Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition is a Chinese smartphone powerhouse

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Meizu has launched the most powerful Ubuntu smartphone on the market, the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition. The handset, which is the fruits of an ongoing partnership between Meizu and Ubuntu creators Canonical, features a roster of top-shelf specs and will look to take on the smartphone heavy hitters when it goes on sale during MWC 2016.

You would be forgiven for not immediately recognising the name: in the UK, Meizu is not a household brand name like Samsung, Sony and Apple. However, it is one of a number of Chinese manufacturers that are increasingly challenging the rule of the market leaders by bringing out high-end devices at half the cost. OnePlus and Xiaomi are some of the most well-known examples.

And the Meizu Pro 5 is high-end. With an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor clocked at 2.1GHz and up to 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, this is no knock-off and is easily comparable to the latest handsets from Samsung, Sony and HTC in terms of raw power. On top of that, the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition comes with a 5.7-inch, full HD AMOLED display, 21-megapixel camera, a fingerprint sensor and a choice of 32 or 64GB internal storage, meaning the handset has more than enough to take on the mobile big boys.

You can already buy the standard version of the Meizu Pro 5, which runs Android and was made available worldwide last November, with prices starting at £303 ($434, €390). Pricing details on the Ubuntu Edition have yet to be announced however, given Chinese manufacturers' typical strategy of undercutting its mainstream rivals – often by hundreds of pounds – you can count on the device coming in at less that the expected asking price of smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC One M10 and LG G5.

This could be a smartphone to keep an eye on, so stay tuned for more details when MWC 2016 touches down in Barcelona on 22 February.