Can’t say we’re surprised, but Meizu’s finally giving us the lowdown on the quad-core variant of its flagship Android smartphone. Simply dubbed the MX Quad-core, this new device will be powered by a Cortex-A9-based, 32nm HKMG (High-K Metal Gate) quad-core Samsung Exynos chip — no word on the clock speed or RAM, but we’re betting our money on the Exynos 4412 that goes up to 1.5GHz. Meizu claims this will save up to 20 percent of CPU power consumption compared to its dual-core counterpart. Also, the battery will be bumped up from 1,600mAh to 1,700mAh. And yes, in addition to the original white back cover, you’ll be able to swap it with one of the five optional colored covers pictured above.

On the software side you’ll get a Meizu-customized Ice Cream Sandwich system (aka Flyme OS), though it isn’t clear whether the company will stick to its old promise of simultaneously releasing a vanilla ROM. The rest of the new phone’s identical to the dual-core MX, especially the 4-inch 960 x 640 ASV display and the eight-megapixel BSI camera. While there’s still no microSD expansion, here’s some good news to make up for this flaw: the base model starts at 32GB and it’ll cost the same as the current 16GB MX! In other words, come June the unsubsidized MX Quad-core will go from ¥2,999 (US$480) in China and HK$3,099 (US$400) in Hong Kong; and then there’ll also be a 64GB version priced at ¥3,999 (US$635) and HK$4,099 (US$530), respectively. Meanwhile, starting today, the original MX is reduced to ¥2,399 (US$380) and HK$2,599 (US$335).

Now, with Meizu proudly claiming to have the world’s first smartphone to utilize the quad-core Exynos chip, we wonder where Samsung’s at with its own unicorn device?