Xiaomi Mi Max Review: A Maximum Effort [Coupon]

Smartphones are everywhere these days and people often rely on them as a primary mean of communications. We are sending e-mails from them, use them for social media, edit text and sheets on them, even use them for watching movies or favorite sitcoms. A couple of years ago the trend regarding the phones was that they have to be as small as possible. The times have changed, everything is different, and now people love bigger smartphones because they can use them for both pleasure and work. Xiaomi Mi Max is, probably, a smartphone with the largest screen that we have ever used. How does it fit in the hand? How is the battery life? Is it fast and reliable? To get answers to these and other crucial questions read the rest of our Xiaomi Mi Max review:

Before we go any further with our review, please take a moment to check out Xiaomi Mi Max specifications:

Specifications

Packaging

The package of this phone or, should we say, phablet is pretty typical. The box is cute, and everything is perfectly fitted inside of it. Contents of the box are the phone with the battery, micro USB cable, quick charger, needle for SIM removal, and user manual written in several languages. This device doesn’t come with headphones inside of the box which can be a problem for some people. Unfortunately, this is standard practice these days because manufacturers try to spare a dime in every possible way. For those of you who like to listen to music through the headphones or like to interact with the device while on the phone we are here to help:

Get Original Xiaomi Hybrid Dual Drivers Earphones to match your brand new Xiaomi Mi Max

Design

We are free to say that we never saw more beautiful phablet than this. From the build quality (the device is made out of metal) to the beautiful design where one part is seamlessly fitted to the other. Everything about the XiaoMi Mi Max is as premium as it gets. Don’t get fooled by its delicate appearance; this phablet can take a beating and come out unharmed. The size of this device can be a problem for some people because it is really big, so don’t expect using with singlehandedly. Check it out against the Mi Note:   It is even larger than a famous Nokia Lumia 1520, and that was a monster in its days. Surprisingly, with all its length and width it is incredibly thin with the only 7.5mm. Because it is made from aluminum alloy, it weighs only a tad over 200 grams. On the front side of the device, there is a humongous 6.44-Inch 2.5D curved screen with little to no bezels on the sides and capacitive Android navigation buttons bellow. Above the display, there is an earpiece in the middle with the front camera on one and proximity/light sensor on the other side.The back side is totally flat with minimal design elements, and it comes either in light gray or champagne. There is only Mi logo somewhere at the lower part, fingerprint scanner in the upper part and primary camera with dual tone LED flash in the top left corner of the back. The right side is reserved for power and volume keys. The buttons are made out of metal as well and are very clicky and responsive. The left side houses SIM and/or micro SD tray and it is removable with the pin that comes in the package. On the top of Xiaomi Mi Max, there are IR blaster, microphone and 3.5mm headphone jack.The bottom of the phone houses micro USB port with two loudspeakers on each side. You can’t believe how this device looks in person with its combination of metal, aluminum and glass. It is definitely a piece of art.

Xiaomi Mi Max Display

The device comes with one of the largest displays built in the smartphone – a 6.44-Inch IPS behemoth with FULL HD resolution. Colors are pretty vivid, it is very bright, and sunlight legibility is quite good. There is always the question why Xiaomi haven’t opted for a Quad HD display? We believe that resolution is too much on a phone, even with a large screen like this one. FULL HD is cheaper, saves the battery and GPU performance is much better than on QHD. Bezels that surround the display are smaller than on some competitor models. The result of that is a high screen to body ratio especially good for enjoying the video on the device. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass and thus, saved from extra scratches. Bottom line, the display is huge, and it is splendid for games, the internet, and multimedia.

Processor and RAM

Xiaomi Mi Max comes in several variants depending on the internal storage, the amount of RAM and different chipset. Our version is basic, and it features 64-bit hexa-core Snapdragon 650 CPU, Adreno 510 GPU, and 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM for better multitasking. Here are the variations:

The top of the line can go up to 4GB of RAM and Snapdragon 652 chipset. We tested the phone as a daily driver with some basic tasks as well with multimedia and graphic intensive games. We can say that it was done superbly in our testing scenarios where everything was running smooth and fast. We were able to play latest 3D games, but there were a few who skipped frames here and there. Keep in mind that this chipset in considered middle-end. Still, it was very fun playing games and browsing on such a big screen.

Camera

Xiaomi Mi Max features a 16-Megapixel camera sensor with PDAF and wide f/2.0 aperture. There are several shooting modes like HDR, smile detection, face detection, beauty face, panorama, etc. Picture quality is pretty good. Colors were spot on most of the time while the dynamic range was lacking (HDR mode can compensate for that). The level of details was excellent too, and the noise is reduced to a minimum. Sharpening is very aggressive, but that is a standard for many devices these days.

Low light shots weren’t that great, and you should stick with dual tone LED flash for the subjects in close distance. Video recording is limited to 1080p @ 30fps (chipset could easily cope with 4K), but videos seem very nice and smooth. There is a slow-mo recording @ 720p with 120fps and, although it is very fun, it is not up to standards set by iPhone or Samsung Galaxy series.

Check out the camera samples:

click for a full-size image

The front camera sensor is of 5-Megapixel, and it features 85 degrees wide angle lens. Camera quality is moderate, but it can be used for selfies or video calls perfectly. Another interesting thing about the camera is that you can shoot with the use of fingerprint scanner, and it works with both cameras.

Storage Capacity

There are several storage options for Xiaomi Mi Max. Our version is 32GB, but there are also versions with 64GB and 128GB. The later ones offer a better CPU on both and more RAM on 128GB version. In case, you find 32GB lacking for impressive multimedia collection or abundance of latest 3D games you can always expand the storage via micro SD cards that can go up to incredible 200GB. In case you buy 128GB version and biggest micro SD you can fit, you will have impressive 328GBs of space for everything that you ever wanted.

Have

Operating System (OS)

Xiaomi Mi Max runs on the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow with the MIUI 7 on top of that. Most recent version of Xiaomi’s custom UI called MIUI 8 is not yet finished, and the device will be updated as soon as it sees the light of the day. Android 6.0 Marshmellow brings deeper integration with the internet in the form of Google Now on tap. With the single click of the button, you will find all that is interesting you.

Another great feature of Google’s OS is the Doze mode in which CPU frequency is reduced as soon as the display goes off. Doze mode significantly improves battery life in stand-by mode. Another interesting feature in MIUI 7 on this phone is floating bulb which can be used for a number of actions on the device. It looks similar as when you use the pen on the Samsung Galaxy Note series, only there is no pen, just menu.

Miui 8 will be available soon, with these looks:

click for a bigger image

With the latest of Android version, you also get latest app and game titles from the Google Play store or any other Android store of your choosing. In everyday operations, we never had a problem with Xiaomi Mi Max, and it performed great. Everything was smooth and consistent.

Connectivity

From the connectivity side, Xiaomi Mi Max is a beast as well. It features hybrid SIM card slot which means that you can use it for two SIM cards or an SIM and a micro SD card. It is universally unlocked meaning that you can use it globally up to 4G LTE network speeds. The reception on the device is great, and we didn’t have any dropped calls. In case you want to preserve battery or simple, you don’t have an unlimited data plan you can connect to the Internet via built-in Wi-Fi modem. Wi-Fi speeds supported are 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. It had no trouble of connecting modem in our office even from a great distance.

Bluetooth version on the device is 4.2, and that is currently top of the line in this technology. It translates to better and faster connections with less impact on the battery life. Xiaomi Mi Max features GPS, A-GPS and Russian GLONASS for better tracking support. You can pinpoint your exact location in any given time in a matter of seconds using some of the mapping services on your device.

Network type: FDD-LTE+WCDMA+GSM
2G: GSM 800/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz

Xiaomi Mi Max Battery life

Probably the most…

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