[Smartphone review] | Xiaomi Mi Max | Taking a look back!

Xiaomi has already released their Mi max 2 for roughly the same price as the original mi max. But now, prices have dropped and you might still be interested in the gigantic behemoth of a phone, the older mi max. Should you bother with it in 2017? Let's take a second look at the original Xiaomi Mi Max.

An old champ!

Design: The phone is a huge one to be held in hand mainly due to its large display. The build quality though, is top notch.
It's made out of magnesium, just like it's younger brother redmi note 3. It feels great in the hand, but one handed use is totally out of the question here.   It's 7.5mm in thickness and weighs a hefty 200g.

Display: The phone is rocking a huge 6.4' 1080p IPS LCD panel at 364ppi with gorilla glass 4 protection on top. The display produces excellent colors and is sufficiently bright outdoors thanks to Xiaomi's sunlight display technology. But the pixel density is rather disappointing over such a huge display as this. Not that you will notice the drop in the crispness of the images or anything like that, but the lack of pixels is sometimes felt in comparison to some other phones in the market, with smaller screens but higher pixel density than this. Doesn't show a difference on it's own though.

Great specs for the current price

Performance: It also packs a relatively new chipset. The Snapdragon 650( 652 in china) octacore SoC clocked at 1.8GHz and the Adreno 510 GPU which is the same that you'll find on the redmi note 3. There are 2 variants, 3GB/32GB and 4GB/128GB. But I feel that the cost of near 20k  for the 4GB RAM model discourages many buyers, as they might as well buy the flagship, Mi 5 with a far more powerful processor. The rear mounted fingerprint sensor is just as fast as the redmi note 3, with quick unlocking and accurate recognition almost every time.

The phone runs of course, on MiUI on top of Android 6.0 marshmallow. All you need to know about MiUI is that it's a completely flipped coin. It's approach towards software is on the far opposite end of the stock version of android. It has a lot of features and fun little animations and all, but the UI is so heavily skinned, it could be big enough to be a deal breaker for some! Although most people find it quite reliable and lovable, it lacks nifty marshmallow features like google now-on-tap. It's an issue with all Xiaomi phones and like I said, it's not for everyone! It's a major individual personal preference. Personally, it's not my cup of tea! If I were to get it, I'd install a third party launcher to say the least!

Camera: The phone has the same sensor as the note 3, a 16 mp sensor with f/2.0 aperture on the rear and a 5 mp sensor on the front. The cameras are good, but not good enough always. They can definitely catch the moment but lack in colors and sometimes the sensor struggles with getting the proper dynamic range( can always be fixed by turning on HDR). The dual LED flash however, helps in taking some crispy shots but we all know the consequences of using flash on smartphones! That's right, exposure. But overall the camera is worth using to click away a few outdoor photos and the image quality, though not the best, will not totally disappoint you. Selfies are great too, with plenty of light and details, though produces a little bit of whitish tone to the skin.

Mammoth battery

Battery: The screen is not the only huge thing about this phone. It has a huge 4850 mAh battery unit which is user replaceable. There doesn't seem to be any sort of fast charging, which is a bummer. Oh well, at least you don't have to worry about running out of juice for for a day and a half.

Price: The 3GB/32GB retails for 14,999 INR and the 4GB/128GB retails for 19,999 INR.
You get a huge phone with a mega battery and pretty powerful processor and a decent camera. Should you buy it? If MiUI doesn't bother you, and you're ok with the mediocre camera then yes. Go for it! But if you want a better processor and don't want a massive phone, pay a bit more and get their ex- flagship, the Mi 5. It seems as if Xiaomi is killing its own market value by releasing a lot of devices in similar price ranges, which will naturally confuse and discourage some buyers. Don't know what's their game plan for 2016. Lets hope they know what they're doing😅.



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