By the way, in the bottom panel not only programs, but also folders can be located.
And thirdly, there is the possibility of expanding desktops vertically. For example, if there is no more free space on one of the tables, the launcher automatically creates another row for the icons down. To go to it, just “swipe” up the screen. Thus, if you don’t like organizing program shortcuts using a separate menu, don’t like scrolling shortcuts into folders or different screens, in Meizu MX3 with Flyme 3 you have another way to organize your workspace - placing all the icons on one screen, which you can scroll down and up.
Add widgets by holding your finger on the desktop.
In Flyme, since the time of versions 1.x, in the status bar there are switches for wireless interfaces. In version 3, they have not disappeared, but also added the ability to change their position. It is enough to hold your finger on one of the switches for a couple of seconds and then it can be moved.
To call up the list of recently opened applications, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen. In my opinion, such a gesture is more convenient than double-clicking used in Flyme 2.x.
To call the brightness slider, swipe left from the latest apps. Here is a panel for quick access to applications. Programs in this panel can be added independently.
The new version of Flyme uses a simple keyboard with a couple of nice additions. Outwardly, it has not changed much since the days of Flyme 2.x, but this is only at first glance.
When you press the 123 key, a number line appears above the keyboard; if you click it again, the number line is replaced by punctuation marks.
Holding down the “- *” button activates voice input. It is active while you hold the key.
The settings interface resembles the tablet version of Android: on the left side are all the settings items, and on the right are detailed information about the selected item.
"Smart Bar" is a kind of analogue of on-screen buttons, or rather, his vision by Meizu. Even at the presentation of MX2, the company's management noted that the on-screen buttons in Android take up too much space, while there is another row of function keys above them. Flyme combined the "Menu", "Back" buttons along with the function keys, as a result, we got a small neat strip at the bottom of the screen. If a third-party application is created using Google guidelines, then Smart Bar support will appear automatically in the application (examples of such programs: Robird, Skype, Viber).
The innovation related to the “smart bar” in Flyme 3 is the ability to adjust the indent of the back button in this panel, the step of the custom indentation is small: 140, 150 or 160 points from the edge of the screen, perhaps in the future developers will add more divisions.
To unlock your smartphone, just swipe up from the bottom edge of the display on the lock screen. Also now you can immediately go to the desktops, bypassing the lock screen, if you move up from the touch ring button to the screen (in the second version of Flyme you had to touch the touch ring twice and you were taken to the lock screen).
Due to the fact that now, by unlocking the smartphone with a gesture up from the touch ring, you immediately get to the desktop, the developers removed the shortcuts for the “Phone” and “SMS” applications from the lock screen. But the fact that the left / right gesture was removed to call the camera upsets. We hope that with the release of one of the latest firmware for Meizu MX3 this feature will be returned.
The Flyme application in Flyme is as simple as possible, there is a separate address book, a list of recent calls and a simple dialer.
Compared to Flyme 2.x, it has been slightly updated: the font has changed, the design of the contact card is now more like an option from "pure" Android.
When making a call (like in Flyme 2.x), a rectangular photo is used, so I recommend that you assign photos to frequent contacts manually, because Flyme also supports higher (than 720x720 pixels) resolutions.
The ability to record voice has not gone away, in the settings you can enable automatic recording of all calls. During a call, you can turn off the sound by simply pressing the volume key, and you can reset the call using the power button.
The SMS application interface is also as simple as possible. Of the nice options, it is worth noting the ability to quickly mark a message as read, using the notification curtain.
In comparison with Flyme 2.x, the font has changed, plus they added sorting by day. That is, messages received on different days will be separated by a small space. It's comfortable.
The built-in browser is great for everyday use. Using the bottom panel, you can quickly refresh the page, view previously opened tabs or add the site to your favorites. In the settings, you can enable private mode or force the browser to open in landscape orientation. The browser supports working with Adobe Flash, the first time you are offered to download Flash Player from the App Center (Chinese application store).
The browser has not changed much since Flyme 2.x. The same settings, the same buttons. But using it (thanks to the size of the MX3 screen) has become more convenient. When you double-tap on the screen in the browser, the text is adjusted to the width of the screen, in the settings you can choose several font sizes, choosing the one that will be most comfortable for you.
The built-in explorer allows you to browse files by category or the usual tree list. There is a convenient function of multiple selection - you just have to “swipe” along the right edge of the list.
The version for Flyme 3.0 includes encryption support (you can protect your data with a password) and the ability to view data from network drives.
Music player
Flyme music player is one of the most functional for Android. With it, you can listen to music not only by albums and artists, but also by folders. There is support for lyrics and the ability to adjust the sound (built-in equalizer). The player supports many audio codecs from MP3 to FLAC and OGG.
Compared to Flyme 2.x, the player has been slightly updated in terms of design, but otherwise its functionality has not changed. Separately, I note that on the MX3 large screen album covers look even better.
The player can be easily accessed from the lock screen by double-clicking on the sensor ring. You can also control music through the widget in the status bar.
The video player has a simple interface and a minimum of settings. But the huge support for audio and video codecs: DivX, XviD, H.264, and even VC1, and with them MP3, AC3, OGG and even DTS. In addition, the player copes with the built-in and external subtitles, and also supports the selection of audio tracks.
While watching a video, you can quickly adjust the screen brightness and sound level by simply swiping your finger up / down the screen to the right or left (sound on the left, brightness on the right).
A simple note taking app. You can write something down quickly or even sketch. Synchronization between devices using your Flyme-account is supported.
Separate drawing application. There are many settings. You can choose one of several markers (pencil, brush) and various design themes.
All applications for time tracking are collected here: alarm clock, international time, stopwatch, timer. After setting the time in the alarm clock and turning it on, the time remaining until this moment is displayed near the set response time. So, if you set the alarm clock at 3 a.m. at 7 a.m., you can immediately see how little time you have left to sleep.
Unlike Flyme 2.0, the font of the alarm clock and the clock interface as a whole have increased slightly.
Flyme has a very beautiful gallery, especially when viewing thumbnail images. The gallery itself has many settings for both viewing and editing the image. Photos are sorted by month, any month can be hidden or displayed in the gallery. Image editing is also available here. You can rotate the picture, cut out fragments from it with the selected aspect ratio, selected from the standard or manually specified resolution, add graphic shapes to the image (arrows, lines, clouds as in comics), text, or simply draw something by hand, pre-specifying the size and the transparency of the brush, as well as its color. A separate “Edit” menu allows you to apply various effects to a photo or picture, from filters like those used on Instagram to color temperature, brightness,
We remind you that on Meizu smartphones you can get superuser rights using regular means. To do this, you need to log in to your Flyme-account and then check the box "Open access to the system." After receiving Root rights, you do not lose the guarantee, however, you will no longer be able to receive OTA updates, however, the ability to update using the image downloaded from the site will remain.
Meizu engineers did a great job on the Flyme interface, they managed, on the one hand, to refresh and simplify it, and on the other, to leave continuity in design and basic convenient features. Separately, it is worth noting that the trend with a flat interface is now supported by Apple, Google and gradually other major manufacturers.
All Meizu MX3 smartphones come with Flyme 3 already installed, Meizu MX2 will receive an update to version 3.x in the first weeks of December and we will tell you about it.
If you already own Meizu MX3, we recommend that you also look at the instructions built into the smartphone. You can open it through Settings> Accessibility. We tried to make it as simple and visual as possible.
Appearance and desktops
First of all, it is worth noting that the Flyme 3 interface has become flat. Someone will probably say with a grin that Meizu once again tried to copy Apple along with their iOS 7, but this is not so, because the Flyme 3.0 screenshots leaked back in April, when they didn’t even hear about iOS 7.
In the Flyme launcher on the desktops, all the programs you installed are located, there is no separate application menu. Thanks to this, you can quickly remove the program or find the desired application in one or two “swipe” between the screens. The launcher supports third-party themes, they can be downloaded through the built-in Meizu store. Hereinafter, in some situations, screenshots of both versions of Flyme will be given - the second (left) and the third (right),
In comparison with Flyme 2.x, three key changes are worth noting: firstly, the application grid has become a bit larger (4x4 versus 4x4 in Flyme 2.x for Meizu MX2), secondly, now you can change all the shortcuts in the bottom panel, the built-in browser has ceased to be attached to this place. By the way, in the bottom panel not only programs, but also folders can be located.
And thirdly, there is the possibility of expanding desktops vertically. For example, if there is no more free space on one of the tables, the launcher automatically creates another row for the icons down. To go to it, just “swipe” up the screen. Thus, if you don’t like organizing program shortcuts using a separate menu, don’t like scrolling shortcuts into folders or different screens, in Meizu MX3 with Flyme 3 you have another way to organize your workspace - placing all the icons on one screen, which you can scroll down and up.
Add widgets by holding your finger on the desktop.
Status bar
In Flyme, since the time of versions 1.x, in the status bar there are switches for wireless interfaces. In version 3, they have not disappeared, but also added the ability to change their position. It is enough to hold your finger on one of the switches for a couple of seconds and then it can be moved.
Task Manager
To call up the list of recently opened applications, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen. In my opinion, such a gesture is more convenient than double-clicking used in Flyme 2.x.
To call the brightness slider, swipe left from the latest apps. Here is a panel for quick access to applications. Programs in this panel can be added independently.
Keyboard
The new version of Flyme uses a simple keyboard with a couple of nice additions. Outwardly, it has not changed much since the days of Flyme 2.x, but this is only at first glance.
When you press the 123 key, a number line appears above the keyboard; if you click it again, the number line is replaced by punctuation marks.
Holding down the “- *” button activates voice input. It is active while you hold the key.
Settings
The settings interface resembles the tablet version of Android: on the left side are all the settings items, and on the right are detailed information about the selected item.
Smart bar
"Smart Bar" is a kind of analogue of on-screen buttons, or rather, his vision by Meizu. Even at the presentation of MX2, the company's management noted that the on-screen buttons in Android take up too much space, while there is another row of function keys above them. Flyme combined the "Menu", "Back" buttons along with the function keys, as a result, we got a small neat strip at the bottom of the screen. If a third-party application is created using Google guidelines, then Smart Bar support will appear automatically in the application (examples of such programs: Robird, Skype, Viber).
The innovation related to the “smart bar” in Flyme 3 is the ability to adjust the indent of the back button in this panel, the step of the custom indentation is small: 140, 150 or 160 points from the edge of the screen, perhaps in the future developers will add more divisions.
Lock screen
To unlock your smartphone, just swipe up from the bottom edge of the display on the lock screen. Also now you can immediately go to the desktops, bypassing the lock screen, if you move up from the touch ring button to the screen (in the second version of Flyme you had to touch the touch ring twice and you were taken to the lock screen).
Due to the fact that now, by unlocking the smartphone with a gesture up from the touch ring, you immediately get to the desktop, the developers removed the shortcuts for the “Phone” and “SMS” applications from the lock screen. But the fact that the left / right gesture was removed to call the camera upsets. We hope that with the release of one of the latest firmware for Meizu MX3 this feature will be returned.
Phone
The Flyme application in Flyme is as simple as possible, there is a separate address book, a list of recent calls and a simple dialer.
Compared to Flyme 2.x, it has been slightly updated: the font has changed, the design of the contact card is now more like an option from "pure" Android.
When making a call (like in Flyme 2.x), a rectangular photo is used, so I recommend that you assign photos to frequent contacts manually, because Flyme also supports higher (than 720x720 pixels) resolutions.
The ability to record voice has not gone away, in the settings you can enable automatic recording of all calls. During a call, you can turn off the sound by simply pressing the volume key, and you can reset the call using the power button.
SMS messages
The SMS application interface is also as simple as possible. Of the nice options, it is worth noting the ability to quickly mark a message as read, using the notification curtain.
In comparison with Flyme 2.x, the font has changed, plus they added sorting by day. That is, messages received on different days will be separated by a small space. It's comfortable.
Browser
The built-in browser is great for everyday use. Using the bottom panel, you can quickly refresh the page, view previously opened tabs or add the site to your favorites. In the settings, you can enable private mode or force the browser to open in landscape orientation. The browser supports working with Adobe Flash, the first time you are offered to download Flash Player from the App Center (Chinese application store).
The browser has not changed much since Flyme 2.x. The same settings, the same buttons. But using it (thanks to the size of the MX3 screen) has become more convenient. When you double-tap on the screen in the browser, the text is adjusted to the width of the screen, in the settings you can choose several font sizes, choosing the one that will be most comfortable for you.
Conductor
The built-in explorer allows you to browse files by category or the usual tree list. There is a convenient function of multiple selection - you just have to “swipe” along the right edge of the list.
The version for Flyme 3.0 includes encryption support (you can protect your data with a password) and the ability to view data from network drives.
Music player
Flyme music player is one of the most functional for Android. With it, you can listen to music not only by albums and artists, but also by folders. There is support for lyrics and the ability to adjust the sound (built-in equalizer). The player supports many audio codecs from MP3 to FLAC and OGG.
Compared to Flyme 2.x, the player has been slightly updated in terms of design, but otherwise its functionality has not changed. Separately, I note that on the MX3 large screen album covers look even better.
The player can be easily accessed from the lock screen by double-clicking on the sensor ring. You can also control music through the widget in the status bar.
Video player
The video player has a simple interface and a minimum of settings. But the huge support for audio and video codecs: DivX, XviD, H.264, and even VC1, and with them MP3, AC3, OGG and even DTS. In addition, the player copes with the built-in and external subtitles, and also supports the selection of audio tracks.
While watching a video, you can quickly adjust the screen brightness and sound level by simply swiping your finger up / down the screen to the right or left (sound on the left, brightness on the right).
Notebook
A simple note taking app. You can write something down quickly or even sketch. Synchronization between devices using your Flyme-account is supported.
Drawing
Separate drawing application. There are many settings. You can choose one of several markers (pencil, brush) and various design themes.
Alarm clock
All applications for time tracking are collected here: alarm clock, international time, stopwatch, timer. After setting the time in the alarm clock and turning it on, the time remaining until this moment is displayed near the set response time. So, if you set the alarm clock at 3 a.m. at 7 a.m., you can immediately see how little time you have left to sleep.
Unlike Flyme 2.0, the font of the alarm clock and the clock interface as a whole have increased slightly.
Gallery
Flyme has a very beautiful gallery, especially when viewing thumbnail images. The gallery itself has many settings for both viewing and editing the image. Photos are sorted by month, any month can be hidden or displayed in the gallery. Image editing is also available here. You can rotate the picture, cut out fragments from it with the selected aspect ratio, selected from the standard or manually specified resolution, add graphic shapes to the image (arrows, lines, clouds as in comics), text, or simply draw something by hand, pre-specifying the size and the transparency of the brush, as well as its color. A separate “Edit” menu allows you to apply various effects to a photo or picture, from filters like those used on Instagram to color temperature, brightness,
Root rights
We remind you that on Meizu smartphones you can get superuser rights using regular means. To do this, you need to log in to your Flyme-account and then check the box "Open access to the system." After receiving Root rights, you do not lose the guarantee, however, you will no longer be able to receive OTA updates, however, the ability to update using the image downloaded from the site will remain.
Conclusion
Meizu engineers did a great job on the Flyme interface, they managed, on the one hand, to refresh and simplify it, and on the other, to leave continuity in design and basic convenient features. Separately, it is worth noting that the trend with a flat interface is now supported by Apple, Google and gradually other major manufacturers.
All Meizu MX3 smartphones come with Flyme 3 already installed, Meizu MX2 will receive an update to version 3.x in the first weeks of December and we will tell you about it.
If you already own Meizu MX3, we recommend that you also look at the instructions built into the smartphone. You can open it through Settings> Accessibility. We tried to make it as simple and visual as possible.