In the highly competitive smartphone market, it is important to stay ahead of rivals to get consumers' attention. OnePlus may have convinced with its newly-released OnePlus 2 smartphone, but rival manufacturers are not giving up. OnePlus' home-rival, Meizu, has come up with a new MX5 smartphone that challenges the OnePlus 2 with striking specs at a reasonable price. 

Witnessing both the high-end models battling it out, it is fitting to see how they fare against each other when compared side-by-side.

In this article, we put out individual specs of the OnePlus 2 as well as the Meizu MX5 to enable consumers in making an informed choice before they buy one of the two smartphones. 

Design

Meizu MX5 sports a metal unibody of T6063 grade aluminium and dons a look strikingly similar to Apple's iPhone 6. On the other hand, OnePlus 2 gets a unique look with its sandstone rear finish, removable back cover and a metal rim surrounding the handset. Both phones have speakers at the bottom and are similar in size.

Display

Both smartphones have a 5.5-inch Full HD display with 401ppi. The OnePlus 2 smartphone gets the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection while the Meizu MX5 is a generation behind in using the Gorilla Glass 3.

Camera

The OnePlus 2 is powered by a 13-megapixel camera with laser auto-focus, f/2.0 aperture, OIS and dual-LED flash. On the other hand, the Meizu MX5 packs a 20.7-megapixel Sony IMX220 camera with f/2.2 aperture, 6-element lens, dual-tone LED flash. On the front side, both phones have a 5-megpixel sensor and the Meizu MX5 gets f/2.0 aperture.

The Meizu MX5 packs higher megapixels but it is worth noting that extra pixels do not mean better quality images. Also, the Meizu MX5 has a higher aperture, which means it will not let in as much light as OnePlus 2. But real-time testing of both cameras will reveal a clearer picture of which smartphone camera is better. So we would hold our final verdict until a hands-on of both smartphones.

Under the hood

OnePlus impressed us by the choice of under hood specifications. The OnePlus 2 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, which combines a quad-core A53, quad-core 1.8GHz Cortex A57 processor. Supporting the chipset is a 3GB LPDDR4 RAM in the 16GB variant of the handset and a 4GB RAM in its 64GB counterpart. Only two storage options are available in OnePlus 2 without a microSD card slot to expand storage further.

As for the Meizu MX5, the processor in use is a 2.2GHz MediaTek Helio X10 Turbo Octa-core (ARM Cortex-A53) processor paired with 3GB LPDDR3 RAM and optional 16GB, 32GB and 64GB expandable memory.

Battery

The OnePlus 2 is powered up by a 3,300mAh battery and is expected to last longer with its better optimization of DDR4 RAM. The Meizu MX5 packs a slightly smaller 3,150mAh battery. The run time for both phones in real-time is inconclusive.

Exclusive Add-ons

Taking cues from high-end flagship smartphone makers such as Samsung, Apple, LG, HTC and others, both the OnePlus 2 and the Meizu MX5 feature fingerprint sensors. OnePlus 2 packs advanced USB Type-C port while the Meizu MX5 gets the standard microUSB slot for charging and transferring files. Both phones have dual SIM slots with integrated 4G LTE support.

Price and Availability

The OnePlus 2 comes in four different colour variants, Bamboo, Black Apricot, Rosewood, and Kevlar. The 16GB variant in India costs Rs 22,999 while the 64GB model is priced at Rs 24,999. The low-storage model is expected to debut later this year while the 64GB OnePlus 2 is available only via invites.

On the other hand, Meizu is yet to reveal the India price and availability of its MX5 smartphone. As per the Chinese pricing, the handset's base variant is expected to cost around Rs 18,500, while the 32GB and 64GB will be priced around Rs 20,500 and Rs. 34,500, respectively. Those who are interested can register to buy the Meizu MX5 on 26 August on Snapdeal.