Mlais M7 hands on and first impressions: A nice design surprise


mlais m7 review

With all the excitement of the Ulefone Be Touch (and Be Touch 2) plus the Elephone P7000, the Mlais M7 has been a little overshadowed, but now it’s here on my desk I think it deserves a little more attention.

After the success (and early issues) with the Mlais M52, Mlais have struggled to gain the same type of traction as other phone makers. They generally launch phones a little slower, and they don’t have one new phone coming directly after the other. In fact we knew exactly what Mlais had planned for the first half of the year months ago, and that perhaps is why the buzz has gone away so quickly.

Mlais M7 hands on and first impressions

The Mlais M7 comes in same light blue box as the M52 with just a USB and EU charger. The model we received is the black phone, but there is also a white model too.

mlais m7 review

When you get in to the packaging and get the Mlais M7 in your hand you can have a good look around the phone, it may surprise you. First up with a 5.5-inch 720p display the M7 has similar screen specs to the Ulefone Be Touch, and the same size panel as the Elephone P7000, however there is one major difference. Where as both the P7000 and Be Touch are quite large phones (bezels on the P700o and home button on the Be Touch), the Mlais M7 is very compact in comparison. It is both narrower and shorter than the phones by quite a margin, and this makes it more comfortable in the pocket and easy to handle when in use.

mlais m7 review

Now that your attention is diverted to the design lets move on to the chassis shall we. We have already seen that the Elephone P7000’s ‘alloy chassis’ is merely for looks, but Mlais look to have genuinely made a solid metal chassis with some nice touches to boot. The metal frame is anodised black with the edges beveled and polished for a nice bright contrast. This design is carried over to the power and volume rocker. A neat and classy look.

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As I have mentioned the P7000, I will also point out that Yes I have tried to bend the Mlais M7, and while with enough pressure it does flex it also springs back to its original shape again rather than doing an impression of a banana.

mlais m7 review

On the rear of the phone is a removable cover for access to the dual SIM slots, micro SD slot and removable 2600mAh battery. 2600mAh is unusually small for a 3GB RAM, MT6752 phone, but it is slightly bigger than the battery in the Ulefone Be Touch and we will see how it lasts while we give it a going over.

While we are talking about specifications the M7 also has 16GB internal memory, a 13 mega-pixel IMX135 main camera, 5 mega-pixel front camera, 4G LTE, Android 5.0 and a fingerprint scanner on the rear. The scanner on the Mlais M7 is similar to that on the P7000 so you will need to still press the power button to wake the phone up before the fingerprint read jumps in to action.

In my short time with the M7 I have ran Antutu on the phone (which caused a little more heat than I had hoped) and managed a score of 44,894. The Lollipop system hasn’t caused any issues thus far, and audio isn’t bad if you don’t mind a lack of bass for clarity (regarding the external speaker).

Video: Mlais M7 hands on and first impressions

Mlais M7 hands on photos

The Mlais M7 has a really impressive build and if I had to rank it against the Be Touch and Elephone P7000 based on my short hands on I would say it sits below the Ulefone but above the Elephone.

Full review of the Mlais M7 next week. Keep posted for more.

[ Mlais ]
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58 Comments

  1. Atomicrus
    June 17, 2015

    I hope it’ll come with a normal ROM support

  2. mf1gt3r
    June 17, 2015

    I thought the Ulephone’s camera performance was mediocre. How is it above the M7?

    • iKosh
      June 17, 2015

      The comparison is based on build quality, I think.

    • Muhammad Yasir
      June 17, 2015

      ulefone , while great in aesthetics… have failed where HARD facts matter…

  3. saor
    June 17, 2015

    Hopefully it just a good solid runner. Like any good phone should be.

  4. Marius Cirsta
    June 17, 2015

    Antutu caused a little more heat … well no wonder. They probably cheat on Antutu and overclock the CPU, GPU and who knows what else …
    Almost everybody does this these days to get that all important Antutu score

    • MaxPower
      June 17, 2015

      It’s all marketing.
      Even SoC manufacturers use Antutu on their presentations.
      If that’s what people want….Let them have it.

      • Marius Cirsta
        June 17, 2015

        Sure, I was just saying one of the common Antutu cheats is to overclock everything to values that are not sustainable for a long period of time.

        It just detects Antutu is running and overclocks everything.

        • MaxPower
          June 17, 2015

          There’s a ton of people here that use Antutu as the only parameter to pick a phone.

          I’ve heard comments like:
          “I’d rather go with that phone because you get 5000 more Antutu points”

          Really?!? What are you going to do with those points?
          Claim them and get a Teddy Bear like at the arcade?

          They won’t care if your phone lasts 2 months due to poor build quality, or if it has ghost touches issue, yellow screen,poor GPS, poor software or even basic phone feature like to be able to make calls as long as they have those Antutu points.

          • balcobomber25
            June 17, 2015

            I want the Giant Stuffed Elephant! I have been saving all my tickets from Skee Ball!

            • MaxPower
              June 17, 2015

              Sorry kiddo, your Antutu points are enough for a whistle and 2 lollipop

            • balcobomber25
              June 17, 2015

              Sadface! But I almost reached 32,348 on Antutu, 17 more points and I have better phone than my friend!

            • MaxPower
              June 17, 2015

              Lol

            • Cashiyer
              June 17, 2015

              17 more points! Wouuwww 🙂
              Someone said you “you don’t have a human brain” here. Now, I am agree with him/her.

            • balcobomber25
              June 18, 2015

              My brain is far beyond human 😉

            • Muhammad Yasir
              June 17, 2015

              Lollipop , eh ?
              5.1 or 5.0 :p

            • balcobomber25
              June 18, 2015

              At this point I would prefer a bag of Jelly Beans. 4.2 Jelly Beans to be precise.

            • Muhammad Yasir
              June 17, 2015

              😀

  5. Adam Irvine
    June 17, 2015

    Is the Mstar S700 basically a copy of this but with a bigger battery?

    • June 17, 2015

      Same factory I think

      • Adam Irvine
        June 17, 2015

        So with that info, surely the Mstar s700 would be the better buy as it’s slightly cheaper, has a bigger battery and theoretically all the Mlais future roms/development will work seamlessly on it?

        Good thinking?

        • June 17, 2015

          Its possible

          • Muhammad Yasir
            June 17, 2015

            this is a cancer … i believe , in the chinese market 🙁

        • Gerardo
          June 17, 2015

          The Mstar S700 is listed to have only 2GB of RAM for $20 less. I’d rather have 3GB.

        • Marco Lancaster
          June 17, 2015

          If you believe the Battery of Mstar is really bigger, both look to have the same size.

          • Adam Irvine
            June 18, 2015

            Ye, I think you’re right there…

        • balcobomber25
          June 18, 2015

          Which one has better software/support?

  6. Keven Wang
    June 17, 2015

    good job,andi

  7. Radier
    June 17, 2015

    @Gizchina:disqus

    Could you check if this screen protector is compatibile with Mlais M52?

    • Muhammad Yasir
      June 17, 2015

      how did u tag andi ?

      • King
        June 17, 2015

        +1

  8. Adam
    June 17, 2015

    same Chinese brands fake specs,, i know not all of them are doing so,, but unfortunately most of them,,, anyone checked the zeaplus m7 page? please check this page..

    http://www.zeaplus.com/zeaplus-M7-feature

    here’s what is fake about this phone

    1- the screen,, they claim FHD panel with 1,000:1 contrast and brightness of 400cd/m2,, really ?

    2- the CPU. we all know that MT6752 uses Mali T760 MP2 for GPU, MP2 stand for dual core,, read the cpu section to find them claiming a Triple Core Malti T760 GPU, never heard of it before,, lol

    3- they Claim 3GB of DDR3 RAM running @ 1866Mhz. which is very rare for a Chinese. i know they can opt for it,, just can’t convince my self they will,, maybe cause of the cost ( considering the price they are asking for the phone i mean )

    4- now switch to the specs page from right top of t he screen ,, and scroll down for the PORTS section ..they are saying that the M7 will have a Micro USB 3.0

    5- the best JOKE of them all,, the camera,, using a sony IMX135 is ok,, i can live with it, but claiming that Exmor IMX135 with f/2.2 Aperture can record 2K resolution video with stereo recording ? thats was the funnies thing about this phone,, tell me guys, what do you think ?

    • balcobomber25
      June 17, 2015

      What does a phone from Zeaplus have to do with a phone from Mlais? They are completely different companies. But I do have an answer to some of your points, some are valid examples (like the RAM speed):

      1. If they are using a 5.5 inch FHD display it would be 400 ppi, 1000:1 contrast ratio and around 400-450cd/m2. Those are all standard numbers for 5.5 inch 1080p displays regardless of the company.

      2. The Mali line of GPU’s usually has multiple versions of the same chip and there are MP3 versions of some of them. For instance the Meizu M2 Note is using a Mali T720 MP3.

      3. A simple view of the USB port will tell us if it is 3.0 or not. It hasn’t really caught on in smartphones but some do have it.

      4. The IMX 135 actually can record 2k video, it’s 4k that it can’t. The 135 and the 214 are built on the same architecture. The biggest difference being the 214 has native support for 4k recording. 2K recording has been achieved with a 135 on numerous devices thanks to software tweaks, it looks like crap though thanks to very low frame rates (usually under 20fps).

    • June 17, 2015

      Maybe post this under a Zeaplus article?

      • Muhammad Yasir
        June 17, 2015

        lel… he’s posting his here due to his suspicious about this being cloned by zeaplus 😀

  9. fernando de anda
    June 18, 2015

    Hello

    I have 2 orders for Elephone P7000 but i read your review about it, and i really felt dissapointed abut the elephone, especially in the build quality department,vyou even mention asetethics and build quality superiority by the Mlais M7, so i spoke to a customer service representative and told her to cancel my order for the Elephone P7000, she is asking for confirmation and asking which phone i want instead, do you recommend the Mlais M7 over the Elephone P7000?, have you tested the GPS on this phone? camera is not that important, but GPS is, and the fact that the phone does not bend like the Elephone, is the display good? is there a lot of difference between this screen and the Elephone?.

    Or is there even a better phone than this and the elephone P7000 in the same price range that you recommend?.

    Thanks and regards @Gizchina:disqus

  10. Don Rogers
    June 18, 2015

    Good looking phone maybe Elephone should buy Mlais as this is what the P7000 should have been. I only wish I had read this before ordering Jiayu S3

    • Marco Lancaster
      June 19, 2015

      Jiayu s3 is a beast man, you will not lose anything. Btw it could be a matter of taste, and this one of course is more cheaper.

      • Suskind
        June 22, 2015

        No Touch ID……

      • Suskind
        June 22, 2015

        No Touch ID……

  11. letalangel
    June 18, 2015

    NO notification led!?

  12. June 19, 2015

    What ever you do please stay away from GEARBEST SCAMMERS.

    The biggest bunch of Chinese robbers in the INTERNET.

    Had to claim my money to my Bank, stupid me to ignore the comments about them and succumb to the low price

    • Raul
      June 22, 2015

      I heard many bad reviews about the people at Gearbest, definitely not a trustworthy website.

  13. Joe mont
    June 19, 2015

    I’d definitely get it if it had a 3000mah battery, but 2600 just is not enough.

    The Mlais MX looks nice for battery life, maybe we’ll get a review on that.

  14. Suskind
    June 22, 2015

    I think I will choose ulefone Be Touch 2,
    it is the flagship of the configuration,MT6752 1.7GHz,
    3GB+16GB, sony IMX214 camera,front Touch ID,3050mAh battery.
    $229.99,Flash sale $179.99.

  15. Suskind
    June 22, 2015

    I think I will choose ulefone Be Touch 2,
    it is the flagship of the configuration,MT6752 1.7GHz,
    3GB+16GB, sony IMX214 camera,front Touch ID,3050mAh battery.
    $229.99,Flash sale $179.99.

  16. Suskind
    June 22, 2015

    I think I will choose ulefone Be Touch 2,
    it is the flagship of the configuration,MT6752 1.7GHz,
    3GB+16GB, sony IMX214 camera,front Touch ID,3050mAh battery.
    $229.99,Flash sale $179.99.

  17. vivis
    June 23, 2015

    pour les francais test

    apres une semaine de test voici mon avis

    On retrouve dans cette boßte : le smartphone bien emballé, sous celui-ci se trouve une notice , un cùble micro-USB et un adaptateur secteur qui
    malheureusement ne rentre pas dans les prises française.
    Le design est trĂšs Ă©lĂ©gant et semble s’adapter Ă  ce que l’on attend d’un haut de gamme : plastique solide sur l’arriĂšre, bords assez fins, un produit lĂ©ger et trĂšs sobre.

    La batterie de 2600 mAh fait trÚs bien son travail, une de 3500 aurais ete parfait. Elle permet à ce Mlais M7 de tenir la journée. Sur la fin de mon test à 47 %. Antutu donne un score confortable de47685 points ce qui le place parmi certains des meilleurs produits du marché. Le processeur Octa-Core de chez MediaTek MT6752 fait son travail convenablement pour le moment.

    au niveau test avec Z-device,
    le mlais n’a pas de capteur de gravity et de gyroscope qui est trùs dommageable pour certaine application qui utilise ces capteurs ( carte du ciel, iss et autre )
    quelque bug icone avec l’application WAZE.
    sinon niveau 3G ET 4 G le top pour la France.
    le wifi est bon , signale a fond jusqu’à 20 m de la box

    Le rendu photo est correct que ce soit pour la camĂ©ra dorsale que frontale et le mode HDR fait bien le travail. Surtout en trĂšs bonne condition de luminositĂ©. Le focus est manuel pour l’enregistrement vidĂ©o et il se peut que la lumiĂšre soit trop prĂ©sente lĂ  oĂč vous l’avez bloquĂ©. On peut aussi bloquer le focus sur le mode photo pour qu’il puisse suivre un objet ou une personne en mouvement. Sur l’avant pas d’autofocus mais un mode HDR qui remplit sa tĂąche. En intĂ©rieur cela peut s’avĂ©rer compliquĂ© d’obtenir un bon rendu. Le mode « Multiangle » est agrĂ©able Ă  utiliser et permet de crĂ©er un rendu de mouvement intĂ©ressant.

    je suis pour le moment heureux de mon achat
    mais manque une chose pour un smartphone chinois le root car il ne les pas
    allez messieurs de chez Mlais ouvre la porte au root et les ventes vont décoller.

  18. vivis
    June 23, 2015

    pour les francais test

    apres une semaine de test voici mon avis

    On retrouve dans cette boßte : le smartphone bien emballé, sous celui-ci se trouve une notice , un cùble micro-USB et un adaptateur secteur qui
    malheureusement ne rentre pas dans les prises française.
    Le design est trĂšs Ă©lĂ©gant et semble s’adapter Ă  ce que l’on attend d’un haut de gamme : plastique solide sur l’arriĂšre, bords assez fins, un produit lĂ©ger et trĂšs sobre.

    La batterie de 2600 mAh fait trÚs bien son travail, une de 3500 aurais ete parfait. Elle permet à ce Mlais M7 de tenir la journée. Sur la fin de mon test à 47 %. Antutu donne un score confortable de47685 points ce qui le place parmi certains des meilleurs produits du marché. Le processeur Octa-Core de chez MediaTek MT6752 fait son travail convenablement pour le moment.

    au niveau test avec Z-device,
    le mlais n’a pas de capteur de gravity et de gyroscope qui est trùs dommageable pour certaine application qui utilise ces capteurs ( carte du ciel, iss et autre )
    quelque bug icone avec l’application WAZE.
    sinon niveau 3G ET 4 G le top pour la France.
    le wifi est bon , signale a fond jusqu’à 20 m de la box

    Le rendu photo est correct que ce soit pour la camĂ©ra dorsale que frontale et le mode HDR fait bien le travail. Surtout en trĂšs bonne condition de luminositĂ©. Le focus est manuel pour l’enregistrement vidĂ©o et il se peut que la lumiĂšre soit trop prĂ©sente lĂ  oĂč vous l’avez bloquĂ©. On peut aussi bloquer le focus sur le mode photo pour qu’il puisse suivre un objet ou une personne en mouvement. Sur l’avant pas d’autofocus mais un mode HDR qui remplit sa tĂąche. En intĂ©rieur cela peut s’avĂ©rer compliquĂ© d’obtenir un bon rendu. Le mode « Multiangle » est agrĂ©able Ă  utiliser et permet de crĂ©er un rendu de mouvement intĂ©ressant.

    je suis pour le moment heureux de mon achat
    mais manque une chose pour un smartphone chinois le root car il ne les pas
    allez messieurs de chez Mlais ouvre la porte au root et les ventes vont décoller.

  19. Adam Irvine
    June 24, 2015

    @Andi Sykes

    Full review yet Andi? I’m curious to know what the battery is ‘really’ like..?

    Cheers! 🙂

  20. Adam Irvine
    June 24, 2015

    @Gizchina:disqus

    Full review yet Andi? I’m curious to know what the battery is ‘really’ like..?

    Cheers! 😀

  21. ricardo
    June 26, 2015

    Quien me indemniza por todos los portes
    pagados y tiempo perdido.Mlais M52 Rojo Nota 5.5
    pulgadas HD IPS OGS Pantalla ROM Android 4.4 4G phablet MT6752 Octa Core 1.7GHz
    2GB RAM 16GB Color:NEGRO

    .

    • Xalis
      June 27, 2015

      Those are the exact same areas were my Mlais M52 digitizer as gone crazy.

      This a manufacturing defect.

      • ricardo
        June 29, 2015

        asi me llego, no tienen controles de calidad

  22. Sbz
    June 26, 2015

    aint touching anything Mlais again. Thanks but no.

  23. Xalis
    June 27, 2015

    On somewhat related news, my Mlais M52 phone is now garbage, the digitizer as gone crazy, the love lasted me a month, but what a great month! (still not worth $130 for a month of usage) and I’m not the only one with the exact same problem, so stay away from the M52, let’s hope the M7 doesn’t suffers the same fate.

  24. Eduardo Batista
    July 19, 2015

    Does Mlais M7 have a gyroscope?